Gain deeper exclusion insights with flexible benchmarking on Assembly

We have made updates to the on Assembly to make benchmarking more flexible, allowing you to compare exclusion rates against national, local authority and regional averages. Benchmark data is also updated automatically as new statistics become available, helping ensure your comparisons remain current. We have also updated the interface, introducing a new comparison page, richer breakdown tables and colour coded performance indicators.

A new is now available across all pages of the Exclusions Report. This allows you to switch between National, Local Authority and Regional averages when reviewing exclusion data.

Once selected, KPI cards, breakdown tables and comparison charts automatically update to reflect your chosen benchmark. When comparing against Local Authority or Regional averages, the report uses the selected school's local authority and region to ensure the comparison remains relevant.

This means for you can quickly move between national, local and regional perspectives without leaving the page, making it easier to understand performance in the context that matters most.

Always know which benchmark you are viewing. Dynamic labels have been added alongside KPI cards to clearly display the benchmark currently being used, such as

The labels update automatically whenever the Benchmark Selector changes so you can immediately see which benchmark your results are being compared against without needing to check the Benchmark Selector separately.

Benchmark comparisons now automatically reflect the phase of the selected school, including Primary, Secondary, Special and All Through settings. When no school is selected, the report defaults to the All-through (total) figure. This ensures benchmark comparisons are aligned to the type of school being analysed, helping provide more meaningful insights.

Benchmark figures used throughout the report now update automatically whenever the report is refreshed. This means benchmark comparisons always use the latest available data without requiring manual intervention. The Information tooltip button has also been enhanced to show which academic year benchmark data is being drawn from.

This page displays suspension and permanent exclusion rates alongside Local Authority, Regional and National averages through summary cards and comparison charts. This means you can view all benchmark levels side by side and quickly understand how your school's performance compares across different geographical contexts.

All KPI cards now use the selected benchmark as their target/goal value. The KPI target line and colour coding (above/below target) update when the Benchmark Selector is changed.

Overview · Drilldown · Suspensions by Groups · Permanent Exclusions by Groups · Suspension Rate · Suspensions Vs National

Benchmark values have been added to FSM, Gender and SEND breakdown tables. School rates and benchmark rates can now be viewed together within the same table. This mean you no longer need to compare figures across multiple visuals, making benchmarking quicker and easier to interpret.

Suspensions by Groups · Permanent Exclusions by Groups

Additionally, the rate columns in the breakdown tables are now colour coded:

🟢 — the school's rate is the benchmark average (performing better)

🔴 — the school's rate is the benchmark average (cause for attention)

Where no benchmark exists for a particular group (for example, the Non-FSM row), no colour is shown. Areas performing above or below benchmark can be identified more quickly without manually comparing rates.

Suspension Rate charts for FSM, SEND and Gender groups now include benchmark comparison bars alongside school values. Each group is compared directly against the equivalent benchmark rate for that group. These visual comparisons are easier to interpret and provide greater context than a single benchmark line.

A new 1+ Suspension Rate by School chart has been added to the Suspensions vs National page.

The chart shows the proportion of pupils with one or more suspensions and includes benchmark comparison data. This helps to gain more complete understanding of suspension patterns across schools.

Suspensions Vs National

The Reasons page has been enhanced to include both suspension incidents and permanent exclusions by reason. Drilldown analysis has also been expanded to allow you to explore exclusion types within each reason category. This means you can better understand not only why exclusions occur, but also the volume and type of exclusion activity behind each reason.

Reasons

The detailed student level drilldown table on the Suspension Rate page has been optimised. This improves responsiveness when drilling from school through to individual pupil level, particularly for schools with large numbers of suspension records.

Suspension Rate (student drilldown table)

A new Suspension Reason vs Benchmark table has been added to the Reasons page.

The table allows schools to compare both suspension and permanent exclusion reason distributions against National, Local Authority and Regional averages. The Benchmark Selector controls which benchmark is displayed.

It displays per school and per reason:

This mean you can quickly identify whether specific reasons for exclusion occur more or less frequently than expected when compared with similar schools and benchmark groups.

Reasons