Learning Gaps – DAISI EDUCATION

Your SATs Story Starts Much Earlier

13th October 202615th October 2026 By mattwo Comment Closed

When SATs results arrive each summer, it's natural to focus on Year 6. After all, they're the pupils who sat the tests, the teachers who carried the immediate responsibility, and the results that will shape improvement discussions in the months ahead. SATs can feel like the final destination. The end point of primary education. The moment when years of learning are distilled into a set of results. But every destination is shaped by the journey that came before it. And if SATs are the destination, perhaps school improvement begins by understanding the journey.. The Danger of Only Looking at the Ending Imagine picking up a book, reading only the final chapter and believing you understand the whole story. You might know how it ends, but you wouldn't understand the twists, challenges and turning points that shaped the plot. SATs results are much the same. They tell us where pupils finished their journey, but not what happened along the way. The most important lessons are often found in the chapters that...

From Assessment to Action

28th September 202614th October 2026 By mattwo Comment Closed

Every school does assessments. Baseline assessments at the start of the year. Mock tests before SATs. Progress checks throughout the term. Pupils sit the tests. Teachers mark them. Leaders review the percentages. Then comes the important question: What happens next? For many schools, assessment data stops at a score. A pupil achieved 72%. A class average was 68%. A cohort performed broadly in line with expectations. But percentages alone cannot improve outcomes. They cannot reveal misconceptions. They cannot explain why pupils struggled. They cannot identify the curriculum content that needs revisiting. And they certainly cannot provide the evidence needed to justify future actions to governors, trust leaders, school improvement partners, or Ofsted. The most effective schools understand that the real value of assessment lies not in measuring performance, but in understanding it. At DAISI Education, we believe the Assessment is only the Beginning. Many assessments provide a score, a percentage, or an attainment judgement. While that tells you how pupils performed, it rarely explains why they performed that way...

What If Your Year 7 Data Could Tell You More?

24th September 202613th October 2026 By mattwo Comment Closed

Every September, secondary schools welcome a new cohort of pupils armed with timetables, planners and ambitions for the years ahead. Alongside them arrives something equally valuable, yet too often overlooked: their KS2 SATs data. Most schools will review scaled scores. Some will analyse attainment groups. Others will invest time in baseline assessments to build an initial picture of their new Year 7 intake. The strongest secondary schools do something far more powerful. They go beyond the headline figures to understand them. The Conversation has Shifted. At a time when schools are expected to demonstrate a clear understanding of their pupils' starting points, the ability to articulate what learners know, where gaps exist, and how the curriculum responds has never been more important. The question is no longer: "What score did they achieve?" The question is now... "What does that score tell us about the learner and what are you doing about it?" Why Baseline Assessments Don't Always Provide the Full Picture For many pupils, the first weeks of secondary school...

From Numbers to Narrative…

22nd September 202613th October 2026 By mattwo Comment Closed

The words "Ofsted inspection" can still make even the most experienced school leaders feel a little nervous. Not because they're unprepared, but because inspection is about far more than presenting a set of results. It's about demonstrating that you truly understand your pupils, your curriculum and the impact your school is having every day. The schools that navigate inspection most confidently are rarely those with the thickest folders or the slickest presentations. They're the schools that know their children, understand their data and can clearly explain the story behind both. Moving from Numbers to Narrative... Beyond the Headline Results When KS2 SATs results arrive, most schools naturally focus on the headline figures. Expected Standard Greater Depth Progress Measures School Comparisons These measures matter. But they're only the starting point. The real opportunity lies in understanding why pupils performed the way they did and what those results tell us about curriculum effectiveness, teaching, learning and future priorities. And that's where DAISI Education's Question Level Analysis (QLA) can really help... Looking back...

The Best Schools Don’t Just Collect Data. They Use It.

15th September 202613th October 2026 By mattwo Comment Closed

Schools today have access to more data than ever before. Assessment scores, attendance figures, behaviour records, pupil progress measures, intervention tracking, benchmarking reports, and survey responses can provide a wealth of information. Yet having data is not the same as using it effectively. The most successful schools understand a fundamental truth: The best schools don't just collect data. They use it. The biggest difference between good and great schools is often not the quantity of data they hold, but how they turn that information into meaningful action. Moving Beyond Data Collection Collecting data has become routine in education. Every assessment, test, and observation generates another set of numbers that can be stored, analysed, and reported. However, data in isolation tells us very little. A pupil scoring 65% on a test provides a headline figure, but it doesn't explain what they understand, where misconceptions exist, or what support they need next. Looking only at overall scores can leave crucial insights hidden beneath the surface. This is where effective schools take...

“The 1% Principle” (or How to Change your School)

22nd April 202513th October 2026 By mattwo Comment Closed

In a world that often celebrates giant leaps and massive achievements, "The 1% principle" brings a refreshing and empowering perspective to education. This concept challenges everyone to rethink their approach to growth and success - focussing instead on the small gains that make up our everyday life in a school. At its core, it is about the cumulative effect of incremental improvements - a journey of a thousand miles, but by one step at a time. Used to great success by Sir Dave Brailsford and others, it takes the idea that lots of small improvements collectively make a huge difference as this quote from Shirley Mansfield – founder of CoachSME - explains.. “From cycling to education; car making to holidays, people are finding that 1% certainly makes a big difference. But why? It simply means focusing on small changes to everything in the business; 1% at a time. Concentrate on making many 1% improvements and you’ll find the compound effect is huge.” Susan Mansfield – Ultimate Guide to Marginal...

How can you sustain progress from KS2?

24th March 202313th October 2026 By mattwo16 Comments

Recently, we surveyed secondary schools up and down the country asking about Transition. It seems like every school and area has a different way of working. Most focus first on getting to know their pupils with activity days in school or a mock timetable. Some give immediate tests. It seems there is not a clear way for everyone to follow. But this is really important. But what about academic transition? Stalled Progress at Key Stage 3 A recent Ofsted report stated.. "the transition to secondary is too often poorly managed and teaching fails to build on the gains pupils have made in primary school. Inspectors have found that pupils often leave primary school with good literacy and numeracy skills, confident and eager to learn, but their progress then stalls when they start secondary school." https://www.gov.uk/government/news/too-many-students-let-down-in-early-stages-of-secondary-school The fact is that the importance of a good start to secondary school education cannot be overstated. Pupils need to enjoy school and get involved with the many subjects to choose...

Personal Learning Journey

8th April 202113th October 2026 By mattwo12 Comments

The whole of education is underpinned by the relationship between the teacher and pupil. As the quote above from Sidney Hook states, you don't remember how you were taught but you do remember who taught you and what an inspiration they were. You remember the relationship that you formed with your teacher - the personal connection between you that remains with you to this day. Every pupil has their own personal learning journey. Teachers have the power to inspire and encourage. Every step of the way, the pupil learns something new - guided and instructed by their teacher and so learn what motivates them, what inspires them and what they want to become as they become older. Over time, they will grow in knowledge, confidence and learn so much about themselves and the world around them. Remember these wonderful and true words from Ross Crockett.. “If there’s anyone who is in a position to bring positive change into the world...

Never Stop Learning

20th January 202113th October 2026 By mattwo14 Comments

In these new and uncertain times, pupils will have spent many months away from school due to the closures put in place as a result of Covid-19. Last year, schools in England were closed to all pupils except those of key-workers and vulnerable children on the 20th March. For the majority of the summer, most learning took part remotely. Huge strides in online education were made in months that perhaps previously would have taken years. Teachers created learning packs, online lessons and updated communication systems – rising to the challenge of how to educate their pupils without the the essential face-to-face contact and personal interaction. Then September arrived and the clamour for the reopening of schools returned. Pressure was on for schools to serve their communities once more. Parents were expecting pupils to return to "normal" schooling despite the Covid-19 procedures that needed to be followed... Now, in 2021, we sit once again in a lockdown with remote learning and home schooling....

Every child deserves a Champion

26th August 202013th October 2026 By mattwo8 Comments

When you visit a supermarket, you will often find a seconds aisle or money-off promotion. Buy-one- get-one-free or “money-saving” offers will entice you in and always make you buy that extra chocolate bar or that second beer you don’t need. You don’t look at the individual price anymore, just what you think you can gain. You usually end up spending more but feeling weirdly better off. The individual price has been removed, the label takes over. The power of a label is immense. We look at people differently because we label them as something else. Rumours, gossip.. “I didn’t know that!!” dominate social media and public culture. A politician or public figure’s career can be brought down to a shuddering halt by a label being attached. The individual has been removed, the label takes over. Are we in danger of doing the same thing within education regarding our reaction to COVID-19? Lockdown Lockdown has brought many difficulties and challenges. Pupils will have spend many months away...