Disadvantaged Pupil Dashboard: Unpicking the IDSR and a forensic approach to whole school data analy

So in January 2018 we saw the release of the new Ofsted IDSR which inspectors will use to make an hypothesis around school performance and generate inspection trails. If you look at the differences in the documents between the superseded version of 2015-2016 to the new revised version for 2016-2017 there has been some significant changes. First off the pastoral data has been moved from the back of the document to the front. Experience tells us when this happens it sometimes can be more of a focus or discussion point.

The first pages of the document outlines the context of the school but will also identify if a significant amount of pupils moved school to pastures new ‘transient pupils’. For me this is a good move and will help stop school leaders ‘off rolling’ key pupils before census in Y11. I suppose the message here is if the document identifies that you have a lot of transient pupils.... why? How many are DP? How many have moved out of the area? How many have moved due to behavioural issues and what support did you provide before this happened? Case study them all and have your counter argument and evidence of support clear.

You will notice from the 2015-2016 superseded inspection dashboard to the new IDSR; disadvantaged abscence, persistent abscence, fixed term exclusions and repeat exclusions are not now reported upon. Although this is the case I would heavily advise you still have a firm handle on this data and ensure you are able to articulate your journery very clearly.

Another continental shift that has occurred in the IDSR is that in the progress and attainment pages disadvantaged pupils are no longer broken into prior attainment band (loud applause). It seems that the powers to be have changed their stance and accepted that the large sways in data due to small cohort subdivision is not a sensible way to measure performance.

Key Questions

As a leader of the Disadvantaged cohort it might be worth considering the following questions.

• What does your 3 year trend tell you in the IDSR?

• How is your cohort performing in the core?

• How are they performing in the Ebacc

• What about the open bucket?

• Are there any areas which are significantly above national or below? If so what do you plan to do help remedy the problem or ensure success again?

• What has created the success/under performance? Be confident about this

• Are you able to articulate any progress forward? % increases? Quintile shifts?

• Are your middle leaders and governors able to articulate your AFI's and journey of support?

• If you are a school with an RI Judgement or worse....... What progress has been made since the last inspection that is now evident in the data?

• Do the strengths and weakness represented in the IDSR then appear lower down in the school or is it an improving picture? You need to be able to talk confidently about this. The document at the top of blog allows you to do this and presents the holistic picture.

• How many DP have remained in sustained education, training or employment? Now the IDSR runs two years behind for this measure but you will need to know how many fell NEET in 2017.

• If you are a sixth form college your IDSR will now include lots of DP KS5 data (Download the updated report). Are you able to talk about the performance of DP from Y7-Y13? What is the big picture? Is it a story of success? In my school our DP at KS5 out perform our non-DP. This then firms up the idea of getting them over the KS4 hurdle and into our Sixth form.

• What are the destinations like for DP post KS5? In my school more DP go to red brick universities than non-DP. What an amazing accolade for the school.

What next?.........

A recently saw a tweet from @dataeducator that simply read:

'Don't count the data, make the data count'

This is such a simple reminder that as leaders we have to actually act upon the data so that effects what goes on in the classroom..... The teaching and learning! We are data rich in schools these days but data is pointless unless it has an impact

The actions to follow ........

• Meet with your middle leadership team and make sure they can articulate their current position. Strengths and weaknesses from Y7-Y11 (Or 13 if Sixth form).

• Make sure this filters down to classroom teachers at the coal face.

• Plan 'in class' support from Y7 up that focuses on individual barriers to learning.

• QA this is happening through learning moderations, book moderations and pupil voice.

• Act rapidly and implement support to remedy any underperformace

• feedback progress frequently to colleagues and let them know their hard work is paying off.

• Keep banging the positive drum of impact at every opportunity. Every email, every staff briefing, every meeting and every conversation.

Be relentless in setting the bar high for the DP's. Except nothing put excellence and equity!