News

Inclusion tool to give ‘balanced view’ of school performance

EPI tool allows councils and academy trusts to be compared based on how inclusive they are.

Bigger trusts get better exam results for poorer pupils, but are more likely than others to suspend children and have higher unexplained exits, according to a new inclusion tool.

The Education Policy Institute think tank has today launched a new online tool that allows school groups – councils and academy trusts – to be compared based on how inclusive they are.

Measures include admissions, exclusions and attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Louis Hodge, associate director at EPI, said it wanted to “promote a more balanced picture of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different school groups” rather than solely focusing on attainment.

A report published alongside the tool found trusts with ten or more schools have on average higher rates of persistent absence, suspension and unexplained exits, than smaller multi-academy trusts (MATs) and councils.

However, they admit more disadvantaged pupils and achieve better outcomes for those youngsters.

Researchers said there was “considerably more” variation among school group types – for instance, between different trusts – than between councils and trusts overall.

Resource