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Structures, inspection and accountability

 
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School leaders understand the need for public accountability. Parents, politicians and the wider public want to be sure that schools are doing their very best for the children they serve.

However, we also recognise that the current low-trust accountability system is based on a narrow range of measures that drive a range of perverse incentives and unintended consequences and that the current high-stakes inspection system all too often instils fear and stifles innovation. 

NAHT is committed to securing fairer methods and measures of accountability, so that pupils’ performance and school effectiveness are judged using a broad range of information, including the school's broader context and performance history, rather than a narrow focus on data.

Ensure published performance data are calculated and used fairly

  • Press the government to take action to ensure understanding across the sector of changes to primary progress data from 2020
  • Engage with the DfE to ensure that the reception baseline assessment is a valid baseline for progress 
  • Work with the DfE to ensure the methodology, publication and use of performance data is accurate, proportionate and appropriate.

 

Press for a transition from vertical high-stakes approach to accountability to a lateral system with greater ownership by the profession itself

  • Further develop, articulate and argue the case for a new approach to school accountability, building on NAHT's Commission, and working with other partners
  • Campaign against a hard accountability measure on exclusions
  • Make the case and lobby for a wholly independent complaints process for appeals against Ofsted inspection judgements
  • Lobby for the publication of all training materials for inspectors to ensure transparency and equity
  • Lobby Ofsted for greater transparency regarding the experience, skills and training of inspectors for specific phases and settings
  • Monitor members' experiences of the new inspection framework, holding Ofsted to account for the consistency, reliability and behaviour of inspectors, particularly around curriculum and the quality of education judgement.

 

Ensure any changes to school structures or systems benefit all pupils within a local community

  • Continue to oppose any form of forced academisation
  • Continue to oppose any expansion of grammar schools
  • Promote and advance local accountability, transparency and democracy in school structures and governance so that schools are best able to serve their wider local community
  • Make the case for centrally coordinated place planning to ensure all new school provision meets demand
  • Promote the full variety of school collaboration from Trusts to informal collaborations. 

School and college performance tables 2019: statement of intent published

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its 2019 statement of intent explaining which data will be published for schools and colleges in the primary, secondary and 16-to-18 performance tables.  

Publication timetable:

The 2019 performance measures at school/college level will be published in the ‘find and compare schools and colleges website’ to the following timetable: 

  • primary performance measures for schools and MATs – December 2019 
  • secondary performance measures for schools, colleges and MATs – January 2020 
  • 16-to-18 performance measures for schools, colleges and MATs – January and March 2020
  • provisional secondary performance measures will be published in October 2019, to help inform parental choice of secondary schools.

Main changes to 2019 performance measures

Primary performance:

There are no planned changes to the primary accountability measures between 2018 and 2019, except those to reflect the new assessments detailed below.

From the 2018-19 academic year, six final pre-key stage standards have replaced the interim pre-key stage standards and P scales 5-8 for pupils working below the level of the assessments who are engaged in subject-specific study. This means new points will need to be set for pupils achieving these pre-key stage standards when progress measures are calculated. The new points will be confirmed in the next update of the primary school accountability guidance, which will be published on 2 September 2019. 

This means measures in 2019 (using the final pre-key stage standards) will not be directly comparable to those made in previous years against the interim pre-key stage standards and P scales 5-8.

See the primary school accountability guidance for details on existing measures.

Secondary performance: 

There are no planned changes to the secondary accountability measures between 2018 and 2019. 

Following the introduction in 2017 of reformed GCSEs in English and maths, reformed GCSEs in a much wider range of subjects were included in performance tables in 2018. This meant that by 2018, most GCSEs entries were graded 9 to 1 and attracted performance table points on a 9 to 1 scale. The majority of the remaining reformed GCSEs will be included in performance tables from 2019, with the final subjects in 2020. The timeline for the introduction of reformed GCSEs is included in annex H of the secondary accountability guidance. 

To encourage schools to ensure that all students benefit from the reformed qualifications, only new GCSEs will be included in the secondary performance tables as they are introduced for each subject. 

See the secondary accountability guidance for details on existing measures.

16-to-18 performance: 

16-to-18 minimum standards: the DfE has already announced that it will no longer use 16-to-18 minimum standards as the basis to intervene in colleges. It has been recognised that these measures can drive unnecessary workload and reduce clarity when used alongside other performance indicators, such as Ofsted outcomes.

From September 2019, the DfE will therefore no longer publish 16-to-18 minimum standards, nor use them for any purpose.

Student destination measures following 16-to-18 study 

In the 2019 performance tables: 

  • The coverage of destination measures will be extended by including those students studying unapproved qualifications at level 3, level 2 and below (in addition to those studying approved qualifications). This is to ensure schools and colleges are held to account for the destinations of all their 16-to-18 students, regardless of the course they choose.
  • Students who reach the end of 16-to-18 study without attending an institution in their final year will be included. Their outcomes will be awarded to the institution they were most recently allocated to during their 16-to-18 study. 
  • Further education destinations broken down by level will be included.
  • A new ‘progression to level 4 or higher’ measure will be introduced. From January 2020, performance tables will show the percentage of level 3 students from each school or college that continue to degrees, higher technical courses and higher apprenticeships, as well as a score that shows whether this demonstrates good progress based on the students' prior attainment and qualification type. The higher education breakdowns will be retained and moved in to the new level 4+ measure.  

 

Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) 

As in 2018, key stage 2 and key stage 4 MAT measures will be published in December and January respectively, at the same time as the main performance tables releases, with 16-to-18 measures published in March.  

At key stage 2, in addition to the measures showing progress in reading, writing and maths, a new measure will be introduced showing attainment at the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (as a combined measure).

Removal of floor and coasting standards 

From September 2019, the DfE will no longer publish, or use, floor or coasting standards. Instead, from September they will use a new single, transparent method for identifying schools eligible for improvement support – Ofsted ‘requires improvement’.

Future developments – performance over time  

As in 2018, the DfE will publish a time-series across headline measures at key stages 2, 4 and 5, and a three-year average for key stage 2 attainment measures to help demonstrate performance across time. 

The DfE has explored the possibility of calculating three-year averages for progress measures, but has concluded that they should not be published at any phase. While these measures are accurate relative to the results of other schools in a given year, they are not designed to be directly compared year-on-year, so it would not be methodologically sound to create three-year averages for progress measures. 

In the July 2017 government response to the EBacc consultation, the DfE said that it would introduce additional EBacc measures in 2019 to help schools demonstrate their performance over time. Following informal consultation with sector bodies and Ofsted, the DfE has concluded that the three-year averages for EBacc entry are sufficient for schools to get a sense of their performance over time.

Read the full statement of intent here.

First published 04 July 2019

First published 04 July 2019
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