Analytics will use an average of the KS2 subjects nominated as ‘Core’ by your school's Sisra Administrator, to calculate a student’s KS2 Banding in line with the DfE guidance for that year.
However, there may be times that you would also like to create your own internal banding groups for your school. There are two options available to do this, you can either set up an “Internal Banding” student data filter (imported as part of your student data files) or create focus groups. Both options are explained below.
For more information on how KS2 Banding is calculated, please see our article - KS3/4 - How is KS2 Banding calculated?
Option 1 / Create an “Internal Banding” Student Data Filter
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This will be included in Filters level reports, as well as the Breakdown dropdown and Filters tab.
Although this would need to be included in all student data files, you can exclude filters from individual cohorts using the Report Options page, to ensure this doesn’t pull through to the reports. |
This option is only applicable if you have not used all additional columns within your Student Data Profile. If you choose this option, this would then need to be included in ALL student data imports within your school in any key stage or cohort (however this can be excluded on a cohort-by-cohort basis, if needed). |
To create an ‘Internal Banding’ student data filter, click CONFIG. > Student Data > Filter Management > ‘Create Filter’.
Enter a clear filter name (e.g. “Internal Banding”) and an appropriate default value (e.g. “N/A”), which will be allocated when a student is imported with a blank value for this filter.
Then, click the green ‘Create’ button.
Next, go to Student Data > Student Data Profile > ‘Edit Columns’, then select your new filter in the next available dropdown and click the ‘Save’ button.
Next, you can import a new student data file containing the internal banding values for all students. To do this, go to DATA > select key stage and cohort > STUDENTS > Import.
Select the key stage the student data relates to in the dropdown, select the file for import, and then click ‘Import’. Once the file has been imported and the STUDENTS data has been republished for the appropriate cohorts, this filter should pull through to the reports.
During the import, you will be presented with an Import Options page, where you must select ‘Yes’ to update filters, and therefore pull through your new Internal Banding filter values. For more information on this and importing student data, see our article - KS3/4: Importing Student Data (Admin).
Option 2 / Create Low, Middle, and High Focus Groups
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This option will allow you to make use of the ‘Filter’ tab functionality in the reports. This would only need to be set up in the appropriate cohorts, so these would not appear in any KS5 cohorts (for example). |
These groups will not be available in the Breakdown dropdown or Filters level reports. Each student would need to be added to the relevant focus group manually, so this would not be controlled by a file import. |
To create separate Low, Middle, and High focus groups, click DATA > select key stage and cohort > STUDENTS > Focus Groups. Click on ‘Create Focus Group’, enter a clear focus group name (examples below), then click ‘Create’. Then, place a tick next to each relevant student(s) and click ‘Save’.
Repeat this process for each banding group, then when the STUDENTS data has been republished for the appropriate cohorts, these will pull through to the reports.
For more information on creating focus groups, see our article - Creating Focus Groups (Admin).
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