How we compare primary school performance

Watch How we compare primary school performance - National World - National Videos on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Hello, my name is Amber Ellett, and I'm a journalist specialising in education.

00:04The new 2025-2026 skill year is edging ever closer,

00:09and for parents with a child entering reception this year,

00:12there's not long to go now until their school career can formally begin.

00:16The primary school years are an incredibly important part of a young child's life,

00:20where they'll build up a strong academic and social foundation

00:23that they can fall back on for the rest of their lives.

00:26This is why it's so important that their school community is the right fit for them,

00:30and for your family, and why starting at a new one can be so nerve-wracking.

00:35Of course, comparing schools is no easy feat,

00:39and pupils' grades certainly aren't the only thing that's worth looking at.

00:43This is why we've come up with our own metric to compare performance across state-funded primary schools.

00:49Here's how it works.

00:50The key figure we use to rate school performance is the proportion of each school's pupils

00:56who completed Year 6 in the most recent academic year,

01:00and met the government's expected standards in three essential areas – reading, writing, and maths.

01:06These are key academic skills, but are assessed by their teachers, or via children's SAT exams.

01:12Because they sit these tests right at the end of their time in primary school,

01:16they can be a helpful measure to illustrate how effectively a school is helping its pupils master the basics.

01:23But to balance it out, we also look at each school's latest Ofsted inspection.

01:28These inspections are undergoing some big changes at the moment,

01:31but in order to be included in one of our lists,

01:34schools must have had a good or outstanding overall grade under the previous system,

01:38or positive ratings across all categories under the new one.

01:43What this means is that the quality of education they provide,

01:46student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management,

01:50and safeguarding practices were all found to meet or exceed government standards,

01:55all important things for parents to know about.