Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to amend the methodology for Progress 8 to take account of its effect in schools in white working class areas with high levels of deprivation.

The Department recently received correspondence from the Principal of a secondary school in Wythenshawe and Sale East on the perceived local effects of Progress 8. Officials will ensure the honourable member receives a copy of the Department’s response to the Principal.

Progress 8 is designed to recognise the progress made by all pupils across the ability range, compared to pupils nationally with similar starting points. By taking prior attainment into account, it encourages schools to focus on lower attaining pupils as much as their higher attaining peers and means that schools with a challenging intake can demonstrate that their pupils are making positive progress.

The Department understands concerns that schools with challenging intakes can have lower progress scores. That is why a range of additional contextual information is available on the performance tables website, including performance for different characteristic groups, such as disadvantaged pupils. Schools should not be judged solely on their performance data. Ofsted, the Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities take a wide range of factors into account when considering school performance more broadly, including the make-up of a school’s cohort. There are therefore no plans at present to amend the Progress 8 methodology in the way proposed by the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East.