Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) – Primary – Ofsted 2018

In December 2018 Ofsted announced changes to their Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 as well as phonics. Ofsted inspectors will use these reports when preparing for inspections and forming key lines of enquiry. All data in the IDSR is sourced from the Department for Education (DfE). Schools should note that the IDSR may include ‘areas to investigate’ that are not substantiated with supporting data in the IDSR itself.

The key change for the IDSR in 2018 is that floor standards and coasting measures have been removed from the report. This is due to the only consequence of being below these measures is that the Regional Schools Commissioner will contact a multi-academy trust (MAT) or local authority to make an optional offer of support.

The first page of the IDSR lists the ‘areas for investigation’ inspectors will use. These are broken down into key categories; KS2 progress, KS2 and KS1 attainment, phonics, EYFS and finally behaviour. During inspections there is likely to be a focus on absence and exclusions from inspectors. The report then moves on to provide context for the school or setting.

With regard to subject specific data the IDSR provides a summary of relative progression in the three key subject areas (reading, writing and maths) for KS2 over the last three years. This indicates where progression was significantly above or below national overall, by prior attainment and for disadvantaged pupils. Supporting sheets show the current cohorts progression data graphically and for individual pupils from their start points.

Key Stage 1 data is presented as a single page showing pupil performance in the four subject areas (reading, writing, maths and science). Finally, phonics marks are presented as a scaled chart against the national level.

Further guidance from Ofsted on the IDSR 2018 for primary education can be found here.