This year’s categorisation information published today shows that
there has been an improvement in school performance.
The National School Categorisation System, introduced in 2014,
places schools into one of four colour-coded support categories
to demonstrate the level of support they need - green, yellow,
amber and red.
There are now more schools in the green and yellow categories
when compared to last year. Green schools require just four days
of support and yellow schools receive up to 10 days of support.
Last year a change was made to the factors that decide a school’s
category. There is now a much broader assessment that considers a
wider variety of information including wellbeing and the quality
of teaching and learning, rather than just looking at areas such
as performance, including GCSE results.
The purpose of including a broader and more sophisticated range
of factors is to understand the kind of support needed by a
school and to give parents a better picture of how a school is
performing.
In summary:
- 88.4 per cent of primary schools and 69.4 per cent of
secondary schools are now in the green and yellow categories.
This increase from last year continues the upward trend since
2015.
- There has been a rise in the number of schools in the green
category – those schools requiring least support - by 6.2
percentage points to 41.6 per cent.
- The proportion of red schools – those identified as needing
most support – is around the same as last year (a small decrease
on 0.1 per cent) in the primary sector. In the secondary sector,
this has decreased by 1.8 percentage points.
- 52.5 per cent of special schools have been categorised as
green, and needing less support, with no schools categorised as
red and in need of most support.
Cabinet Secretary for Education said:
“I’m pleased to see that even more of our schools are now in the
green and yellow categories, continuing on with the upward trend
we have seen over the past few years.
“These schools have a key role to play in supporting other
schools to improve by sharing their expertise, skills and good
practice.
“The system has become more sophisticated over time and now
allows for a much broader range of factors about a school’s
ability to improve to be taken into account – leading to a
tailored programme of support
and intervention which meets the needs of all pupils.”
Notes for editors
- The National School Categorisation System was introduced in
September 2014.
- Jointly constructed between Welsh Government and the 4
regional consortia.
- This system is not purely data driven but also takes into
account the quality of leadership, teaching and learning in our
schools.
- Holistic approach to school improvement, context of the
school taken into account. Determines the level of support a
school requires to support it to improve.
Infographics with top-line figures are attached.
