The floor standard and coasting standard for primary schools will remain the same as in 2017.
Like last year, the attainment element of the floor standard will be set at 65 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in key stage 2 Sats, and the progress scores have been set at -5 in reading, -5 in maths and -7 in writing.
The coasting definition is based on three years of data, using the same performance measures that underpin the floor standards.
In 2018, a primary school will fall within the coasting definition if, based on revised data for all of 2016, 2017 and 2018, fewer than 85 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard at the end of primary school and average progress made by pupils was less than -2.5 in English reading, -2.5 in maths or -3.5 in English writing.
The details were published by the Department for Education today in its primary school accountability guide.
The guide said that the primary school performance tables, which will be published in December, will also include three-year averages for the primary attainment measures alongside the existing annual headline measures.
“These measures are additional to, and will not replace, the existing annual headline measures. They are an important way to show how schools are performing across time, smoothing out small variations in a single year, for example, due to a small cohort size,” the guidance states.
Earlier this year, education secretary Damian Hinds announced that he intended to replace the system of having “below the floor” and “coasting” standards with a “single, transparent data trigger at which schools will be offered support”.
And the DfE will only mandate academisation, rebrokering an existing academy or leadership change, if Ofsted has deemed a school inadequate - not on data alone.
The consultation on this is due to take place this autumn and the new way of identifying schools in need of support is due to be in place from September 2019.
Today’s guidance confirmed: “Until then, the existing floor and coasting standards will remain in place. Where a school is below the floor or coasting standards, but is not judged inadequate, the [regional schools commissioner] will not use the secretary of state’s powers to issue an academy order or a warning notice. Instead, the floor and coasting standards will be calculated in 2018 solely for the Department for Education to identify schools that might benefit from support.”
