In 2018 President Macron announced that the compulsory age for starting school would be lowered from six years’ old to three, a decision that came into effect in September 2019. It was largely symbolic as nearly 98% of three year olds were already attending Ecole Maternelle anyway but is significant because France now has one […]
Read MoreSchool Data Updates
Primary assessment and accountability update: Autumn 2020
There is so much going on right now regarding statutory assessment and accountability measures that I thought I’d have a go at summarising it all and provide the links to the relevant documents. So, no messing about, let’s get on with it. The Engagement Model and P Scales Along with the changes to Development Matters […]
Read MoreProblem with Progress (for Governors): slides and video
Please click here to download the slides for the ‘Problem with Progress’ webinar for governors run on 23rd Nov 2020 And here’s the link to the video.
Read MoreClimbing and the art of data minimalism
When Reinhold Messner climbed Everest in 1980, solo and without supplemental oxygen, it marked a watershed in the history of climbing. Prior to this extraordinary achievement – previously considered beyond the realms of human possibility – expeditions were huge and complex affairs requiring military logistics. Hundreds of porters would ferry massive loads and establish base […]
Read MoreThe thorny issue of tracking in Early Years
Tracking in the Early Years Foundation Stage is a mess. We’re not talking about statutory assessment here – of the Reception Baseline and the Foundation Stage Profile. This is about day-to-day data collection, especially across the reception year, for the purpose of monitoring pupil progress. I use the phrase ‘day-to-day’ deliberately because let’s admit it: […]
Read MoreThe problem with progress: a guide
Six years on from the government announcing its intention to get rid of levels, many schools are still struggling with the issue of how best to measure progress. An increasing number, however, are coming to realise an inconvenient truth: that maybe it just can’t be done and any attempt to do so is a waste […]
Read MoreWhat is a tracking system for?
Before I get started answering this question, I want to make one thing clear: I’m not keen on the word ‘tracking’ in the context of school data management. I think it’s slightly sinister and misleading. Tracking is what hunters do; and what the military does with missiles. I think we need a better name. How […]
Read MorePrimary school accountability: a manifesto for change
If there was ever a time to review the nature and purpose of primary school accountability measures, it is now. No data will be collected this year: no early years foundation stage profile, no phonics outcomes, no key stage 1 teacher assessments , no multiplication tables check scores, no key stage 2 results. There will […]
Read MoreA shaggy dog story
Once, whilst out running in the Cotswold Hills, I was approached through the woods by a family with three terriers. Two of the dogs were out in front, jostling for position, neither particularly interested in me; and bringing up the rear several metres behind the family was a much older one, ambling along at his […]
Read MoreOfsted Infographics: a look at inspection outcomes under current and previous frameworks
I’ve recently been posting a series of infographics of Ofsted inspection data on my timeline. This has prompted a lot of discussion so I thought it would be useful to publish them all in one place here. First, here’s a breakdown of the various categories of inspection that have taken place under the new EIF […]
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