Education outcomes

Education outcomes

Southampton has a total of 75 schools and academies including 55 Primary Phase Schools, 12 Secondary and 8 Special Schools or Pupil Referral Units. Just over 32,000 pupils are educated across these 75 settings within Southampton schools. The outcomes reported below are for local authority maintained schools which includes maintained schools and academies but excludes independent schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) is completed for pupils at the end of Reception. The EYFSP has 7 Areas of Learning (3 Prime Areas and 4 Specific Areas) and 17 Early Learning Goals. Pupils are teacher assessed as Emerging, Expected and Exceeding against each of the Early Learning Goals.

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the Department for Education (DfE) cancelled the collection of EYFSP outcomes in 2020 and 2021. The latest available data is therefore from 2019.

A pupil achieving at least the expected level in the Early Learning Goals (ELG) within the three prime areas of learning (Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development) and within Literacy and Numeracy is classed as having "a good level of development”. In 2019, 71.1% of pupils in Southampton achieved a Good Level of Development which was 0.7% below the national average of 71.8%, but a slight increase (+0.1%) from the 2018 outcome of 71.0%. National performance also increased by 0.3% from 2018 (71.5%) to 2019 (71.8%) and therefore the gap between Southampton and the national average has increased from 0.5% in 2018 to 0.7% in 2019. Southampton’s rank position has seen a regression from 85th in 2018 to 90th in 2019 out of 151 Local Authorities.

Phonics

Pupils complete a Phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 where they achieve a score out of 40. A score of 32 or more is required for pupils to achieve the required standard of Phonics decoding. Pupils who do not achieve a score of 32 or more at the end of Year 1 resit the check at the end of Year 2 along with any pupils who did not previously complete the check at the end of Year 1 (e.g. pupils new to the country).

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the DfE cancelled the summer term 2020 Phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. Schools were invited to complete the check in the Autumn term the following year for those pupils that were now in Year 2. The DfE did not publish any Phonics outcomes for the Autumn term 2020 check that schools completed.

Key Stage 1

At the end of Year 2 pupils reach the end of Key Stage 1 (KS1) and are teacher assessed in Reading, Writing and Maths. In each subject pupils are awarded an outcome that identifies if they are working below the expected standard, working at the expected standard or working at a greater depth within the expected standard.

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the DfE cancelled the collection of KS1 outcomes in 2020 and 2021. The latest available data is therefore from 2019.

In 2019, 74% of Southampton pupils were working at the expected standard in Reading, this was 1% below the National average (75%), ranking Southampton a joint 88th with 16 other Local Authorities out of a total of 149 Local Authorities. 21% of Southampton pupils were working at a greater depth within the expected standard, this was 4% below the National average (25%), ranking Southampton joint 121st with 14 other Local Authorities out of a total of 149 Local Authorities.

67% of Southampton pupils were working at the expected standard in Writing at the end of KS1 in 2019. This was 2% below the National average (69%), ranking Southampton joint 105th with 13 other Local Authorities out of a total of 149 Local Authorities. 11% of Southampton pupils were working at a greater depth within the expected standard, this was 4% below the National average (15%), ranking Southampton a joint 128th with 13 other Local Authorities out of a total of 149 Local Authorities.

In 2019, 74% of Southampton pupils were working at the expected standard in Maths, this was 2% below the National average (76%), ranking Southampton a joint 100th with 16 other Local Authorities out of a total of 149 Local Authorities. 19% of Southampton pupils were working at a greater depth within the expected standard, this was 3% below the National average (22%), ranking Southampton joint 114th with 15 other Local Authorities out of a total of 149 Local Authorities.

Key Stage 2

At the end of Year 6 pupils reach the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) and are teacher assessed in Writing and tested in Reading and Maths. In each subject, pupils are awarded an outcome that identifies if they are working below the expected standard, working at the expected standard or working at a higher standard. The proportion of pupils that have achieved the expected standard across Reading, Writing and Maths combined is one of the main indicators at the end of KS2. There is also a focus on the progress pupils have made between KS1 and KS2. Progress is calculated separately for Reading, Writing and Maths with a score of 0 indicating similar progress to pupils nationally.

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the DfE cancelled the collection of KS2 outcomes in 2020 and 2021. The latest available data is therefore from 2019.

In 2019, 64% of Southampton pupils achieved the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths which was 1% below the National performance of 65%. This was the first time since 2012 that Southampton’s performance was below the national average for the main attainment headline indicator. Southampton’s 2019 KS2 cohort achieved a rank position of 106th out of a total of 149 Local Authorities. One in ten (10%) Southampton pupils achieved the Higher Standard in Reading, Writing and Maths; 1% below the national average (11%) for this indicator, ranking Southampton 84th out of 149 Local Authorities.

Southampton’s KS2 progress score in Reading for 2019 was -0.2, a gap of 0.2 below the National average (0.0), ranking Southampton 109th out of 149 Local Authorities. In 2018, Southampton had a KS2 progress score in Reading of +0.3 so Southampton’s score has regressed by 0.5 between 2018 (+0.3) and 2019 (-0.2).

Southampton’s KS2 progress score in Writing for 2019 was -0.5, a gap of 0.5 below the National average (0.0), ranking Southampton 120th out of 149 Local Authorities. In 2018, Southampton had a KS2 progress score in Writing of -0.5 so Southampton’s score has remained constant between 2018 (-0.5) and 2019 (-0.5).

Southampton’s KS2 progress score in Maths for 2019 was +0.1, a gap of 0.1 above the National average (0.0), ranking Southampton 82nd out of 149 Local Authorities. In 2018, Southampton had a KS2 progress score in Maths of +0.7 so Southampton’s score has regressed by 0.6 between 2018 (+0.7) and 2019 (+0.1).

Key Stage 4

The Department for Education (DfE) announced on the 8th April 2020 that an alternative approach to Key Stage 4 exams would be completed for 2020 due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, schools were asked to provide centre assessed grades for their students. Schools were instructed these should be fair, objective and carefully considered judgements of the grade’s schools believed their students would have been most likely to achieve if they had sat their exams and should take into account the full range of available evidence.

The Department for Education outlined that schools should not be held to account on the basis of exams and assessment data from summer 2020 and that data will not be used by others, such as Ofsted and local authorities, to hold schools and colleges to account.

The KS4 accountability of Attainment 8 and Progress 8 was introduced in 2016. In 2017, new, reformed English and Maths GCSEs were first examined and a new grading of 9-1 was introduced, with 9 being the highest grade. In 2018, reformed English Baccalaureate GCSEs and a number of other key subjects were first examined using the 9-1 grading. In 2019 further reformed GCSE qualifications were introduced on the 9-1 grade scale. For the first time in 2020 all GCSEs had been converted to a scale of 9-1 with no unreformed GCSEs graded A*-G remaining. Consequently, any trend comparisons made between 2016 and 2020 results for the key headline performance measures must be treated with caution.

In 2020, Southampton pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 46.4 whereas in 2019, the Southampton Attainment 8 score was 44.1, an increase of 2.3. The 2020 National average for Attainment 8 was 50.2, a gap of 3.8 to the 2020 Southampton average (46.4). The increase of 2.3 between Southampton’s 2019 Attainment 8 score (44.1) and 2020 Attainment 8 score (46.4) is broadly equivalent to Southampton pupils, on average, achieving two higher GCSE grades than in 2019. Out of 150 Local Authorities Southampton’s performance for Attainment 8 achieved a rank of 131st.

40.7% of Southampton pupils achieved a 9-5 in English and Maths GCSE in 2020, which was 5.1% above the 35.6% of Southampton pupils who achieved a 9-5 in English and Maths GCSE in 2019. The 2020 National average for the percentage achieving 9-5 in English and Maths was 49.9%, a gap of 9.2% to the 2020 Southampton average (40.7%).

In 2020, 30.7% of Southampton pupils entered the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) which was a decrease of 3.1% from the proportion of Southampton pupils entering the EBacc in 2019 (34.8%). The 2020 National average for pupils entering the EBacc was 39.8%, a gap of 9.1% to the 2020 Southampton average (30.7%).

15.3% of Southampton pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 5 or above in 2020, which was 2.2% above 2019 performance of 13.1%. In 2020, 21.3% of National pupils achieved the EBacc at grades 5 or above, a gap of 6.0% to the 2020 Southampton average (15.3%).

Key Stage 5

The Department for Education (DfE) announced on the 8th April 2020 that an alternative approach to Key Stage 5 exams would be completed for 2020 due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, colleges were asked to provide centre assessed grades for their students. Colleges were instructed these should be fair, objective and carefully considered judgements of the grade’s colleges believed their students would have been most likely to achieve if they had sat their exams and should take into account the full range of available evidence.

The Department for Education outlined that colleges should not be held to account on the basis of exams and assessment data from summer 2020 and that data will not be used by others, such as Ofsted and local authorities, to hold schools and colleges to account.

In 2020, Southampton’s Average Point Score per entry for all Level 3 students was 31.89 compared to the national average of 36.81; a gap of 4.92 points. This earned Southampton a ranking of 147th out of a possible 149 Local Authorities (3rd lowest in the country).

In 2020, Southampton’s Average Point Score per entry for all A-Level students was 35.51, compared to the national average of 38.42; a gap of 2.91 points. This earned Southampton a ranking of 137th out of a possible 149 Local Authorities.

Absence

Overall Absence measures the proportion of total possible school sessions that are recorded as an absence code. Absences from school can be authorised or unauthorised by the pupil’s school. In addition to the Overall Absence, a pupil is classed as Persistently Absent if they miss 10% or more of possible sessions. The proportion of pupil enrolments that have missed 10% or more of possible sessions is used to calculate the rate of persistently absent pupils.

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the DfE introduced additional absence codes to understand the impact of the pandemic. A full year of absence data for 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 has not yet been published by the DfE.

Southampton’s Overall Primary Absence for 2018/2019 was 4.5%, which is 0.5% points higher than the national average (4.0%), placing Southampton in the worst 10 local authorities nationally (145th out of 151). In 2017/2018, Southampton’s Overall Primary Absence was 0.2% points above the National average (Southampton: 4.4%, National: 4.2%), while in 2018/2019 this gap has increased to 0.5% points above the national average.

Southampton’s Primary School Persistent Absence for 2018/2019 was 10.3% (1852 enrolments from a possible 18057), again placing Southampton in the worst 10 local authorities nationally (144th out of 151). Southampton’s performance of 10.3% was 2.1% points above the National average of 8.2%. In order for Southampton to have matched the National average, 371 fewer pupils were needed to be classified as being Persistently Absent.

Southampton’s Overall Secondary Absence for 2018/2019 was 6.0%, which is 0.5% points above the national average (5.5%), placing Southampton in a joint national rank of 133rd out of 151 Local Authorities. In 2017/2018, Southampton’s Overall Secondary Absence was 0.3% points above the national average (Southampton: 5.8%, National: 5.5%), while in 2018/2019 this gap has increased to 0.5% points above the national average.

Southampton’s Secondary School Persistent Absence for 2018/2019 was 16.0% (1759 enrolments from a possible 11021), achieving a national rank of 134th out of 151 Local Authorities. Southampton’s performance of 16.0% was 2.3% points above the national average of 13.7%.

Permanent Exclusions and Suspensions

A Permanent Exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded and who will not come back to that school (unless the exclusion is overturned). Suspensions, previously known as 'fixed period exclusions', refer to when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time.

The Permanent Exclusions and Suspensions covering the 2019/20 academic year includes the start of the pandemic when, from 23rd March, school sites were closed for all but those children of critical workers and vulnerable children. Pupils not attending school were educated remotely. Permanent Exclusions and Suspensions were possible throughout the full academic year but comparisons to previous years should be treated with caution.

Southampton’s Primary schools had 2 Permanent Exclusions in 2019/20, an exclusion rate of 0.01%. The national average exclusion rate was 0.02%, which meant Southampton was 0.01% points below the national average and achieved a ranking of 68th of 150 Local Authorities. Southampton’s primary school suspension rate was 1.83%, a decrease of 1.21% from 3.04% in 2018/19. However, this was 0.83% points above the national average (1.00%) and achieved a ranking of 143rd of 150 Local Authorities.

Southampton’s Secondary schools had 14 Permanent Exclusions during the academic year 2019/20, a rate of 0.12%, similar to the England average of 0.13% and Southampton's previous percentage (2018/19) of 0.13% (14 exclusions). Southampton’s Secondary school Suspension rate in 2019/20 was 7.25%, a decrease of 0.45% points from 7.70% in 2018/19. Southampton was also 0.18% points below the National average (7.43%) for Secondary school Suspensions. Southampton achieved a rank of 87th of 149 Local Authorities in 2019/20 (down from 46th in 2018/19).