Sunderland pupils still lag behind national counterparts despite improved Progress 8 score

Progress 8 - the benchmark on which schools are judged - showed Sunderland had an average score of -0.31, meaning on average the Local Authority’s children achieved almost a third of a grade less in their GCSEs compared to children assessed as being of the same ability nationally.

However, the figure is still significantly higher than the previous year’s score of -0.5.

This was in part due to the massive improvement in progress scores at Farringdon Community Academy which was the most improved in the country and Sandhill View Academy which was also in the top 20 most improved.

Commenting on the results, Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Child Poverty and Skills, Councillor Michael Butler said: “All pupils and students are on an important journey and we must all take performance and league tables seriously.

“As we can see from these figures, the longer-term picture in our city remains one of progress and improving attainment.

“We - the City Council and Together for Children - are committed to continuing to support the multi-academy trusts and academies wherever possible to maintain the academic progress we have seen this year.”

The Progress 8 scores for the city’s schools showed one was categorised as above average, eight schools were grouped as average and nine schools were grouped as below average or well below average for pupil progress.

The floor standard for Progress 8 set by the Department for Education is -0.5, meaning children are on average attaining half a grade less in their GCSEs than their national peers of pre-assessed similar ability.

Below this score, schools may be flagged to Ofsted as a cause for concern and could be subject to a subsequent inspection.

To calculate Progress 8, each school is given a statistically calculated positive or negative value which is used to assess the progress made by pupils of the same assessed starting point when they sat their Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in Year 6 and the results then achieved in their GCSEs in Year 11.

It was introduced in 2016 as a fairer way to assess a school’s academic performance, rather than simply looking at raw grades and outcomes.

A score above zero represents that pupils made more progress, on average, than pupils across England who got similar results at the end of Year 6 while a score below means, on average, they made less.