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| Schools to get annual report cards | Schools to get annual report cards |
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| Schools are to be given annual report cards showing their exam results and attendance rates. | Schools are to be given annual report cards showing their exam results and attendance rates. |
| Ofsted is to publish a one-page public overview for every primary and secondary in England amid concerns that governors need more information to hold their schools to account. | Ofsted is to publish a one-page public overview for every primary and secondary in England amid concerns that governors need more information to hold their schools to account. |
| Ofsted's chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, warned that some school governors were not up to scratch and would rather spend time "looking at the quality of lunches and not enough on maths and English". | Ofsted's chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, warned that some school governors were not up to scratch and would rather spend time "looking at the quality of lunches and not enough on maths and English". |
| The new report card – the "school data dashboard" – will give information on how well a school is performing in test and exam results, as well as attendance, compared with other similar schools. | The new report card – the "school data dashboard" – will give information on how well a school is performing in test and exam results, as well as attendance, compared with other similar schools. |
| Ofsted said it will publish the documents, updated annually, for more than 20,000 state primary and secondary schools. | Ofsted said it will publish the documents, updated annually, for more than 20,000 state primary and secondary schools. |
| At an event to mark the launch, Wilshaw is expected to say that governors should have access to the right information to understand and challenge their school, with no excuses for those that fail to do so. | At an event to mark the launch, Wilshaw is expected to say that governors should have access to the right information to understand and challenge their school, with no excuses for those that fail to do so. |
| "The school data dashboard I am launching today raises the stakes," he said. | "The school data dashboard I am launching today raises the stakes," he said. |
| "Many governors know their school well already. But for those that don't, there are now no excuses. Inspectors will be very critical of governing bodies who, despite the dashboard, still don't know their school well enough." | "Many governors know their school well already. But for those that don't, there are now no excuses. Inspectors will be very critical of governing bodies who, despite the dashboard, still don't know their school well enough." |
| He adds: "Good governors focus on the big issues: the quality of teaching, the progress and achievement of their pupils, and the culture which supports this. | He adds: "Good governors focus on the big issues: the quality of teaching, the progress and achievement of their pupils, and the culture which supports this. |
| "The best governing boards get the balance right between support and challenge. They ask the right questions, whatever school they're in – maintained schools, in individual academies, and especially in academy chains, where focused governance has brought about the greatest improvements." | "The best governing boards get the balance right between support and challenge. They ask the right questions, whatever school they're in – maintained schools, in individual academies, and especially in academy chains, where focused governance has brought about the greatest improvements." |
| The 6,000 schools currently considered less than good by Ofsted usually have issues with their leadership, including governors, Wilshaw said. | The 6,000 schools currently considered less than good by Ofsted usually have issues with their leadership, including governors, Wilshaw said. |
| "Poor governance focuses on the marginal rather than the key issues. In other words, too much time spent looking at the quality of school lunches and not enough on maths and English." | "Poor governance focuses on the marginal rather than the key issues. In other words, too much time spent looking at the quality of school lunches and not enough on maths and English." |
| Wilshaw is also expected to call for more paid governors, and more professional governors to help run schools. | Wilshaw is also expected to call for more paid governors, and more professional governors to help run schools. |
| Primary schools will be compared with 120 others whose pupils had similar levels of attainment when they started. | Primary schools will be compared with 120 others whose pupils had similar levels of attainment when they started. |
| Secondaries will be compared with 60 similar secondary schools. | Secondaries will be compared with 60 similar secondary schools. |
| Brian Lightman, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "It is absolutely right that governors and parents should hold schools to account, and access to data is a part of this. | Brian Lightman, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "It is absolutely right that governors and parents should hold schools to account, and access to data is a part of this. |
| "However, all data, especially 'simple' statistics, comes with a health warning. It should encourage people to ask more questions, not to draw premature conclusions. Reciting statistics about how a school is performing is much different from really understanding its strong points and areas for development." | |
| The last Labour government set out proposals for a US-style report card in a white paper published in 2009. Under the plans every school was to be ranked on a number of measures and given a final overall grade. | |
| Half of the measures will be based on pupil attainment; the others include pupil and parent perceptions and pupil wellbeing, which includes discipline, attendance, sport and healthy eating. | Half of the measures will be based on pupil attainment; the others include pupil and parent perceptions and pupil wellbeing, which includes discipline, attendance, sport and healthy eating. |
| Emma Knights, the chief executive of the National Governors Association, said it shared Wilshaw's aim to raise the standards of governing bodies. | Emma Knights, the chief executive of the National Governors Association, said it shared Wilshaw's aim to raise the standards of governing bodies. |
| "We are completely and utterly in agreement with him that there should be no governing bodies in the country that are not doing their jobs better," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. | "We are completely and utterly in agreement with him that there should be no governing bodies in the country that are not doing their jobs better," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. |
| However, Knights expressed concern about his plans for annual report cards. | |
| "What we are slightly worried about is that actually most governing bodies use data in a much more sophisticated fashion than this data dashboard," she said. | "What we are slightly worried about is that actually most governing bodies use data in a much more sophisticated fashion than this data dashboard," she said. |