2026 Summer Term

The know zone

  • Disadvantaged pupils: Decoding the data
    With growing policy focus on disadvantaged pupils, schools must utilise data to improve student outcomes. Tiffnie Harris explores what leaders should prepare for. More
  • Breaking the cycle
    Claire Green says meaningful reform means moving beyond endless GCSE resits and tackling the causes of low attainment much earlier. More
  • The power of three
    As schools face growing financial and operational pressures, Emma Harrison explores how a new joint report makes the case for a more integrated approach to leadership across governance, education and business. More
  • The missing 'word'
    As debate continues about how to solve the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, pensions remain largely absent from the conversation. Melanie Moffatt argues that overlooking the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) risks undermining one of the profession's greatest strengths. More
  • No phone zone
    With the government set to place existing mobile phone guidance on a statutory footing, we're keen to hear how schools are responding. Do you already have a policy in place, and what does it look like? Here, ASCL members have their say. More
  • Open-door leadership
    Deputy Headteacher Kate Johnston reflects on ASCL Council, shaping policy, and how an open-door approach underpins her leadership. More
  • Ofsted for Parents
    School leaders often feel they're held accountable for almost every aspect of young people's lives. But what if parents faced similar scrutiny? Carl Smith explores an Ofsted inspection for parents. More

With growing policy focus on disadvantaged pupils, schools must utilise data to improve student outcomes. Tiffnie Harris explores what leaders should prepare for.

Disadvantaged pupils: Decoding the data

A laser focus on disadvantaged children and young people now runs through government education policy, curriculum reform and the inspection framework. The challenge for schools is to improve outcomes while ensuring pupils are supported to thrive socially and emotionally. Understanding socio-economic pressures on families is essential if leaders are to respond effectively. This sits alongside increasing expectations for leaders to demonstrate data literacy in shaping inclusive practice across all year groups. It also reflects a broader shift towards evidence-informed decision making in education policy and accountability frameworks. Ultimately, this means schools must continuously review how disadvantage is understood, not just recorded. 

Government data shows approximately four million children living in poverty in the UK, equating to roughly 8 in every 30 children in a typical classroom. The School Food Standards Consultation (tinyurl.com/3jdxs96z) highlights concerns that more than 10.5% of children aged four to five are starting school with obesity, rising to 22.2% by the end of primary, and almost 30% in the most deprived areas. These figures underline the urgency of improving nutrition and physical activity in primary settings. These challenges cannot be solved by schools alone, but a strong grasp of both internal and national data is essential for prioritising classroom focus. Recent reforms also place emphasis on wellbeing, recognising that disadvantage affects readiness to learn as well as attainment. Leaders are therefore required to triangulate academic data with safeguarding and pastoral information. National datasets available through DfE statistics (www.gov.uk/government/statistics/key-stage-2- attainment-revised-2025) provide an essential starting point for analysis.

National data signals

Schools can explore these patterns through Analyse School Performance accessed via DfE Sign-in (https://services.signin.education.gov.uk/) that provides detailed reports on attainment and progress. Governors should routinely access this system to support their strategic oversight role. Hovering over data icons allows leaders and governors to view pupil characteristics and compare performance against national averages. Effective use of these tools supports both accountability and improvement planning across leadership teams.

The Inspection Data Summary Report (tinyurl.com/ykp44uw6) should be closely examined, particularly given its recent expansion in length. It helps leaders ensure school improvement priorities align with published data and inspection expectations. Clear understanding of inspection expectations reduces uncertainty for school leaders and governors. Leaders should consider whether their priorities align with what is set out in the Inspection Data Summary Report guidance.

School-level evidence

The attendance dashboard (https://viewyourdata.education.gov.uk/) and national attendance data (tinyurl.com/2p9swwzb) can also be used to compare absence rates with local authority averages. Accessing the attendance and behaviour data collection helps leaders monitor patterns over time. High-quality data interpretation is essential for informed leadership decisions. Evidence of improvement is rarely attributable to a single intervention but more often reflects sustained leadership of culture and expectations over time. It is important to recognise that schools alone cannot change the socio-economic circumstances in which pupils grow up. 

However, understanding pupils’ day-to-day experience alongside attainment data can significantly improve life chances. Ultimately, data should be used to illuminate practice rather than simple evidence compliance. Action must follow insight. While data is essential, it should not be interpreted in isolation from lived experience, as quantitative measures rarely capture the full complexity of pupils’ home and community contexts. 

Strong leadership therefore requires a balance between data analysis, professional judgement, and sustained attention to culture and relationships within the school environment. Over time, the most effective schools use data not as a performance measure alone but as a tool for continuous improvement and equity-driven decision making. 

We must also recognise that sustained improvement for disadvantaged pupils depends on collaboration across education, health and social care services rather than relying on schools to act in isolation from wider systems of support. 

This joined-up approach is critical if gaps in attainment are to close sustainably over the long term and should inform how schools design interventions, allocate resources and evaluate impact, so that disadvantage is understood as a whole system challenge rather than a narrow performance metric for accountability alone. 

Tiffnie Harris
ASCL Primary and Data Specialist
@tiffharris.bsky.social

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