The Education (School Performance Information) (England) Regulations 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, made under sections 29(3), 408, 537, 537A and 569(4) of the Education Act 1996, apply in relation to schools in England. They consolidate with amendments the Education (School Performance Information) (England) Regulations 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) as amended, which are revoked.

The Regulations relate to the collection and publication of information about the performance of schools.

Part I of the Regulations comprises general provisions.

Part II imposes duties on head teachers of maintained schools to make available information to governing bodies for the purpose of enabling them to comply with their obligations under these Regulations (regulation 5).

Part III contains detailed provisions relating to the provision of information to the Secretary of State and to local education authorities.

Governing bodies of maintained schools must provide local education authorities with information about first key stage assessment results (regulation 6 and Schedule 1).

Governing bodies of maintained primary or middle deemed secondary schools, including special schools, must provide the Secretary of State with information about second key stage assessment results (regulation 7 and Schedule 2).

Governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of non-maintained special schools and independent schools with pupils aged 15, 16, 17 or 18 must provide the Secretary of State with specified information about their results, including results leading to information technology key skill qualifications (regulation 8 and Schedule 3).

Governing bodies of maintained schools and the proprietors of independent and non-maintained special schools (not providing education for boarders only) must provide the Secretary of State with information about authorised and unauthorised absences (regulation 9 and Schedule 4).

Governing bodies of maintained secondary schools and the proprietors of secondary independent and non-maintained special schools must provide the Secretary of State with general information about the school (regulation 10 and Schedule 5).

Governing bodies of maintained primary schools (including middle-deemed secondary schools and special schools) must also provide the Secretary of State with general information about the school (regulation 11 and Schedule 6).

Governing bodies of maintained schools must also provide local education authorities with information about excluded pupils and permanently excluded pupils (regulations 12 Schedule 9 and regulation 13 Schedule 10).

Part IV requires governing bodies of maintained schools to provide, respectively, the National Data Collection Agency (a body which collates information about pupils' National Curriculum assessment results) and the external marking agency (a body which marks pupils' responses to National Curriculum tests) with individual pupil information relating to pupils who are at or near the end of the final year of, as the case may be, the second or third key stage (regulations 14 and 15 and Schedule 7).

Part V contains provisions relating to the publication of information. Local education authorities are required to publish certain information about the performance of pupils in National Curriculum assessments in the final year of the second key stage at maintained primary or middle-deemed secondary schools, including special schools, in their area and other general information relating to those schools (regulation 16)

They are also required to provide certain supplementary information about schools, including information about average percentage figures and average point scores relating to the performance of pupils in National Curriculum assessments in the final year of the second key stage at all maintained schools providing primary education in the area of the local education authority and at all such schools in England (regulation 16(6)).

Copies of the document containing the information to be published by the local education authority are to be provided to the Secretary of State, governing bodies of maintained schools, proprietors of City Technology Colleges and providers of nursery education in the authority’s area. They are also to be made available in public libraries in the area of the local education authority (regulation 16(7) and (8) and Schedule 8).