logo-edcountsStudent Engagement - Data Interpretation

In considering this data please note that this information:

However, data derived from the stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions does make a useful contribution to the range of information related to student engagement.

We collate and record the information centrally to identify schools that may need extra support. Some schools in some areas may face particular issues at certain times.

The information contained in these tables relates to numbers of stand-down, suspension and exclusion cases, rather than numbers of students. A student can have multiple stand-down or suspension cases in a given year.

Age-standardised rates are used to compare groups with differing age distributions, such as different years, schools, and regions. Age-standardisation controls for the different age structure of the groups.

The data also includes the two key components of the age-standardised rates, the observed numbers and the expected numbers. The observed numbers are the actual number of cases that occurred at a school or region. The expected number of cases is how many cases would have been occurred if the national rates for each age group were applied to the school or region. Expected numbers are not a desired number of cases nor are they a projection. See ‘Technical Notes/Definitions’ for more information.

Care should be taken when examining age-standardised rates, especially in the cases when small numbers are involved. When numbers are small, a very small amount of variation in the raw data can lead to a large effect on the age-standardised rate.

The underlying intention of student engagement policy is that student behaviour information be used alongside a range of other information to inform improvement, whether individual student information, school-level information as presented here, or when aggregated at the system level.

To get a complete picture of a school, you are advised to: