1. Overview

This document explains how we select our data and calculate the statistics presented on both the Suspensions Dashboard and associated data pages within MAT MIS. It's designed to help you understand what the numbers mean and how they were created.

What this covers:

• Who is included in our analysis
• Where the data comes from
• How we calculated rates, counts, and totals
• What to keep in mind when using these numbers

2. Data Source & Cohort Definition

Data Source

Source: Suspension records from each school MIS aggregated into our data warehouse

Time Period: Filter selected, defaults to current academic year in most cases

Cohort: This depends upon the data shown, please refer to the relevant section below.

3. Data Tables

School Summary

Analytics > Behaviour > School Summary

What is it for?

To give you an overview picture of suspensions across your schools. Rates and counts are included for each of your schools for easy comparison. We’ve also included a frequency distribution for suspension count to show you whether suspension numbers are made up of many students with low counts or few students with high counts.

Who is included?

Any student who has an enrolment mode of Single or Dual Registration Main during the selected time period.
 

[Pupils on Roll]

What it is: Number of Pupils on Roll during the date period with an enrolment mode of Single or Dual Registration Main. If a student has multiple enrolment modes during the timeframe then the latest one will be considered. 

Where is it used: As the denominator for all Rate calculations

[Rate]

What it is: The number of suspensions per 100 students enrolled in the timeframe

Where is it used: For all fields defined as Rates - it’s the same calculation but filtered to a target demographic eg FSM

How we calculated it:

Rate = (Total Number of Suspensions / [Pupils on Roll]) * 100

Rate FSM = (Total Number of Suspensions for FSM pupils / Pupils on Roll who are FSM) * 100 

[Count]

What it is: The total number of suspension records within the timeframe for students who have an enrolment mode of Single or Dual Registration Main. 

[School Days Lost to Suspensions]

What it is: The total number of ‘good’ schooldays that a student has missed as a result of the suspension. Days that are not normal school days are not included. Each morning or afternoon session is counted as a half-day . A lunchtime suspension counts as a half day regardless of duration. The total days lost is calculated in the MIS by referencing the ‘E’ attendance code. It can also be manually entered if required. If a school has manually entered a value this will be taken in preference to the calculated value.

How we calculated it:

School Days Lost = Total Number of Sessions Lost / 2

Student Summary

Analytics > Behaviour > Student Summary

What is it for?

A clear view of the students who have been suspended and their demographics. This will allow you to identify trends in demographics and suspension reasons and target your interventions effectively.

Who is included?

Any student who has at least 1 suspension during the time period. Enrolment mode is not considered but is included as a column. Students who are not currently enrolled but were enrolled during the timeframe will also be included.

[Total Number of Days Lost to Suspension]

What it is:  The total number of ‘good’ schooldays that a student has missed as a result of the suspension. Days that are not normal school days are not included. Each morning or afternoon session is counted as a half-day . A lunchtime suspension counts as a half day regardless of duration. The total days lost is calculated in the MIS by referencing the ‘E’ attendance code. It can also be manually entered if required. If a school has manually entered a value this will be taken in preference to the calculated value.

How we calculated it:

School Days Lost = Total Number of Sessions Lost / 2

Demographic Fields

Any contextual information such as FSM, InCare etc is set to True if it has been the case at any point in the time period. This is not necessarily the same status as when the Suspension occurred or the status today.

Trends

Analytics > Behaviour > Trends

What is it for?

An overview of what is happening for each school in your group over the year. It allows you to see the comparison of suspension lengths across your schools along with the most frequent day and reason to identify behaviour hotspots.

What is included?

All suspensions during the time period. Enrolment mode is not considered. Suspensions for students who are not currently enrolled but were enrolled during the timeframe will also be included.

[Average Suspension Length]

What it is:  The average length of a suspension (in terms of School Days Lost) when considering all suspensions in the timeframe.

This column is rounded to the nearest half day.

How we calculated it:

Average Suspension Length = [Total Number of School Days Lost] / Total Number of Suspensions

[Most Frequent Suspension Length]

What it is:  The most common length of a suspension (in terms of School Days Lost) when considering all suspensions within the timeframe.

This column is rounded to the nearest half day.

How we calculated it:

Average Suspension Length = [Total Number of School Days Lost] / Total Number of Suspensions

[Most Frequent Suspension Reasons]

What it is:  The top three reasons for suspension when considering all suspensions within the timeframe. There is no weighting given to whether a suspension has one, two or three reasons added, we just output the top three most commonly used reasons.

[Most Frequent Start Day]

What it is:  The most common start day of suspension (in terms of School Days Lost) when considering all suspensions within the timeframe.

Week by Week

Analytics > Behaviour > Week by Week

What is it for?

Allows you to compare week by week trends across your schools in terms of numbers and year groups. This allows you to identify particular at-risk cohorts or points in the school year when suspension rates rise.

Who is included?

All suspensions during the time period. Enrolment mode is not considered. Suspensions for students who are not currently enrolled but were enrolled during the timeframe will also be included.

[Number of Suspensions]

What it is: The total number of suspension records within the timeframe, enrolment mode is not considered.

[Number of Suspended Students]

What it is: The total number of students with at least 1 suspension record within the timeframe, enrolment mode is not considered.

[Days Lost to Suspension]

What it is:  The total number of ‘good’ schooldays that a student has missed as a result of the suspension. Days that are not normal school days are not included. Each morning or afternoon session is counted as a half-day . A lunchtime suspension counts as a half day regardless of duration. The total days lost is calculated in the MIS by referencing the ‘E’ attendance code. It can also be manually entered if required. If a school has manually entered a value this will be taken in preference to the calculated value.

How we calculated it:

School Days Lost = Total Number of Sessions Lost / 2

[Average Suspensions per Pupil]

What it is: Taking the cohort as pupils who have been suspended within the timeframe, this shows the average number of suspensions for them. Enrolment mode is not considered. This column is rounded to 1 decimal place.

How we calculated it:

Average Suspensions per Pupil  = [Number of Suspensions] / [Number of Suspended Students]

[Average Days Lost per Pupil]

What it is: Taking the cohort as pupils who have been suspended within the timeframe, this shows the average number of Days Lost for them. Enrolment mode is not considered. This column is rounded to the nearest half day.

How we calculated it:

Average Days Lost per Pupil = [Number of School Days Lost] / [Number of Suspended Students]

Student Suspensions Across Group

Analytics > Behaviour > Student Suspensions Across Group

What is it for?

This is a key piece of reporting that allows you to see the number of days suspended per pupil to ensure they are not breaching the 45 day limit. Using UPN to track enrolments across any of your schools this table pulls together a summary of suspensions in each academic year at a pupil level, regardless of whether their suspensions occurred in their current school.

Who is included?

All suspensions during the time period. Enrolment mode is not considered. Suspensions for students who are not currently enrolled but were enrolled during the timeframe will also be included.

[Total Number of Days Lost to Suspension]

What it is:  The total number of ‘good’ schooldays that a student has missed as a result of the suspension. Days that are not normal school days are not included. Each morning or afternoon session is counted as a half-day . A lunchtime suspension counts as a half day regardless of duration. The total days lost is calculated in the MIS by referencing the ‘E’ attendance code. It can also be manually entered if required. If a school has manually entered a value this will be taken in preference to the calculated value.

All suspension records linked to this UPN within the timeframe, across any school in the group, will be considered for this total.

[Count of Suspensions]

What it is:  For any student with a suspension, this is the total number of times they have been suspended within the time period across any of the schools within your group.

4. Important Notes

Things to Keep in Mind

Data Quality:

• All data in this area is sourced from our in-house data warehouse. There is a small delay in data moving from the MIS to the warehouse so records that have just been added to school MIS might not yet be visible in these statistics.

Interpretation:

• The cohort included is different depending on the dataset. In some cases like School Summary we’ve designed this to align as closely as possible to DfE standards. For others, such as Student Summary it was designed to help you support all students with suspensions regardless of their enrolment mode.
• Due to the large aggregate nature of this data, plus the rolling year-to-date nature of reporting we only consider the cohort to be pupils enrolled during the timeframe.

Limitations:

• The Group summary relies on tracking a student via their UPN. If a student was enrolled with a temporary UPN at any schools we cannot link these records together.