Last month we launched Schools Like Yours – a tool that helps you find similar schools to your own, where you define what similar means.
The tool has had a positive reaction, so today we’ve extended it in a number of ways.
KS2
Among the enhancements we’ve made for the Key Stage 2 version of Schools Like Yours are the following:
- replaced ‘revised’ 2018 DfE KS2 data with ‘final’ data;
- added three-year average figures for:
- the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths;
- reading progress measure;
- writing progress measure;
- maths progress measure;
- brought in more up-to-date Ofsted data;
- updated the absence data used, replacing data for 2017 with data for 2018;
- added a flag for whether a school is a coastal school or not;
- added how full a school is as a percentage of its capacity as a data item.
(For a full list of changes, see this page.)
Use Schools Like Yours for mainstream KS2 schools.
KS4
Among the enhancements we’ve made for the Key Stage 4 version of Schools Like Yours are the following:
- added six new performance measures – four Progress 8 component measures (English, maths, EBacc, open bucket), and two measures relating to number of exam entries;
- brought in more up-to-date Ofsted data;
- updated the absence data used, replacing data for 2017 with data for 2018;
- added a flag for whether a school is a coastal school or not;
- added how full a school is as a percentage of its capacity as a data item.
(For a full list of changes, see this page.)
Use Schools Like Yours for mainstream KS4 schools.
Special schools
Finally, we’re newly releasing a special schools version of Schools Like Yours today. It contains data on:
- KS2 performance;
- KS4 performance;
- school characteristics (governance, region, denomination etc.);
- pupil characteristics;
- absence;
- finance;
- workforce;
- Ofsted ratings
Use Schools Like Yours for special schools.
Feedback
Several of these features are in response to feedback that we’ve received on Schools Like Yours – so do let us know how you’re using, and what would make it more useful.
Try finding similar schools to your own now: Schools Like Yours.
And let us know what you think of the tool – get in touch via Twitter or email.
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In Schools Like Yours, if it is possible for you to do, within the “Selective” School Characteristics option where you currently have a Yes/No option, are you able to add something like “No, but in Selective Area” to the options so we can identify other secondary moderns as part of what we would consider a similar school in a selective authority such as Lincolnshire?
It doesn’t feel fair to be comparing our selective area non-selective schools against non-selective schools in non-selective areas.
Also, I appreciate the Coastal option, thanks for that… What distance from the sea is your definition of a coastal school?
Many thanks.
Hi Laura, thanks for the suggestion – I can definitely see how that would be useful. We’re planning to do another data update in early summer, so we’ll definitely consider this suggestion along with others that we’ve received when we’re thinking about what enhancements to make.
We define coastal as being within 5.5km of the coast. It’s not an official definition, but it’s one that we’ve adopted in several bits of analysis we’ve done (e.g. this recent post).
Thanks