Everything I need to know about Benchmarking

Sonar Tracker, Benchmarking

Overview

This article covers everything you need when using Benchmarking.

Benchmarking gives you EYFS and Primary benchmark reports, so you can measure your school's performance against other Sonar Tracker schools locally and nationally. You can use it to:

  1. See school performance broken down by subject.
  2. Identify strengths and gaps, and see outcomes by contextual group and attendance.
  3. See EYFS performance for Good Level of Development and All Goals, compared against local and national Sonar Tracker schools.
  4. Compare your school against other Sonar Tracker schools in your local authority.
  5. Compare your school against other Sonar Tracker schools nationally, for wider context.
  6. Compare year groups across all primary year groups.
  7. Analyse contextual groups, for example, disadvantaged pupils, SEND, gender, ethnicity and attendance.
  8. View trends, strengths and gaps.

Who it's for

Benchmarking is exclusive to Sonar Tracker customers. It's particularly valuable for senior leaders, headteachers and Trust leaders who need to evaluate performance, identify priorities, and report to governors or external stakeholders. It also supports subject leaders in understanding how their areas compare more broadly.

Benefits

  1. Quickly identifies strengths and gaps across year groups, subjects and contextual groups.
  2. Supports self-evaluation and inspection readiness with local and national comparisons.
  3. Enables data-driven target setting.
  4. Highlights outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, supporting equity-focused improvement.

Help Centre articles

These Help Centre links walk you through how to use Benchmarking:

  1. Primary Benchmarking Analysis - How to read and use the primary benchmarking report.
  2. EYFS Benchmarking Analysis - How to read and use the EYFS benchmarking report.
  3. How are percentages calculated in Sonar Tracker's benchmarks? - How benchmark percentages are worked out.
  4. Sonar Tracker: What data is included locally and nationally in Sonar Tracker's benchmarks?
  5. Sonar Tracker: Why is Nursery included in the EYFS benchmarks when you can't achieve GLD until the end of Reception?
  6. Sonar Tracker: Why can't I see individual goal levels in EYFS Benchmarking Analysis?

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