All schools are about to embark on a new era which will see their desire to provide a more effective range of support to children, young people and their families become a reality. They will find themselves playing a new and central role in the “Change for Children” agenda, working with a range of support agencies to improve the range and quality of the educational experiences they provide for the pupils in their care. This reflects an increasing recognition nationally that the narrow concept of school success that has prevailed in recent years has gone too far and it is time to support all schools in restoring the broader balance in pupils’ education to make it as rounded as possible.

In recent years, many schools have been concerned at the unintended effect of narrowing the curriculum which many national initiatives have had. The INDEX OF ACHIEVEMENT is an assertion that schools’ contributions extend far beyond test and examination results. It helps them to demonstrate their much wider contribution to a child’s future life chances. It has been produced by a group of county, metropolitan and unitary LAs, in conjunction with the DfES, the Innovations Unit and Ofsted. The INDEX is complementary to LA frameworks for supporting and categorising schools. It can promote a collaborative approach to developing high quality integrated services for children through Children’s Trusts.

In particular, the INDEX offers an approach to describing a school’s contribution to its community. The INDEX and current national initiatives reflect the developing aspirations and expectations of schools in relation to their wider responsibilities for a child’s welfare, development and learning. It allows schools to demonstrate their individuality in ways that enhance national initiatives but are not dominated by them.

What is the Index of Achievement?
Principles underpinning the Index of Achievement
How to use the Index
Example sources of evidence