In education, we often rely on retrospective data to pinpoint trends and assess success. But what if there were opportunities to use data to anticipate and affect future outcomes? This is where engagement data can help.
Last term, I introduced the use of engagement data as a lead indicator in Schools Week. We established the research commission on engagement and lead indicators in partnership with ASCL, Challenge Partners, CST and the Reach Foundation, alongside others.
Through this commission, we launched England’s largest study on pupil engagement, which now involves over 100,000 students. Our aim is to identify whether the engagement influences positive educational outcomes.
At the mid-point in our research, the data is starting to unravel what we believe may be a critical thread in school improvement. We are now increasingly confident that understanding pupil engagement will provide schools with a powerful lead indicator that links to student attainment and attendance, as well as other outcomes like happiness and sense of self-worth.
The clear indication is that schools should have a regular and robust method to collect and measure pupil engagement data.
Possibly the key finding so far is the profound decline of engagement as students enter secondary school. There is a sharp drop as students enter key stage three (KS3), with a modest rebound in KS4. (See Graph 1)

While its causes need further exploration, the data shows an interesting difference in the engagement of children of similar age but in different year groups – for example, those born in the autumn of year 7 and summer of year 8.
Worryingly, this indicates that the decline of engagement is a function of a child’s time in school and not their age. (See Table 1)

We have also considered several linked drivers of engagement, including pupil happiness. (See Table 2)

Our data found that over one-quarter of pupils feel unhappy going to school in the morning. As a former teacher and someone who has spent their career working in the sector, I believe enjoyment of school and learning is an important outcome in its own right, and we need to pay attention to this finding.
Nationally, it appears that young people’s experience of spending time in a secondary school is making them less motivated, less happy and less inclined to see the benefit of education.
Given wider research linking engagement to absenteeism and attainment, this dip in engagement between years 7 and 8 signals a crucial opportunity for educators to intervene during the transition to secondary.
If successful, we can capture upsides in terms of attainment and attendance in future years, as well as create a more positive and inclusive learning environment where children can be happier.
The encouraging outcome from our work so far is that there are year groups, schools and whole trusts that buck the national trend; this provides an opportunity to understand what is working and where, and share best practice. This will be a focus in the second half of our research project.
We are extending the opportunity to join the project, inviting schools, trusts and local authorities to join the funded research cohort for the spring window.
Given the need for the findings to be actionable, each participant will contribute to the findings. They will also receive their own report with insights including a detailed report on engagement in their school or trust, providing their individual data in context with relevant benchmarks, highlighting areas of opportunity and best practice
We will share our full findings in a final report in May. In the meantime, we will soon expand our research to include parents and families to ensure our view of school engagement is holistic. We are now also inviting expressions of interest from schools and trusts to explore this work with us.
For more information or to join our research cohort, contact us at hello@impactedgroup.uk
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