Overview
This article explains the Primary Flight Path Report, detailing its purpose, how to access it, the information it includes, and the controls used to customise it.
Purpose
The Flight Path Report tracks pupils’ assessments over time, using statutory assessments (for example, EYFS, Phonics, and MTC) and teacher assessments. It shows expected progress, highlights trends, and helps teachers identify whether pupils are on track to meet their targets.
Using the report, you can:
- Support lesson planning by identifying which pupils are working above, at, or below expected levels, you can tailor lessons to meet different learning needs. For example, you might plan targeted interventions for students who are underperforming or create extension activities for high achievers.
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Differentiate based on attainment. The report highlights attainment gaps within your class that you can use this to:
- Group students strategically.
- Provide differentiated resources
- Track whether interventions are closing learning gaps.
- Target set. The report provides a clear picture of each student’s starting point and trajectory over time, helping you to set realistic, challenging targets that can be reviewed regularly with pupils and parents.
- Prepare for pupil progress meetings. You can use the report to demonstrate evidence of progress over time, justify intervention strategies, and discuss next steps with leaders, colleagues, and parents. It ensures conversations are based on clear data rather than assumptions. Using the sorting functionality, you can identify who within your class is following their expected trajectories, or who may be falling behind at different points in time.
Additionally, the report can be used to support the transition between year groups or Key Stages as it provides continuity of information. Receiving teachers can see prior attainment and progress trends, allowing them to plan support from the start rather than waiting for new assessments.
Finally, in terms of school improvement, at a whole-school level, leaders can use the data to monitor performance across subjects and year groups, identify areas needing development, and measure the impact of teaching strategies and interventions.
The pupils' Year Group, along with the Subject selected, are used to determine the specific information shown on the flight path from Year 1 to Year 6. The pupils' EYFS statutory assessment data is displayed as a starting point in Year 1. Statutory assessment results to date (Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2) are displayed for each pupil as they progress on their learning journey. Summative data is shown on a year-by-year, Assessment Period-by-Assessment Period basis.
When using this report, select the specific Year Groups / Classes / Groups and apply filters to meet your needs, then bookmark the report so that you can return to it at any time.
Opening the page
After selecting the Flight Path Report from the Reports page menu, you will be prompted to select which pupils you wish to include. Select one or more Year Groups and / or Classes then select Load Report:
Report View
By default, when the report loads, the current Assessment Period within the current Academic Year is displayed for Reading. Leavers are not displayed by default (but can be viewed by selecting using the filters). The assessment columns are arranged in chronological order from EYFS through KS1 and KS2, and summative assessments are interspersed with statutory assessments:
All summative data in this report updates immediately after entry into Sonar Tracker. Changes to statutory data appear only after overnight updates, not immediately.
Elements
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Pupils | Number of pupils who are included in the report (includes those without assessment data). |
| X Pupils With No Assessment | Number of pupils who have no assessment data. |
| Pupil | Full name of pupil, including lozenges for attendance (as appropriate) and contextual data (for example, Pupil Premium and SEN) |
| Tabular data - Statutory and summative assessment results |
The tabular data updates dynamically, based on the Subject selected and the pupils' Year Group, as shown in this example: The assessment columns displayed are those up to and including the current Assessment Period. Future assessments are not displayed until the relevant time. For example, a Year 4 group, where today's date falls in Assessment Period Spring 1, would not show any columns for Statutory or Summative assessments after Year 4 Assessment Period Spring 1. Meanwhile, a Year 6 group for a date that falls in the last assessment period of the year would display all Statutory and Summative Assessment periods.
After Year 1, the last assessment period of all previous years is displayed. For example, for a Year 3 class, the last assessment periods from Year 1 and Year 2 are shown.
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| Tabular data - Statutory columns displayed for Reading |
When Reading is selected using the Subject Selector, in addition to the assessments at the various assessment period throughout the current academic year, and the last assessment period of the previous years, the following columns are displayed in the table:
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| Tabular data - Statutory columns displayed for Writing |
When Writing is selected using the Subject Selector, in addition to the assessments at the various assessment period throughout the current academic year, and the last assessment period of the previous years, the following columns are displayed in the table:
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| Tabular data - Statutory columns displayed for Mathematics |
When Mathematics is selected using the Subject Selector, in addition to the assessments at the various assessment period throughout the current academic year, and the last assessment period of the previous years, the following columns are displayed in the table:
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| Total Pupils | The number of pupils in the group, not in the overall report, except for All Pupils. |
Controls
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Filters | Select to filter pupils contextually, including their ethnicity. See Sonar Tracker: How do I filter pupils? |
| Select to sort column in ascending / descending order. | |
| Academic Year and Assessment Period |
Select the Academic Year and Assessment Period that you want to use when running the report. By default, this is set to the current Assessment Period in the current Academic Year, for example, 2024-2025 Summer 2. Schools often choose to align their Assessment Periods to terms, but this is not always the case. The values displayed may differ based on your school's assessment processes. |
| Subject Selector | Check / uncheck the Subject that you want to use when running the report. |
| Select to create a PDF version of the report. When created, the report is automatically downloaded to your device. To view the report in PDF format, locate and open the PDF file using either the built in download functionality in your web browser or the file management tools on your device. | |
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Select to print a copy of the report. When printing a report, select More settings and decrease / increase the Scale to resize the report so that it fits better onto each page: |
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| Pupil | Select a pupil's name to view their pupil record. |
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