This page contains links to some of the data sources Free School groups use in compiling their application.
You need data to demonstrate your rationale for the school, and to back up your evidence of demand. It is also helpful in building your budget and providing detailed assumptions.
Performance of local schools
- Ofsted reports of local schools can be found on their website here http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report.
- The latest performance tables can be found here http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/
Ofsted have launched an interactive data dashboard, through which you can find and compare schools’ data on progress, attendance, exam results and the extent to which they are narrowing the gap. This dashboard can be found here: http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/
Oversubscription and pupil movement
- These sets of data can help you to investigate educational provision across your Local Authority and can give you an idea of how your proposed school will fit in to the existing provision. This information can help you to find out whether schools in your Local Authority are oversubscribed, and can also provide more general information such as average class sizes and literacy and numeracy statistics http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/rsgateway/search.pl?cat=1&subcat=1_2_2&q1=Search
- http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000843/index.shtml This table lists, by LA, cross border movement of pupils resident in England (pupils who have to travel outside their local area to get to school.
Local data
- The DfE allows you to look for your local data here http://www.education.gov.uk/inyourarea/
- You can find a range of local authority data on schools on the DfE’s research and statistics gateway http://education.gov.uk/rsgateway/. You can search by keyword or by category on the left hand side.
- You can see local NEETs data here http://www.education.gov.uk/a0064101/16-to-18-year-olds-not-in-education-employment-or-training-neet
- The ONS Neighbourhood statistics page is a rich mine of data on the local area http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/;
- You can search by area in the search tool provided by LA, super output area or ward;
- If you want to see comparative data by area you should click on the ‘topics’ tab below the main search tool. For example you can see results between FSM and non FSM pupils by residence at below LA level here http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/instanceSelection.do?JSAllowed=true&Function=&%24ph=60_61&CurrentPageId=61&step=2&datasetFamilyId=1656&instanceSelection=129924&Next.x=14&Next.y=5.
Budgeting for your school
- Academy expenditure can be downloaded from this page http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/academies.html
- You can also see relative spending by local authorities here http://education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001105/index.shtml
- The Academy Network website has a lot of information on Academy funding, including a good overview, which can be found here: http://www.academynetwork.co.uk/blog/2011/1/26/academyfunding.html.
- School benchmarking websites:
- Financial benchmarking website for schools: This can be accessed using a Guest Login: https://sfb.teachernet.gov.uk/login.aspx
- The DfE school budgeting page produces charts that allow you to compare your budget to other similar schools (click on the ‘facility’ link): http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/consistentreporting/benchmarking.
- School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (Reference:DFE-00091-2012) this gives details of current national teachers’ pay scales and conditions http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/statutory/g00213238/teachers-pay-conditions-2012