Target setting
Last updated: 6 May 2005
Governing bodies of all maintained primary and secondary schools, including special schools (except special schools in hospitals), must set targets each autumn for improving pupil performance. Current regulations state that targets must be set for pupil attainment at Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and in the last year of compulsory schooling.
Governing bodies must publish the targets and the actual performance against those targets in their annual report to parents.
It is good practice for governors and head teachers to consider exercising their discretion to:
- Set additional targets
- Publish a commentary on the targets and actual performance
- Consider how the target setting for the year groups dovetails with the individual staff appraisal targets as proposed in the new performance management scheme.
Targets
Governing bodies, under guidance from head teachers, are required to set and
publish the following targets:
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The percentage of pupils attaining National Curriculum Level 4 or above in English and Mathematics at Key Stage 2
-
The percentage of pupils attaining National Curriculum Level 5 or above in English, Mathematics, Science and ICT at Key Stage 3
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The percentage of pupils attaining five or more GCSEs or equivalent grades A* to C
-
The average point score for the school to be achieved in GCSE and vocational qualifications.
Schools that set zero targets under the criteria specified (mainly special schools) are required to set measurable performance targets using the P scales or other performance measures where appropriate. Head teachers and governing bodies can, if they wish, augment these targets with others of their own, reflecting their own priorities.
Target setting process
It is the duty of the governing body to set the targets. They are not allowed
to delegate this responsibility to an individual, but they can delegate it to a
sub-committee made up of governors. Targets must be set by 31 December
each year.
Governing bodies cannot change targets once they are set, but they should review progress after one year and then decide what additional action to take in order to achieve the targets.
In those schools (mainly in areas that have middle schools) where a cohort of pupils enter the school just three terms before the end of a Key Stage, targets should be set as soon as practicable after the beginning of the school year in which the pupils are due to take the tests.
Implications for management
Head teacher
The head teacher has the responsibility to advise governors on what the targets should be and to provide the evidence for arriving at that conclusion. This information is likely to include historical information on the performance of the cohort and other information on pupils' attainment which can be obtained from the Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT), Performance and Assessment Reports (PANDAs), national and local performance tables and LEA information.
The targets should aim to maximise the progress of individual children in the cohort each year. In a particularly challenging year, where the raw results may not be expected to show a rise over the previous year, the targets set should still reflect the aim of improving the contribution the school makes to the pupils' learning.
Head teachers will need to advise the governors on any additional targets that might be set. These additional targets should be in support of the general school improvement aims. They might be particularly relevant for pupils with special educational needs or for pupils with high ability.
Head teachers will also need to advise the governors on what action the school should take to meet the targets.
Senior managers
Senior managers will normally discuss the issues surrounding performance with subject heads, and hold discussions with LEA advisers/officers before advising the governors.
Heads of subject will also need to discuss the potential targets for each pupil and teaching group with their departmental colleagues if the exercise is to be rigorous and realistic. Teachers will have to keep precise information and be prepared to make predictions based on their evidence.
This means that senior managers must consider what procedures and arrangements to introduce into the annual cycle of planning, action, monitoring and evaluation. The administrative load should be kept to a minimum as these arrangements should not be burdensome for teachers.
Staff appraisal
The setting of statutory targets and targets for performance management purposes should be based on similar data and arise from a similar process of analysis and assessment. Both processes should result in challenging, realistic targets.
Publishing and reporting
requirements
Governing bodies must publish the targets in their annual report to parents. The targets in
the report will be for four years at a time, including the year in which the
report relates, the preceding two years and the following school year.
Actual performance data from the
relevant school years must also be published in the report. However, if there
are fewer than 10 pupils in the relevant group, there is no obligation to
publish the targets.
The schools actual performance will be reported each year in the School and College Performance Tables. The DfES publishes national comparative data (including benchmarks) annually as part of the Pupil Achievement Tracker.
Schools will also have to consider how best to publish performance predictions so that they do not unduly overshadow the celebration of all the other achievements by the school and individual pupils. Schools may, if they wish, also publish a commentary on the targets and performance, drawing attention to contextual information.
LEA involvement and responsibilities
LEA targets should be set after 31 December each year, once all schools have
reported on their targets. The LEA target should not simply be an aggregate of
the school targets but should include an additional element which takes account
of the extra support available. This would include Standards Fund, support
through the National Strategies and other programmes, such as Excellence in
Cities.
Last year's guidance encouraged schools to look at their trajectory to 2006 to ensure they were maximising pupils' progress each year. We believe schools should be encouraged to continue with setting a trajectory for further progress and to look ahead to where they might expect to be in 2007. This will be informed by the targets set by their schools, and the LEA's own judgement of the added value that they will bring to raising attainment, through the targeting of resources.
At secondary level, the Government announced in its 5 year strategy for children and learners — Putting people at the heart of public services — published on 8 July 2004 that, following the success of the primary arrangements, secondary schools will now be given similar responsibility for target setting for 2006 onwards, with LEA targets being set afterwards.
For further details on the target setting process see the Standards website.
