Using data holistically at Ibstock Place School

Seeing the big picture for each student

As a selective, highly academic school, it is important to monitor progress and gain early indications of students who may be under-performing in this fast-paced learning environment. Christine has lots of contact with the new Year 7s and uses the MidYIS data holistically, sharing it with faculty heads and teachers and using it as a starting point to gain a bigger picture of each student.

‘We find it really useful to look at a breakdown of the MidYIS scores, particularly comparing Reading Comprehension scores and the Proofreading and Perceptual Speed and Accuracy scores, as we find that good teaching and independent school confidence can sometimes mask more complex profiles and learning needs.

‘We use the overall MidYIS score as a starting point to compare to performance,’ Christine explains. ‘But we also collate the whole range of other information that is available for the student including information from previous schools, notes from the interview and registration forms, as well as early comments from teachers.

‘All this information is then translated into a spreadsheet of all students, which is colour-coded and shared with the Maths and English faculties, helping us to immediately identify points of interest or areas of concern, for individuals and the whole cohort.’

Using data to make a difference in the classroom

Christine explains how the data is embedded into classroom practice to support high-quality planning, teaching and learning. Becoming familiarised with this type of data forms part of teachers’ ongoing data literacy.

‘The Housemasters and Heads of Faculty for each subject share the information with teachers and it informs faculty planning, schemes of work and lesson planning. Our teachers are positive, engaged and interested in making use of data,’ Christine explains. ‘It is important to have a holistic, longitudinal and contextual understanding of the data and how it relates to students.

‘Sharing the MidYIS student profiles with teachers stimulates discussion and leads to the setting of appropriate levels of challenge. It can also be the starting point for the development of interventions, and senior management can also use it to identify where resources need to be allocated'.