Understanding data is essential in order to celebrate a school's strengths, validate the leaders' development priorities, and highlight where improvement is needed. During inspection, inspectors will use the IDSR and evidence gathered on site to support their judgements. This course will help leaders to interpret data in order to understand their school context, pupil characteristics and achievement, and identify strengths and areas for improvement.

- To review the contextual information on the school and the pupils, considering factors such as attendance, EAL, SEND and deprivation
- To examine IDSR and LSIP to interpret and analyse school and group attainment, including disadvantaged pupils. Significance labels and confidence intervals will be explained
- To identify strengths and priorities for development for school and groups
- To develop a narrative overview of key contextual and attainment data which can be used to inform school improvement planning.

" [Inspections]… are structured but also flexible, adapting to context, responding to evidence and concentrating on what matters most for pupils. Learning walks are important and allow leaders to share their context as they are showing inspectors around their school." Inspection information for state-funded schools: for use from November 2025 Published 9 September 2025.

During Ofsted's initial planning phone call, inspectors will aim to have a "meaningful and professional conversation about the school, its context, and leaders’ views about its strengths and priorities for improvement." (School Inspection Operating Guide for Inspectors). During the planning phone call and throughout the inspection, it will be key for schools to be able to clearly describe their context and how this influences their school development priorities. Ofsted will look for evidence to support from two sources: the IDSR and on-site evidence.

The course will support schools to understand and explain the context of their setting, and prepare for conversations during inspection. The course will run by members of the Assessment Support Team, Data team and SSP team who will be able to explain and guide you to make best use of the data.

During the session, delegates will:
- Analyse School Context with Confidence - Explore key contextual information about your school and its pupils—such as attendance, EAL, SEND, and levels of deprivation—to gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing performance and progress.

- Interpret IDSR and LSIP Effectively - develop confidence in reading, interpreting and analysing the IDSR and LSIP, including whole school and pupil group attainment . Understand significant confidence interval lines, and the performance of disadvantaged pupils to build a clear picture of strengths and concerns.

- Identify Strengths and Priorities for Improvement. Use contextual and attainment data to determine what your school is doing well and where targeted improvement is needed—both at whole school level and for specific pupil groups.
- Create a Powerful Data Narrative - Develop a clear, coherent narrative of your key contextual and attainment data that can directly inform strategic school improvement planning and be confidently articulated to inspectors.

The cost of the course is at a reduced rate of £150 for the first delegate. Many schools have found it beneficial for two senior leaders to discuss and analyse information together. So to support schools further, a second place will be offered for the discounted price of £20

YOU WILL NEED TO BRING A LAPTOP OR DEVICE TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR IDSR, ASP and LSIP (IF APPLICABLE). Please feel free to bring any other additional data sources that you use.