Measure schools on pupil inclusion as well as results

A new research paper by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), calls for multi-academy trusts and other school groups to be judged on a wider range of measures relating to pupil inclusion to allow for more informative comparisons.

Previous research has measured the effectiveness of these groups, but this has mainly focused on pupil progress and attainment.

The EPI paper, which is sponsored by the National Education Union (NEU), argues that solely focusing on these measures has serious limitations and can lead to exclusionary practices, such as not admitting vulnerable children, excluding them or “off-rolling” them before they sit their GCSEs.

The research paper proposes that school groups should be judged on positive examples of pupil inclusion, alongside progress and attainment.

The inclusion measures proposed – based on school choice, attendance and exclusions and pupil achievement – would serve as a means for school groups to benchmark their progress against others and identify improvements.

EPI is seeking feedback on the proposed measures of pupil inclusion in its paper and is encouraging organisations to engage in a new consultation, which is open until 14 March 2022. This will then feed into a final report published in Summer 2022.