Sisra Analytics: KS5 - How do I determine if a student should count in Headlines/Performance measures?

Overview

This article provides advice and guidance for setting cohort eligibility in Sisra Analytics for KS5, based on the DfE's Cohort Eligibility rules. It explains students statuses are, how they are used to determine inclusion in performance measures, and how to assign or change statuses for different student scenarios.

Cohort eligibility determines which students from your school count towards official 16–18 performance measures as per the DfE rules. The general principle of these rules is that a provider receives credit for qualifications only if they were entered while the student was on roll. Where a student is entered for a qualification while on roll in Y12 and subsequently leaves, the original provider gets credit for these Y12 grades, either once the student reaches the end of their 16-18 study or after they have left.

The DfE acknowledge that historic student movement or incomplete reporting, means a student's final inclusion in these figures may not be certain until the checking exercise data is finalised.

This guide is designed to help you confirm your cohort as accurately as possible with the information currently available, and which student statuses would need to be used to reflect this in KS5.

Background

Expand a section to find out more:

Students included in 16 to 18 performance measures

The DfE criteria for inclusion are as follows:
"Students are eligible to be included in 16 to 18 performance measures if they are of academic age 16, 17 or 18 at the start of the academic year (31 August) and at the end of their 16-18 studies. They are identified as being at the end of 16- 18 study when they first meet at least one of the following criteria:
1. they have entered for at least 2 qualifications, each of which is at least the size of an A level or they have entered for at least 1 qualification the size of at least 2 A levels, in the reporting year; OR
2. they have entered for both a T Level core and T Level occupational specialism during 16 to 18 study (T Level measures are not yet published on CSCP, but this rule is already applied to produce a normal cohort when reporting on CSCP begins, and to ensure other student cohorts that are published on CSCP are correct), OR
3. they are 18 at the start of the reporting year and have not been reported in 16 to 18 performance measures at their current allocated school or college.
Prior to 2021, we also used a third inclusion rule where a student would be triggered for inclusion if they had been allocated to the same school or college for the last two years. We have removed this criteria to reduce the burden on schools and colleges where large numbers of students complete 16 to 18 study in their third year. Previously, schools and colleges would have had to spend a lot of time removing these students from the cohort during the data checking exercise. Students will still be triggered for reporting after two years if they meet either of the other criteria above."

DfE 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guidance. February 2025
For cohorts reported before the 2021/22 performance tables, extra criteria introduced in 2016 apply:

"they have been allocated to the same school or college for the last two years"

DfE 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guidance. February 2025

Student Statuses and when they apply

After a student’s data is imported into Sisra Analytics, they are assigned a Status. This determines how the student is counted in school-level or student-level performance measures as outlined below:

Status	Description	Included in School Performance?	Included in Student Performance?
On Roll	This status will comprise the majority of students who have been on roll at your school for Y12 and Y13.	Yes^*	Yes
On Roll Aged 18	Manually select this status for students who have been allocated to your school or college for at least 2 years, who are of academic age 18.^**	Yes	Yes
Year 12 Only	For students who have only completed Y12 at your school.	Yes^*	Yes
Year 13 Only	For students who only studied Y13 at your school, for example, they transferred to you after studying Y12 at a different school.	Yes^*	Yes
Year 12 Addback	Select manually for students identified as addbacks, based on the criteria provided by the DfE (see our Cohort Eligibility article linked below).	Yes	Yes
Year 13 Only Aged 18	Select manually for students who have only studied Y13 at your school, and are also of academic age 18^**.	Yes	Yes
Guest	Select manually for students who should not count towards headline figures, but you would like included in student performance in that cohort’s reports, for example, qualification/class analysis.	No	Yes
Left School	These students are excluded from all reports and figures for that cohort.	No	No

^{* Students need 2 grades worth at least 1 A Level entry each (or 1 grade worth 2 entries), to be included in school performance measures OR entered for both a T Level core and T Level occupational specialism during 16 to 18 study}

^{** This article defines a student's academic age as their age on 31/08/2025, the start of the 2025/2026 reporting year that this guide relates to. It assumes Year 13 students are academic age 17 and Year 14 students are academic age 18 on that date. For further information, see KS5CohortEligibility_DfECorrespondence.pdf attached below.}

A student must meet the DfE defined inclusion criteria for each performance measure, to be included in that measure in the Headlines.

In KS5, Sisra Analytics automatically sets student statuses based on the data files they appear in. For example, if a student is listed in the Y12 data file but not in any Y13 file, they are flagged as Year 12 Only. Ensure you verify student statuses, and manually change if needed.

Determining students currently on roll

Determining whether Y13 and Y14 students who are currently on roll at your school should be included in your cohort is based on the criteria stated above:

	If Yes	If No
Check 1. Is the student's academic age 18 (at the start of the reporting year, for example, for the 2025/26 cohort, students need to be 18 on 31/08/2025) and not previously reported in 24/25 at any school?	These students will be included in the performance tables. Set to On Roll Aged 18 (or Year 13 Only Aged 18 if only in Y13).	Move to Check 2.
Check 2. Is the student's academic age 17 (at the start of the reporting year, for example, for the 2025/26 cohort, students need to be 17 on 31/08/2025) and has been on roll for at least 2 years?	These students will be included in the performance tables. Set to On Roll If the student is continuing their 16-18 study, you will have the option to defer them for 1 year during the Autumn checking exercise.	Move to Check 3.
Check 3. Is student's academic age 17 (at the start of the reporting year, for example, for the 2025/26 cohort, students need to be 17 on 31/08/2025) and has been on roll for only 1 year (Year 13 only)?	These students are eligible for reporting depending on whether they meet additional criteria, and should be set to Year 13 Only. Students will automatically be set to Year 13 Only in Sisra Analytics if they only have student data imported for Y13 - this rule will be applied based on the grades they have uploaded. However, you can also manually set a student to Year 13 Only where applicable.	The student is likely excluded from cohort; set Left School (to ensure they are excluded from all reports for the cohort) or Guest (to include them within the student performance-based reports, whilst not affecting school headline figures).

Decision tree

Determining students not currently on roll, but have been in the last three years

Use this when a student completed Y12 (or both Y12 and Y13) but left before final reporting. According to the DfE, in certain cases schools “can’t be sure in which year some of their students who left after year 12 will be included”. The following should be used to determine if students may be added back in to your cohort:

	If Yes	If No
Check 1. Did the student(s) study Year 12 in the previous academic year? (for example, the 2024/25 cohort)	A student who studied Y12 in the previous academic year (in this example, the 2024/25 academic year) but is no longer on roll should be academic age 17 and will not have been allocated to the same provider for two years although they could still count. Their Status should be set to Year 12 Only in Sisra Analytics. Year 12 Only students need 2 grades worth at least 1 A Level entry (or 1 grade worth 2 entries) to be included in school performance measures, as per DfE guidance. Students will automatically be set to Year 12 Only in Sisra Analytics if they only have student data imported for Y12, however, you can also manually set a student to Year 12 Only where applicable.	Move to Check 2.
Check 2. Did the student(s) study Year 12 two academic years ago? (for example, the 2023/24 cohort)	The student should now be academic age 18 and meet the DfE's criterion b (see above), suggesting they will count in the performance tables. Move to Check 3.	The student should have been included in a previous reporting year.
Check 3. Do the student(s) have any data uploaded in the current cohort in Sisra Analytics? (for example, the 2025/26 cohort)	Change the student's Status to Year 12 Addback in Sisra Analytics to include them in your school's performance measures, provided they have the necessary grades for inclusion in each measure. Before making the change, double-check that the student should definitely count towards your school performance measures.	Import a Y12 student data file containing the missing student(s) for the 2025/26 cohort (Students > Import). Manually change their student Status to Year 12 Addback via Students > Cohort. Upload their Exam grades into the Exams data set (Grades > Uploads > Exams).

Decision tree

How do I change a student's status?

Follow these steps to review / change the Status of a student in Sisra Analytics, based on the cohort eligibility guidance:

Select DATA.
Select KS5.
Select the Cohort.
Select Students.
Select Cohort to upon the Student List:
Scroll down the list and review the status of the pupils.
To change the status of one or more pupils:
1. Check the Actions column next to each pupil whose details you want to change.
2. Select Change Status.
From Change Student Status:
1. Select the Status for the selected student(s).
2. Select Change Status.