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.
My Local School
Welsh Government
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.
My Local School
Welsh Government
Background
Mar 12 –
first
prototype
developed
Internal version
available
Oct 12 –
Beta 1
Nov 12 –
Beta 2
Jan 13 –
Beta 3
Feb 13 –
MLS full
launch
• 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
My Local School
•
League tables scrapped in Wales, however, providing comparisons still
important
•
Policy driver was to enable parents to engage with and challenge schools
Background
Mar 12 –
first
prototype
developed
Internal version
available
Oct 12 –
Beta 1
Nov 12 –
Beta 2
Jan 13 –
Beta 3
Feb 13 –
MLS full
launch
• 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
My Local School
•
Visual appeal / colour schemes
•
Format / functionality
•
Supporting information
Welsh Government
Background
Mar 12 –
first
prototype
developed
Internal version
available
Oct 12 –
Beta 1
Nov 12 –
Beta 2
Jan 13 –
Beta 3
Feb 13 –
MLS full
launch
• 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:
My Local School
•
Browser compatibility
•
Chart load issues
•
Suggestions / feedback on data items included / excluded
Welsh Government
Background
Mar 12 –
first
prototype
developed
Internal version
available
Oct 12 –
Beta 1
Nov 12 –
Beta 2
Jan 13 –
Beta 3
Feb 13 –
MLS full
launch
• 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
My Local School
Welsh Government
Background
Mar 12 –
first
prototype
developed
Internal version
available
Oct 12 –
Beta 1
Nov 12 –
Beta 2
Jan 13 –
Beta 3
Feb 13 –
MLS full
launch
• 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
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.
My Local School
Welsh Government
Site Demo
http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk
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
Welsh Government
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 –
http://mylocalhealthservice.wales.gov.uk
My Local School
Welsh Government
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
My Local School
Welsh Government
Any Questions?
My Local School
Welsh Government