Half of the secondary schools in Bath have taken part in a major new initiative to provide parents with better information about how pupils are performing.
Oldfield School, Chew Valley School and Beechen Cliff School are amongst over 750 schools nationally that have joined together to publish their GCSE results in full in advance of the government publishing their versions of them so that parents in Bath can get a clearer picture of how each school does in terms of exam results.
The results, published at www.schoolperformancetables.org.uk allow parents to compare up to five schools at once so they can consider which school will suit their child best.
Matthew Woodville, Headteacher of Oldfield School said: “The Senior Team and I decided to involve the school in the project, as it was supported by organisations that I respect; namely PiXL and ASCL.
“I researched the concept, and was convinced that a system that gave parents more information about a school, at a time when they are making decisions about school applications rather than a narrow view of exam performance months after exam results are issued to students, was a good idea which would only assist parents in making an informed choice.
“I hope that for Oldfield School it will further our efforts in working in collaboration through our membership of the Bath Education Trust, rather than competition based solely on the outcome measure of 5+ A*-C including English and maths.
“It is too easy for school leaders to focus on that headline measure at the expense of other equally important parts of the curriculum and school life and I applaud attempts to take a more holistic approach.”
Andrew Davies, Headteacher of Beechen Cliff School said: “We very much value the Performance Tables developed by ASCL/NAHT.
“They highlight the actual academic achievement of schools and recognise that schools have done the right thing by their pupils – not responding to the whim of politicians.”
Parents in Bath and across the country are being asked to decide what information is most important to them in choosing a secondary school for their child so that the most popular options will be added to the new school performance tables.
The consultation, launched today, will result in the expansion of the performance tables for this summer.
The initiative, launched in August by ASCL, NAHT, the PiXL Club and United Learning is proving extremely popular with schools across the country using it as a way, independent of government, of allowing parents to see how they are performing.
Schools upload the exam results that pupils actually receive rather than the first entry results that the DfE will publish.
Commenting on the success of the performance tables to date, Russell Hobby, General Secretary of the NAHT said: “After this year’s volatility in results, the need for stable, honest measures of school performance has never been more clear.
“The alternative performance tables show a commitment from schools to transparency and accountability, but also enable them to demonstrate their performance whatever the sudden shifts of government policy.”
The launch of the formal consultation follows conversations with parents, teachers, a Mumsnet thread and feedback from head teachers on what families look for in deciding a school.
Launching the consultation, Jon Coles, Chief Executive of United Learning said: “We know that what parents look for in choosing a school is far more than academic performance.
“By expanding what these tables show – whether in terms of extra-curricular activities, opportunities for pupils, attendance and university entrances – we will be able to provide parents with a free of charge, one-stop shop for accessing the information they need across their choice of local schools”.
Will Smith of the PiXL Club said: “Schools have long been looking for a comparative means of letting parents see a full range of information, not just what the government deems important.
“This consultation will give us a fuller understanding of exactly what parents want and then we will find the means to provide this information through the website in an easily accessible way”.
Parents looking to compare the GCSE performance of local schools can already access the 2014 data from those schools who have already signed up to the site at www.schoolperformancetables.org.uk.
Parents, teachers and governors can take part in the consultation via the website with the results due to be announced in February and new areas of interest to be added thereafter.