Sonar Multi-School
Getting started
Sonar Multi-School is a web-based tool that lets you view and analyse attainment, progress, and gaps across all schools in your Trust. You can compare data across schools, year groups, and pupil groups to identify trends and plan interventions.
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You can use Sonar Multi-School if your school is part of a multi-school group, such as a Multi Academy Trust, that subscribes to Sonar Multi-School, and you have the appropriate permissions associated with your user ID.
Access is set up by a user with Tracker Owner or Admin permissions in your Trust. If you cannot access Sonar Multi-School, or your account does not appear to have the correct permissions, contact your Trust's Sonar Multi-School administrator. They can view and manage user accounts from the User Management section in the left navigation bar.
Your email address in Sonar Multi-School must match the email address associated with your account in Sonar Tracker. If they do not match, you will not be able to access Sonar Multi-School content.
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Sonar Multi-School displays data from the current academic year and the previous two academic years. All data comes directly from Sonar Tracker - Sonar Multi-School does not hold its own data. This means that what you see in Sonar Multi-School reflects what has been entered into Sonar Tracker across your schools.
If data appears to be missing or incorrect, the most likely cause is that the relevant assessment data has not been entered in Sonar Tracker, or has been entered against a different pupil record. Your school's Sonar Tracker administrator can check this.
Only pupils with assessment data are included in calculations. Pupils without assessment data are not included.
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Summative Dashboard and reports
The Summative Dashboard is the landing page for Sonar Multi-School. It shows headline measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across your Trust using a series of widgets. You can compare attainment and progress, view gaps between pupil groups, and select widgets to explore data in more detail.
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Widgets show summary data for key measures. The following widgets are available by default:
- Primary Subjects Overview - attainment in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Combined (RWM).
- EYFS Subjects Overview - attainment for Combined (GLD) and Combined (All Goals).
- Diminishing The Difference (Gender) - the attainment gap between male and female pupils.
- Diminishing The Difference (Disadvantaged) - the attainment gap between disadvantaged and not disadvantaged pupils.
- Progress From Statutory Assessment - how pupils are progressing compared to their previous statutory result.
- Progress Over Time - how combined attainment is changing across assessment periods.
Select View report on any widget to see more detailed data.
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Select a widget or a data point on a chart to open the associated report. From there, you can change the grouping - for example, by school, year group, gender, or disadvantaged status - to analyse the data further.
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In addition to the dashboard widgets, you can access the following reports directly from the left navigation bar:
- Early Years Attainment Overview - a snapshot of EYFS attainment for the current assessment period. View attainment across different pupil groups for Combined (GLD), Combined (All Goals), and individual EYFS subjects.
- Primary Attainment Overview - a snapshot of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 attainment for the current assessment period. View attainment across different pupil groups for Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Combined (RWM).
- Pupil Overview - a breakdown of pupil contextual data across your Trust, including gender, disadvantaged status, SEN, EAL, and LAC figures. View by school, year group, gender, disadvantaged status, or SEN.
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Comparing groups and analysing data
Use the By School view to compare attainment between schools in your Trust. This helps you identify schools performing strongly and those that may need support. You can also compare each school against your Trust average.
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Use the View Options to switch between views. You can compare data by:
- Year Group.
- Gender.
- Disadvantaged status.
- SEN.
- Ethnicity.
Each view shows attainment for that group alongside the Trust average, so you can identify gaps and target support effectively.
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Disadvantaged pupils are defined as those who:
- Have been eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at any point over the last six years.
- Have been looked after continuously for at least one day in the last year.
- Have left care through a formal route such as adoption.
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The Trust average shows the overall percentage of pupils across your Trust who are at or above the expected standard for the current assessment period. It appears as an orange dashed line on charts and under the heading All Pupils in tables. You can use it to compare individual schools, year groups, or pupil groups against the wider Trust picture.
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Use the Diminishing The Difference widgets on the Summative Dashboard to compare groups such as male and female pupils, or disadvantaged and not disadvantaged pupils. These show both current attainment for each group and the size of the gap between them, along with how the gap has changed since the previous assessment period.
Select View report to see how the gap has changed over the last three academic years and for individual subjects.
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Use the Progress Over Time Overview Widget and its associated report to view attainment across multiple assessment periods. You can view the chart by school, year group, gender, disadvantaged status, SEN, or subject to identify trends, spot improvements or declines, and evaluate the impact of interventions.
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A widening gap means outcomes are becoming less equal between groups. When the gap widens, this is shown in red in the widget.
Use the View report button on the widget to drill down by school, subject, or pupil group and identify where the widening is most significant. Use this information to plan targeted interventions for the lower-performing group.
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Understanding attainment and progress
ARE stands for Age Related Expectations. "At or Above ARE" means a pupil is working at or above the expected standard for their year group based on their summative assessment. This is the main attainment measure used across all reports and widgets in Sonar Multi-School.
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Only pupils with recorded assessment data are included in calculations. If a pupil has no summative assessment data recorded against them in Sonar Tracker, they will not appear in Sonar Multi-School reports or widget figures.
For example, if a Trust has 1,200 pupils but 50 do not have assessment data, all percentages are calculated based on the 1,150 pupils who do.
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The change in percentage shows how attainment has improved or declined compared to the previous assessment period. An increase is shown in green with an up-arrow. A decrease is shown in red with a down-arrow.
Where no summative assessment data has been entered for the current assessment period - for example, at the start of a new term - ~ 0 is displayed, because the change cannot yet be calculated.
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Combined (RWM) refers to the combined attainment of pupils in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. When calculating a Combined (RWM) result for a pupil, the lowest attainment across the three subjects determines the overall result. So a pupil must be At or Above in all three subjects to be counted as At or Above in Combined (RWM).
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Combined (GLD) refers to the Good Level of Development measure used in EYFS. It is based on 12 Early Learning Goals (ELGs). As with Combined (RWM), the lowest attainment across those goals determines the overall result - a pupil must be At or Above in all 12 ELGs to achieve a Good Level of Development.
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Statutory data
The Statutory Dashboard includes headline measures that relate directly to DfE statutory reporting. These include:
- EYFS - Good Level of Development.
- Phonics Check (Year 1 and end of Key Stage 1).
- Multiplication Tables Check (Year 4).
- Key Stage 1 combined Reading, Writing, and Mathematics.
- Key Stage 2 combined Reading, Writing, and Mathematics.
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Yes. From the academic year 2023-2024, there has been no statutory requirement to carry out an end of Key Stage 1 pupil assessment. However, Key Stage 1 data is included in the Statutory Dashboard because many schools still report internally using this measure.
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The Progress From Statutory Assessment widget and report compare each pupil's current attainment against their most recent statutory assessment result:
- For Year 1 and Year 2 pupils, current attainment is compared against their Combined (GLD) result at the end of Reception.
- For Year 3 through Year 6 pupils, current attainment is compared against their Key Stage 1 SATs Combined (RWM) result.
Pupils are grouped into seven progress categories, from Not on track and BELOW standard through to Accelerated track and ABOVE standard.
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The seven progress categories are:
- Not on track and BELOW standard - pupils at greatest risk; they should be on track based on their prior attainment but are not, and are below the expected standard. These pupils are the highest priority for intervention.
- Not on track but AT standard - pupils at risk; they are currently at the expected standard but are not making the expected level of progress. These pupils are also a high priority.
- On track but BELOW standard - pupils who are making expected progress from their prior attainment but remain below the expected standard. These form a secondary intervention priority.
- On track and AT standard - pupils on track and working at the expected standard.
- On track and ABOVE standard - pupils on track and working above the expected standard.
- Accelerated track and AT standard - pupils who previously performed below expectation but are now working at the expected standard.
- Accelerated track and ABOVE standard - pupils who previously performed below expectation and are now working above the expected standard.
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Using data strategically
Use the comparison views to identify underperforming groups, gaps between groups, and schools or cohorts that need support. The Progress From Statutory Assessment report is particularly useful for prioritising - pupils in the Not on track and BELOW standard and Not on track but AT standard categories are those of greatest concern and should be your first priority for intervention.
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Compare schools using the By School view across reports and widgets. You can identify high-performing schools and strong subjects or cohorts, and use this to share effective practice across your Trust. The Progress From Statutory Assessment report can also identify schools that are adding value - those where pupils are making accelerated progress from their prior attainment.
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Sonar Multi-School is designed to support Trust-level analysis and strategic decision-making. Here are the most useful ways to use it for reporting and improvement planning:
- Monitoring attainment - use the Primary Attainment Overview and Early Years Attainment Overview reports to track the percentage of pupils At or Above ARE across your Trust by school, year group, and pupil group.
- Tracking trends - use the Progress Over Time Overview report to see how attainment is changing term by term across the current and previous two academic years.
- Identifying gaps - use the Diminishing The Difference widgets to monitor the gender and disadvantaged attainment gaps and track whether they are closing or widening over time.
- Progress from prior attainment - use the Progress From Statutory Assessment report to show whether pupils are making expected progress from their EYFS or Key Stage 1 starting points.
- Evidencing added value - identify schools where pupils are making accelerated progress, which can be used to demonstrate impact and share effective practice.
All data is centrally collated from Sonar Tracker across your Trust, giving you a single trusted source that you can use to populate improvement plans, board reports, and Ofsted evidence.
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