ASCL Data Leader and Accountability Conference

Etc Venues Monument London

Planning for change.

The popular ASCL Data Leader and Accountability Conference enables headteachers, principals, and senior leaders who lead on data to build on policy updates, proposed changes to curriculum and assessment together with recent inspection feedback to consider improvement priorities for the academic year ahead.

As in previous years, the conference will focus on policy and explore how other practitioners are using data informed by practice. Delegates will also consider updated national patterns with specific group breakdowns, and key dates in the accountability calendar.

The conference comes at a crucial point in the academic year as it will follow a wave of expected publications and policy announcements from government. The conference will help leaders understand what they need to know for the year ahead and provide clarity around the reforms.

Key outcomes

Guidance on the new inspection framework and how to prepare.
Insight into the curriculum and assessment reforms following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report and the schools’ white paper.
Information on accountability measures and any key updates.
See how practitioners in schools are using data-led practice and systems to support school improvement.
Practical tips as a data leader or line manager of a data leader from those already doing the job.
What to look out for in the accountability calendar.
Understand national patterns and how to use this information to support improvement priority decision making.

Speaker

Tiffnie Harris

Data, Disadvantage and Primary Specialist

Andy Jordan

ASCL Inspection and Accountability Specialist

Becky St John

Data Consultant and Trainer

Anna Hayes

Assistant Principal, Orchard Mead Academy

Monika Sandhu

Deputy Headteacher, The Heathland School

Barnaby Grimble

Chief Product Officer, Pupil Progress

Melanie Thornhill

Curriculum Leader Religious Education, Castle Mead Academy

Steve Howse

CEO and Founder, SMID Report

Jessica Lewis-Bell

Associate Director, Stakeholder Engagement, Ofqual

Programme

ASCL reserves the right to amend the programme should circumstances dictate.

8.35am			Registration, refreshments and exhibition

9.10am			Welcome Tiffnie Harris, ASCL Primary and Data Specialist

9.25am			Accountability update DfE Accountability team (invited)

9.45am			Quality in Assessment: Insights from Ofqual Jessica Lewis-Bell, Associate Director Stakeholder Engagement, Ofqual Jessica Lewis-Bell will deliver key messages from Ofqual on ensuring quality through the 2026 summer assessments and results season. This session will consider opportunities and challenges within the qualifications system, including the move to digitisation, and explain how GCSEs and A Levels are graded and marked

10.25am			Recent government policy updates and the implications on the leadership of data and accountability Tiffnie Harris, Primary and Data Specialist An update on national data patterns and recent government policy announcements (to include key details from the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report and the School’s Whitepaper) and implications on the leadership of data and what to prepare ahead for.

10.55am			Refreshments and exhibition

11.15am			Inspection and accountability update Andy Jordan, Accountability and Inspection Specialist In this session we will examine feedback from recent inspections. This will enable delegates to be better prepared for inspection and to think about how they can use data effectively to support inspectors in arriving at accurate grades for their institution. We will also investigate how to make use of the re-designed IDSR. Finally, we will cover the implications of new accountability measures that have been announced by the DFE.

12.00pm			In Focus: Designing a KS3 model to support data driven success Barnaby Grimble, Chief Product Officer, Pupil Progress This session explores how to design a purposeful KS3 model that uses data intelligently to inform curriculum planning, intervention, and progression. We’ll focus on building assessment systems that are meaningful, manageable, and aligned to long-term outcomes, ensuring data supports teaching and learning rather than driving workload.

12.30pm			Lunch and exhibition

1.10pm			The Heathland School Case Study: Student and parent data In action Monika Sandhu, Deputy Headteacher, The Heathland School Engaging both parents and students in using live, detailed data empowers all stakeholders to collaborate in raising attainment. Making data accessible and meaningful enables parents and students to participate in setting goals, tracking progress, and taking responsibility for learning. This approach fosters informed conversations, provides personalised support, and clarifies specific strengths and areas for improvement. A sharper, shared focus on data drives targeted interventions, closes achievement gaps, and promotes a culture of transparency and shared responsibility for student success.

1.40pm			Beyond Progress 8: Building a joined-up picture of student need and school improvement Steve Howse, CEO and Founder, SMID Report In a world where Progress 8 doesn’t tell the whole story, how can schools meaningfully evidence improvement – to leaders, governors, staff and parents – while also identifying vulnerable students before they fall behind? This session explores how schools can bring together the wide range of data they already hold – attendance, behaviour, pastoral, safeguarding, assessment and contextual factors – to create clear triggers and barriers-to-learning profiles. We’ll look at how to: identify vulnerable students early, even in the absence of Progress 8 design simple, transparent indicators that everyone in school can understand communicate progress and support to parents and carers with confidence move from reactive interventions to a proactive, whole-school approach. Delegates will leave with practical ideas for building a joined-up picture of each student and using it to drive real school improvement.

2.10pm			Refreshments and exhibition

2.30pm			The accountability cycle and the power of PowerBi Becky St John, Data Consultant and Trainer This session offers a practical update on key upcoming data tasks and events - what to expect and when to act. We'll also take a look at the benefits and practicalities of PowerBi reporting, including how to bring data from different systems into one database for easy management.

3.00pm			Closing the Accuracy Gap: Strengthening Teacher Predictions and Enabling Impactful, Purposeful Conversations with Middle Leaders Anna Hayes, Assistant Principal – Achievement, Orchard Mead Academy Melanie Thornhill, Curriculum Leader Religious Education, Castle Mead Academy This session explores the common pains data leaders face around inaccurate teacher predictions and how these challenges intensify when conversations lack clarity, confidence, and purpose. We will share practical solutions implemented to improve prediction accuracy, including structured approaches to data review and strengthening impactful, purposeful conversations with Middle Leaders. A live, modelled conversation between the Raising Standards Lead and Middle Leader will illustrate these strategies in action. The session will then explore the further impact of the strategy and consider what comes next for continued improvement.

3.30pm			Closing remarks