The first release of a data summary sheet for each school.

I am pleased to inform you of the availability of a new development we are calling 'Key Data'. This is a data set that is consistent for all schools, from it we hope that schools, governors, LEA Officers & Advisers will be able to begin to form an opinion of strengths, weakness and development issues for the school.

The Key data development has three significant benefits:

1. It brings together the essential data that is already in the public domain or is already shared between schools and the LEA into a single consistent format.

2. The data is linked to relevant data in the existing suite of analyses in Improving Performance Step by Step 'IPSS'. This means that if you identify an item within Key Data that may be of particular interest, you can 'drill down' to gain more information and a better understanding.

3. Key Data is grouped to support the School Self Review process and will, in time for the next round, provide links through to the School Self Review data collection application.

Between now and the New Year we would value feedback on this development. There is a feedback form on your Key Data page on EsiNet. We will use the feedback to inform any further work that needs to be done to improve Key Data. Whilst we want the development to be as useful as possible to all concerned, we must strike a balance between what is deemed to be 'key' and that which is not.

How we see Key Data working in most schools

A key point in the year when the analysis of the school's accumulating data is most important is at School Self Review. Key Data has been designed to support this process by bringing together already existing data that can support each stage in the self-review process. It is not intended that Key Data will be the only data source to support the process, you will no doubt have your own data sources you wish to use to support your self-review.

As you work on each element of the self-review you can 'drill-down' into IPSS to get the best possible understanding of the available data. When you are ready to proceed, you will be able to click on the SSR link to go to the School Self Review application to build your School Self Review report. An advantage of this approach is that your RDA will be accessing the same data throughout. Access to the School Self Review system will be enabled for the 2005/6 round, but we hope that in the meantime schools will become familiar with Key Data and what it can offer.

Key Data is not finished yet

As well as adding any useful developments that you or other schools may suggest, we are aware of an important area of Key Data that is not yet finished. An important driver of 'Every Child Matters' is detailed information at school level on specific groups of children e.g. looked after, English as a second language etc. We have significant data problems to overcome to make this available and so ask for your patience.

We will also be working to ensure the School Self Review links are available for the next round.

Some questions & answers about Key Data

Is there any data I haven't seen before? The only new data is the 'Social Deprivation Measure' provided in the Contextual section of your Key Data statement. What this is and how this works is provided as an appendix to this MI Sheet.

When will Key Data 'and IPSS' be updated? We try to update once we have the final release of data from the providing body. We try not to use the first release of data as this is often too unreliable. This means that Key Data are constantly being changed as different data items are updated.

Who can see it? Key Data can only be seen by your school i.e. those who have access to your 'My School' passwords and LEA officers. You cannot see other school's Key Data. This is because some of the data, in particular the School Self Review grades, are confidential to individual schools. However, as before, IPSS remains open to all schools, so you will still be able to compare your school against others.

Can I print it? Key Data has been designed to be printable. However we recommend that this option should only be used when absolutely necessary as the data will change fairly regularly and the hyperlinks to IPSS and the School Self Review system will only work on-line.

How can I put my ideas forward to improve Key Data/IPSS? IPSS was built in consultation with schools; we would like Key Data to develop in the same way. If you have any ideas, comments or questions please use the feedback button at the end of the Key Data sheet.

Are there any further developments in the pipeline? The DfES and Ofsted are keen to see schools make greater use of the data available to them. We hope that Key Data makes this data both more accessible and useful. However we intend to supplement this with guidance on how to use the other tools available in IPSS.

Where is my Key Data sheet

The Key Data sheet can be accessed from 'My School'. Log in using your dfes number and password, and it will appear on the the front page. Alternatively click here to view it.

APPENDIX

Calculating a Social Deprivation measure for your school

For some time now the number of pupils taking Free School Meals (FSM) has been used as a measure of the social deprivation of schools. For a range of reasons schools have been unhappy about the use of FSM data in this way. Therefore we have been looking for an appropriate additional comparator to provide a statistical alternative to support school based deprivation data.

A long standing statistic used by Government to measure social deprivation is the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). This statistic is a combination of nationally agreed measures, each of which points to an area of social deprivation within a household. Each of these individual measures is taken during the Census and are used individually or collectively to inform a wide range of National and local policy initiatives. Unfortunately, due to data protection issues the IMD for a single household cannot be made available. Until recently the most detailed IMD measure has been for an electoral Ward. An electoral Ward is too large an area from which meaningful measures of the social deprivation of the pupils in a school can be made. So, although preferable, IMD was not a realistic alternative to FSM. However recently released statistics from the 2001 Census include an IMD measure for something called a Super Output Area (SOA). An SOA is a group of 10 adjoining postcodes. The SOA therefore allows work at a much finer scale than Wards. So it is now a practical proposition to calculate the social deprivation factor of a school based on IMD.

Calculating your school's IMD measure

Each SOA has within it 10 postcode areas. The postcode of each pupil in your school can be assigned the IMD measure for the SOA into which the postcode falls. The average IMD for all the pupils in your school in September is then calculated. We used the postcodes you recorded in Phoenix (or its equivalent). This is the school's IMD measure.

Notes of caution

• A ten postcode area is about 100 houses. Clearly, the range of social deprivation across 100 houses could be significant, but this is the best level of accuracy available.

• Although your school's IMD will be recalculated annually, the IMDs on which it will be based are derived from the 2001 Census, so over time they will age until the next census.

Is IMD a more accurate measure of social deprivation than FSM?

Without access to the IMD of individual households, any use of IMD will be a compromise. The main concern about FSM was the way in which take up could vary so much from school to school due to local amenities and circumstances. At least with IMD the cautionary notes apply to all schools so there is a reduced chance of local anomaly. It also reflects a broader range of deprivation factors than FSM.

What next?

The recognition of the value of the IMD measure of Social Deprivation is growing in several LEAs, however FSM will continue to be used by government agencies e.g. Ofsted. We will therefore provide both measures for the foreseeable future.

Under the new Ofsted Framework the headteacher's ability to tease out issues within the context of their school and relate these to the school's policies and practice will be key. It will be an important factor in the judgements relating to leadership and management. The new IMD measure may therefore provide new evidence to support specific strategies where, until now, the school has had none; or where the school feels the FSM data runs counter to their own local knowledge.

What is the 2004 IMD measure for my school?

The 2004 IMD measure for your school, and the two previous years, is available within your Key Data statement.