Today @Ofstednews produced some analysis of school inspections completed in 2025-26.

Again they published most of the analysis lumping together primary and secondary inspections (along with middle, first, all through etc) which hides any potential differences between phases.

“It’s been way more interesting than I thought it would be.”

DISCO isn't just for people who love education data. It's for those who work with it, whether they love it or not.

No matter your role, we're confident you'll leave with plenty to think about. Our Birmingham attendees s still time to join us in London on 13 November🎟️: buff.ly/j806qrH

@databusting @jpembroke @bringmoredata

Wow, DISCO Manchester!🪩🙌

Thank you to everyone who joined us for such a fantastic day, especially our speakers @jpembroke @databusting @bringmoredata @hilsary and Vicky Merrick. Weren't they brilliant?

If you were there, we'd love to hear your biggest takeaway from the day. s 👇

Ofsted’s top grade – ‘exceptional’ – is not something it can ‘simply define’, a senior HMI tells teacher-training providers
tes.com/magazine/news/…

*NEW POST* The Mechanics of Progress. KS2 progress measures are back so here’s a reminder of how they’re calculated and categorised. insightinform.co.uk/2026/11/02/the…

New from Insight Inform: The Mechanics of Progress

@jpembroke takes a look at the nuts and bolts of primary progress, explaining how these measures work.

insightinform.co.uk/2026/11/02/the…

Please read, comment and repost!

Does entering pupil assessment data take too long? 👀

Insight lets you copy previous scores, give all pupils the same score or fill scores across subjects.

Then just tweak what you need, rather than entering everything individually.

Hopefully that gives you a little time back!

Everything you need to know about the phonics screening check in one place! 📚

In his latest Insight Inform blog, @databusting explores why the check was introduced, how it works in practice and what schools can learn from the results.

We hope it's helpful: buff.ly/6KajKx8

A week's work. For two people.

That's how long it used to take one of our customers to send reports home to parents.

They were downloading and emailing every report individually.

So, imagine their reaction when we showed them they could send Parent Reports in bulk, directly it says it all. 👇

💡 New blog 💡

‘The problem with reading ages’

“The problem is not the reading assessment per se, but the common misreading of the reading age.”

[Link in thread]

Baffled by Progress 8? Confused by Ofsted?

With the school application deadline at the end of this month, I set out a detailed guide to the key factors to consider when choosing a secondary school - and how to interpret them.

edrith.co.uk/p/how-to-choos…

Good to see @Ofstednews publishing some analysis on similar schools.

Not just how it is playing out on inspections now but looking backwards to see how the data aligns with inspections undertaken previously when inspectors didn't have this info.

gov.uk/government/pub…

DISCO Birmingham, we wish we could do it all over again! 🪩

Brilliant speakers, lively debates and plenty of conversations about data in schools.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us! Let us know your key takeaways in the comments. 👇

Next stop, Manchester on 5 November!
e @Suchmo83 @bringmoredata

Since the new Ofsted Inspection Framework, there’s been so much talk about the ‘golden thread’ of inclusion.
It got us thinking. The pandemic prompted a significant shift in how we think, work and lead. BUT, so much of what we do in schools day in, day out, IS inclusion.
Here’s tation, The Inclusion Shift, (but bloggerised) mapping out our journey - the highs and the lows!
We hope you enjoy it. Cass
theeducakers.substack.com/p/the-inclusio…

@KennyInclusion @SENDMattersUK @teacherhead @jon_hutchinson_ @Southgloshead @MaryMyatt @ModernCassie @Databusting @jpembroke

250,000 views in June and July alone...📊
Our Statutory Assessment Report is a firm favourite of yours, and we’ve just made it even better! Here’s Darren, our Product Manager, to share the details. 👇

@Ofstednews are starting to publish reports completed since the introduction of similar schools data into the IDSR.

Need a good reason to join us at DISCO Birmingham? How about five? 🪩

Ellen Burgess. Christopher Such. James Pembroke. Richard Selfridge. Joshua Perry.

They’ll all be taking to the stage on 8 October, talking all things primary data.

This way for tickets 👉️ buff.ly/mRerSIS
@Suchmo83 @jpembroke @Databusting @bringmoredata @elliotschools

Given that ~80% of school policies relate to legal requirements, I believe the DfE should write and update them, and schools should only need to link to them on their websites. The constant writing, updating, checking, ratifying of policies is bonkers and massive workload issue.

Following the unexpected, yet brilliant, start to our training session (see previous post 🤣), we did eventually get down to business!
Anna and I have been exploring newer podcasts that get into the granular detail of teaching and learning as we move towards cycles of team r_Raichura and @NeenaSharma555’s new series, Operation Education, provided just the snippets of explanation we wanted teachers to discuss. Techniques were then rehearsed (not role-played!) and updates made to our agreed Consistencies document.
This session’s focus: double-checking our Signal–Pause–Insist routines and nailing down how we front-load expectations for cleaning MWBs (we know you love FLMOP @adamboxer1) within our Show Me Boards routine.
One simple bit of shared language we all agreed on: “When I say go and not before…”Thanks Pritesh 🙂
Next up: putting it into practice, A | D | A | P | T for age and phase but avoiding those lethal mutations! @WALKTHRUs_5 @MattTeachCoach - then refine.
More on this next week.
Happy Thursday everyone! Cass

Progress. We all know what it means… don’t we? 👀

For the last decade, progress has had two distinct meanings in education. With Progress Measures returning, it’s a good time to revisit the difference.

@databusting does just that in the latest Insight Inform blog. 👇 buff.ly/l6qwxkQ