Andy Milne/Bill Oates Department for Education and Knowledge and Analytical Services, Welsh Government

What is My Local School? Fully bilingual data portal containing information on all maintained schools in Wales Designed to open up access to schools data for parents and others with an interest in their local school Contains performance data plus a wealth of supporting contextual information Launched February 2013 Updated at various points throughout the year as data becomes available. Welsh Government My Local School

Background Thomas Review (March 2011) – The Structure of Education Services in Wales Recommendation 5: “Recommend a single national IT data platform…available to all with an interest, including parents” Push from Minister for Education and Skills to make this a priority in March 2012 Cabinet Office data transparency agenda Criticism for lack of access to data… Governors, press etc. All Wales Core Data Sets – data packs updated at various points throughout an annual cycle for schools and local authorities but not publically available. Welsh Government My Local School

Background Mar 12 – first prototype developed Feb 13 – MLS full launch Oct 12 – Beta 1 Internal version available Jan 13 – Beta 3 Nov 12 – Beta 2 Initial scoping exercise Brainstorming sessions – statistical staff + policy colleagues Investigation of existing sites Focus mainly on performance data – available from existing sources (AWCDS) Difficulties with presentation and format League tables scrapped in Wales, however, providing comparisons still important Policy driver was to enable parents to engage with and challenge schools My Local School

Background Mar 12 – first prototype developed Feb 13 – MLS full launch Oct 12 – Beta 1 Jan 13 – Beta 3 Nov 12 – Beta 2 Initial version of the site developed and shared with key stakeholders: Minister for Education and Skills Directors of Education Estyn Governors Wales Unions Parental focus groups Visual appeal / colour schemes Format / functionality Supporting information Internal version available Welsh Government My Local School

Background Mar 12 – first prototype developed Feb 13 – MLS full launch Oct 12 – Beta 1 Jan 13 – Beta 3 Nov 12 – Beta 2 Restricted version of site made available to schools and other key stakeholders Facilitated feedback and testing on a much larger scale Major issues identified and resolved: Browser compatibility Chart load issues Suggestions / feedback on data items included / excluded Internal version available Welsh Government My Local School

Background Mar 12 – first prototype developed Feb 13 – MLS full launch Oct 12 – Beta 1 Jan 13 – Beta 3 Nov 12 – Beta 2 Further restricted Beta launches as new data became available Fixed bugs identified in previous iterations Allowed schools and other stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the site prior to full launch Internal version available Welsh Government My Local School

Background Mar 12 – first prototype developed Feb 13 – MLS full launch Oct 12 – Beta 1 Jan 13 – Beta 3 Nov 12 – Beta 2 Launch promoted through school newsletters, WG website, Twitter Positive feedback at launch – TES Cymru, head teachers, local authority data contacts Site developed in-house with existing resources alongside current workloads. External project manager brought in for approx. 6 months Internal version available My Local School

Data Important that site was launched without errors in data in order to establish credibility Much of the data drawn from existing sources – minimised the risk of errors Disclosure risk assessment undertaken Increased level of intelligent data use in the education sector Runner-up prize in RSS Excellence in Official Statistics awards. Welsh Government My Local School

Site Demo Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Welsh Government My Local School

Facts and Figures Millions of data items covering all maintained schools in Wales Approximately 100,000 site hits Average of 5 pages viewed per visit Launch day – over 6,000 hits, average visit length around 5 minutes First annual cycle of updates under business as usual just completed My Local Health Service launched – Welsh Government My Local School

Future Developments Comparison tool for a selected group of schools Data exportable into Excel format New data items – Sport Survey Data items re-used by other sites – My Local Council Welsh Government My Local School

Any Questions? Welsh Government My Local School