Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 29
29
Rejected
Department relies on outdated Outcome Delivery Plan metrics for tracking progress and accountability.
Conclusion
The Department pointed us to the performance metrics that it published every year in its Outcome Delivery Plan. It said that it published a wide range of metrics at Key Stages 2 and 4, and the results of Key Stage 1 tests such as the phonics screening check. The Department assured us that it used all of these measures to hold itself to account, and that it expected other people to use them to hold it to account for progress.58 We note, however, that the Department’s most recent Outcome Delivery Plan was published in July 2021, nearly two years ago.59 53 Committee of Public Accounts, COVID-19: Support for children’s education, Third Report of Session 2021–22, HC 240, 26 May 2021; HM Treasury, Treasury Minutes – Government responses to the Committee of Public Accounts on the First to the Sixth reports from Session 2021–22, August 2021 (page 11) 54 C&AG’s Report, para 3.3 55 HM Government, Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child, March 2022, page 11 56 C&AG’s Report, para 3.4 57 Q 101 58 Q 102 59 Department for Education, DfE Outcome Delivery Plan: 2021 to 2022, published 15 July 2021 14 Education recovery in schools in England
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the implicit recommendation concerning its performance metrics, stating it already publishes national attainment data for various key stages and critical programmes. It indicates these, along with ambitions in the Schools White Paper, collectively provide measures for progress.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department already publishes national attainment data, for phonics, key stage 1, key stage 2, key stage 4 and key stage 5, which indicate trends in attainment and pupil progress. The department also publishes data on key performance indicators and critical programmes, including through its annual reports and accounts. Collectively, these provide measures of progress for improving the school system. The Schools White Paper Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child (published March 2022) set out the department’s ambitions for schools in England and approach to raising attainment for all pupils, including through ensuring a supply of high-quality teachers, improving standards in classrooms through effective, evidence-based programmes and providing children and young people with the additional support they may need, such as tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme. The department has increased the core schools’ budget by an additional £2 billion in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and continues to build a stronger school system, delivering the recommendations of the Academies regulatory and commissioning review (published March 2023) and taking forward the Special educational needs and disability (SEND) and alternative provision improvement plan (published March 2023). Statistics on attainment in KS1, KS2 and phonics at regional and local authority level and broken down by pupil and school characteristics will be published in Autumn 2023. This will provide the department with the latest picture of progress towards the 2030 ambitions on attainment. Detailed 2023 attainment data across key stage 2 and key stage 4 will not be available prior to the 2023 summer parliamentary recess. Key stage 2 national statistics were released on 11 July 2023. This shows that overall, more pupils met the expected standard in this year’s mathematics and writing assessments than last year, and although reading has declined from last year it remains consistent with results in 2019 prior to the pandemic. The department continues to use evidence and wider insights to review progress towards our 2030 ambitions, across different cohorts and phases, to determine how best to support all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.