Exclusions and suspensions in 2025/26
An update to our regular series using attendance data to gauge the rate of exclusion and suspension in the whole of the 2025/26 academic year.
The links between disadvantage and the achievement grade in school inspection
Recent Ofsted analysis showed that achievement grades in inspection were related to the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. We dig into this a bit more.
When is it too late? What exclusions tell us about classroom disruption
A summary of some new research examining how the timing of excluding disruptive pupils affects the outcomes of peers at the same school.
Outcomes for pupils with low reading attainment at Key Stage 2
Low attainment in Key Stage 2 reading tests does not necessarily lead to poor outcomes at secondary school, but it does increase the chances of poor outcomes.
Best-fit progress: Is it worth it?
The Department for Education are consulting on a new "best-fit progress" measure for pupils with low prior attainment at the end of Key Stage 2. But does it offer any more beyond the existing Progress 8 measure?
Are DfE right to ditch confidence intervals?
DfE are proposing a change to the way they calculate bandings that summarise schools' progress scores. We look at the pros and cons of doing so.
Making sense of school performance data in 2025
This year's published secondary school performance data shows why Progress 8 (or something like it) is needed, despite its flaws
How many pupils really are severely absent?
Is it right to say that there were over 170 thousand children who were severely absent in 2023/24?
What will be the impact of the Curriculum and Assessment Review on subject take-up at Key Stage 4?
With the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review imminent, we look at the extent to which schools offer different subjects at Key Stage 4, and how entry patterns have been changing in the last few years