Colleges and schools will have to show key performance data on their website home pages under Department for Education (DfE) proposals that went out to consultation today.
The at-a-glance post-16 measures will include students’ progress in academic subjects or Tech Levels as well as students’ average grades in each category.
Colleges and school sixth forms would also be expected to show the progress made by students who joined them without a C in English and / or maths, what proportion of their students drop out, and what proportion of their students go on to further study, a job or training at the end of their courses (when data is robust enough).
The consultation ends on July 4 with the proposals expected to come into force from 2016.
Schools Minister David Laws said: “The information that will be published online by every school and college in future will support parents when choosing the best school or college for their child and help them challenge poor performance.”
Current guidelines already require schools to publish information on performance. However, where and how this information is presented varies between schools and colleges. A DfE spokesperson said this made it “difficult and time-consuming” for parents to find information. Up until now colleges have not been required to publish evidence of their performance online.
It comes after a similar Ofsted consultation ended last month that would allow its inspection reports to be used for comparison between school sixth forms and colleges. The education watchdog is looking at introducing a separate inspection grade for school sixth forms.
However, DfE’s proposals also affect primary schools, who will have to show pupils’ progress from age four to 11, among other things. And secondary schools will have to show pupils’ progress from age 11 to 16, including average grades across eight subjects.
Your thoughts