Guidance

What academies, free schools and colleges must or should publish online

Information that academies, including free schools, colleges and any educational institution with academy arrangements, must or should publish on their websites.

Applies to England

If your school or college is one of the following types, you need to check your funding agreement to find out exactly what information you must publish on your website:

  • academies, including free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges
  • sixth-form colleges
  • general further education (FE) colleges

There are also publishing requirements set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the Children and Families Act 2014, and related regulations. You must comply with these.

This guidance gives an overview of those requirements and the further information that the Department for Education (DfE) recommends that these schools and colleges publish on their websites. Many academy trusts are under a duty to publish much of this further information, due to clauses in their funding agreements.

School or college contact details

Your website should include the:

  • name of your school or college
  • postal address of your school or college
  • telephone number of your school or college
  • name of the member of staff who deals with queries from parents and other members of the public
  • name of the headteacher or principal
  • name and contact details of the chair of the governing body (if you have one)
  • name and contact details of your special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) unless you’re a special academy or sixth form or FE college

If you’re an academy, you should publish the website, address and telephone number of your academy trust.

Admission arrangements

Academies

Admission arrangements for all mainstream academy schools, other than academy special schools, alternative provision or stand-alone 16 to 19 institutions, must comply with the School Admissions Code and the school admission appeals code.

Academy trusts must publish the admission arrangements for their schools on their website by 15 March each year, and keep them there for the whole of the offer year. This is the school year in which offers for places are made.

The admission arrangements must explain:

  • how you will consider applications for each relevant age group at your schools - this is the age group at which children are normally admitted to the school
  • what parents should do if they want to apply for their child to attend one of your schools
  • your arrangements for selecting the pupils who apply (if the school is a selective school)
  • your over-subscription criteria, outlining how you offer places if there are more applicants than places available

You must also set out how in-year applications will be dealt with for your schools by 31 August at the latest each year.

If the academy trust will manage in-year applications for your schools, you must provide a suitable application form to enable parents to apply for an in-year place at your school. You must also provide a supplementary information form where necessary.

If the school is to be a part of the local authority’s in-year co-ordination scheme, you must provide information on where parents can find details of the relevant scheme.

You must also publish a timetable for organising and hearing admission appeals for your schools by 28 February each year.

This must:

  • include a deadline for lodging appeals which allows those making an appeal at least 20 school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to prepare and lodge their written appeal
  • include reasonable deadlines for:
    • those making an appeal to submit additional evidence
    • admission authorities to submit their evidence
    • the clerk to send appeal papers to the panel and parties
  • ensure that those making an appeal receive at least 10 school days’ notice of their appeal hearing
  • ensure that decision letters are sent within 5 school days of the hearing wherever possible

16 to 19 academies and colleges

If you’re a 16 to 19 academy, FE college or sixth-form college, we recommend that you publish details of your admission arrangements.

You should publish this information a year before the beginning of the academic year to which arrangements apply, to help parents and students make an informed choice. We recommend that the arrangements do not change during the year. You should include details of:

  • open days your college or academy is planning
  • the process for applying for a place at your college or academy
  • whether your college or academy gives priority to applications from pupils enrolled at particular schools

The school admissions code and the school admissions appeal code do not apply to 16 to 19 academies, FE colleges and sixth-form colleges.

School uniforms

The department produces statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms. Schools must have regard to this guidance when developing and implementing their school uniform policy. This guidance requires schools to publish their uniform policy on their website.

The published uniform policy should be easy to understand and, where a school has a school uniform, should:

  • clearly state whether an item is optional or required
  • make clear if the item will only be worn at certain times of the year (for example, if it’s summer or winter uniform)
  • make clear whether a generic item will be accepted or if a branded item is required
  • make clear whether an item can only be purchased from a specific retailer or if it can be purchased more widely, including from second-hand retailers

Ofsted reports

You must publish either a copy of your school’s most recent Ofsted report or a link to the report on the Ofsted website.

Test, exam and assessment results

Key stage 4 and 16 to 18 performance measures will be published by the Secretary of State for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

For key stage 4 and 16 to 18 results, you should update your website to include the latest measures which, once published, will be based on tests, exams and assessments from the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Alongside your key stage 4 and 16 to 18 results, you may wish to add the following sentence:

“Given the uneven impact of the pandemic on school and college performance data, the government has said you should not make direct comparisons between the performance data for one school or college and another, or to data from previous years.”

Key stage 2 (end of primary school) results

You do not need to publish your key stage 2 results for the academic year 2021 to 2022 on your website, as the Secretary of State will not publish this data. This is because statutory assessments returned for the first time since 2019, without adaptations, after disruption caused by the pandemic.

You should continue to display your school’s most recent key stage 2 performance measures, as published by the Secretary of State, on your website. For most schools, these will be the performance measures published for the 2018 to 2019 academic year.

You should clearly mark that these performance measures are for the 2018 to 2019 academic year and are not current. For example, you could add the following to your results:

“The government will not publish KS2 school level data for the 2021 to 2022 academic year. The last available public data is from the 2018 to 2019 academic year. It is important to note that the data from that year may no longer reflect current performance.”

Key stage 4 (secondary school) results

You should publish the following details from your school’s most recent key stage 4 performance measures, as published by the Secretary of State. For most schools, once published, these will be the performance measures for the 2021 to 2022 academic year:

  • Progress 8 score
  • attainment in English and maths - percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths
  • Attainment 8 score
  • English Baccalaureate (EBacc) average point score (APS)

We suggest that schools also publish:

  • the percentage of pupils that enter the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), and
  • the percentage of pupils staying in education or going into employment after key stage 4 (pupil destinations)

Key stage 5 (16 to 18) information

Schools and colleges with 16 to 18 students should publish the most recent 16 to 18 performance measures, as published by the Secretary of State. For most schools or colleges, once published, these will be the performance measures for the 2021 to 2022 academic year:

  • attainment
  • retention
  • destinations

Progress performance measures

For schools and colleges with 16 to 18 students, you do not need to display progress measures (level 3 value added), or an English and mathematics progress measure, on your website. These measures will not be published for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Performance measures website

You should include a link to the school and college performance measures website and your school or colleges performance measures page.

School opening hours

Schools should publish on their website their opening and closing times and the total time this amounts to in a typical week (for example 32.5 hours).

Schools should show the compulsory times they are open. This time runs from the official start of the school day (morning registration) to the official end of the compulsory school day. It includes breaks, but not optional before or after school activities.

Curriculum

Academies should publish:

  • the content of the curriculum your school follows in each academic year for every subject - this includes mandatory subjects such as religious education, even if it’s taught as part of another subject or subjects or is called something else
  • how parents or other members of the public can find out more about the curriculum your school is following
  • how you meet the 16 to 19 study programme requirements (if you have a sixth form or offer education at 16 to 19)

Depending on what phase of education your school offers, we recommend you also publish any of the following that apply to your school:

  • the names of any phonics or reading schemes you are using in key stage 1
  • a list of the courses available to pupils at key stage 4, including GCSEs
  • the 16 to 19 qualifications you offer

You must also set out how over time you will increase the extent to which disabled pupils participate in the school’s curriculum, as part of your school’s accessibility plan. There are more details in the special educational needs and disabilities section.

Remote education

You should consider publishing information about your school’s remote education provision on your website. An optional template is available to support schools with this.

Behaviour policy

Academies should publish details of the school’s behaviour policy, including their anti-bullying strategy. Read guidance on developing and publishing your school’s behaviour policy.

It’s good practice for FE colleges to also publish this information.

Pupil premium and recovery premium

All schools that receive pupil premium funding must publish a pupil premium strategy statement each year by 31 December.

In the strategy statement, you must explain how your pupil premium and recovery premium is being spent and the outcomes that are being achieved for pupils. It’s important that parents and trustees understand this, and you should write it with them in mind.

You must use the DfE template to produce your statement. This can be found alongside completed examples and guidance for school leaders on the pupil premium guidance page.

The template has been designed to ensure that your statement reflects the requirements in the pupil premium conditions of grant. This includes a requirement for pupil premium and recovery premium to be spent in line with the department’s ‘menu of approaches’ from the start of the 2022 to 2023 academic year. The menu can be found in the document ‘Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders’, on the pupil premium guidance page.

We recommend that you plan your pupil premium use over 3 years. If you do so, you are still required to update your statement each year to reflect your spending activity for that academic year and the impact of pupil premium in the previous academic year.

PE and sport premium for primary schools

If your school receives PE and sport premium funding, you must publish:

  • the amount of premium received
  • a full breakdown of how it has been spent (or will be spent)
  • what impact the school has seen on pupils’ PE and sport participation and attainment
  • how the improvements will be sustainable in the future

You are also required to publish the percentage of pupils within your year 6 cohort who met the national curriculum requirement to:

  • swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
  • use a range of strokes effectively (for example front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke)
  • perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations

You must publish all the information in this section by the end of the summer term, or 31 July at the latest. This is outlined in the conditions of grant document.

To help plan, monitor and report on the impact of your spending, partners in the physical education and school sport sector have developed a template. The template can be accessed through the Association for PE and Youth Sport Trust websites.

Public sector equality duty

The Equality Act 2010: advice for schools provides information as to how your school can demonstrate compliance with the public sector equality duty. For example, including details of how your school is:

  • eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited under the Equality Act 2010
  • advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not
  • fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
  • consulting and involving those affected by inequality in the decisions your school or college takes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination - affected people could include parents, pupils, staff and members of the local community

As public bodies, academies and FE institutions must comply with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017. This means you must publish:

  • details of how your school complies with the public sector equality duty - you must update this every year
  • your school’s equality objectives - you must update this at least once every 4 years

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Academy schools (but not FE colleges and 16 to 19 academies) must publish an information report on your website about the implementation of your school’s policy for pupils with SEN. Schools should update the report at least annually.

You should update any changes occurring during the year as soon as possible. The report must comply with section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014, meaning that it must contain:

  • the ‘SEN information’ specified in schedule 1 to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. Statutory guidance on this is contained in paragraphs 6.79 to 6.82 of the special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years;
  • information on:
    • the arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils
    • the steps you have taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils
    • the facilities you provide to help disabled pupils to access the school
    • the plan prepared under paragraph 3 of schedule 10 to the Equality Act 2010 (accessibility plan) for:
      • increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum
      • improving the physical environment of the school for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities or services provided or offered by the school
      • improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled

Careers programme information

Academies and colleges should publish information about their careers programme. This information should relate to the delivery of careers guidance to pupils from years 7 to 13 (11 to 18-year olds) and any requirement set out in your funding agreement to deliver careers guidance. For the current academic year, you should include:

  • the school or college’s careers leader’s name, email address and telephone number
  • a summary of the careers programme, including details of how pupils, parents, teachers and employers may access information about it
  • how the school or college measures and assesses the careers programme’s impact on pupils
  • the date of the school or college’s next review of the information published

Read the statutory guidance for schools and colleges on careers guidance and access for education and training providers, for more information.

The statutory guidance for schools also contains further information about a policy statement that academies must publish to comply with section 42B of the Education Act 1997, known as the ‘provider access legislation’. The policy statement must set out the circumstances in which providers of technical education and apprenticeships will be given access to year 8 to 13 pupils.

Complaints policy

We recommend that all academies and colleges publish their complaints policy online.

If you’re an academy, FE or sixth-form college, we recommend that you publish your whistleblowing policy online.

Academy schools (but not colleges or 16 to 19 academies) must, as part of their SEN information report, publish any arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with special educational needs about the support provided by the school.

Annual reports and accounts

Academies

You should publish the following financial information about your school:

  • audited annual report and accounts
  • memorandum of association
  • articles of association
  • names of charity trustees and members
  • funding agreement

You can find more guidance about these in the Academy Trust Handbook.

FE and sixth-form colleges

Colleges should publish their instruments and articles of government on their website.

They should also publish their annual members’ report and audited financial statement every year.

Executive pay

You must publish the number of employees who have a gross annual salary and benefits of £100,000 or more. You must publish these figures in £10,000 increments. More details are included in paragraph 2.32 of the Academy Trust Handbook.

Trustees’ information and duties

Academies

Academy trusts must publish accessible and up to date details of governance arrangements. Find more on what you need to publish about your academy and its board of trustees in the Academy Trust Handbook (paragraphs 2.49 to 2.50).

Collecting and publishing governing board diversity data

Diversity is important and we want governing boards to be increasingly reflective of the communities they serve.

We encourage academy trust boards to collect and publish diversity data about the board and any local committees. Information should be widely accessible to members of the school community and the public. Board members can opt out of sharing their information, including protected characteristics, at any given time, including after publication.

Academy trusts must ensure that individuals cannot be identified through the publication of data, particularly when board member levels are low. Read more about this in the data protection toolkit for schools and Equality Act 2010: advice for schools.

There is no prescriptive way to collect diversity data from volunteers; this needs to be done on a voluntary basis. Trusts may prefer to adopt a similar approach to how they collate the diversity data of pupils.

FE and sixth-form colleges

You should publish the following details about your college’s governing body:

  • the governing body’s structure and responsibilities
  • details of any committees
  • the names of all governors, including the chair

You may wish to simply publish your governors’ handbook, which should include all this information.

Charging and remissions policies

Academies should publish their charging and remissions policies (this means when you cancel fees). The policies must include details of:

  • the activities or cases where your school will charge pupils’ parents
  • the circumstances where your school will make an exception on a payment you would normally expect to receive under your charging policy

Values and ethos

Academies and colleges should publish a statement of their ethos and values.

Requests for copies

You should provide a paper copy of the information on your website if a parent requests one.

Published 30 June 2016
Last updated 17 April 2023 + show all updates
  1. A section has been added on collecting and publishing trust board diversity data.

  2. We have updated example wording which schools can use to show that the most recent key stage 2 performance measures are for the 2018 to 2019 academic year.

  3. Page updated to show what academies, free schools and colleges must or should publish in the 2022 to 2023 academic year. Includes new sections on ‘School uniforms’ and ‘School opening hours’, and changes elsewhere.

  4. Added a section on remote education - linked to the guidance on remote education provision expectations and the optional template to help schools publish information.

  5. Added new sections on 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium' and 'Executive pay'. Updated sections on 'Admission arrangements', 'Ofsted reports', 'Exam and assessment results', 'Curriculum', 'Pupil premium', 'Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium', 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium', 'PE and sport premium for primary schools', 'Equality objectives' and 'Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)'.

  6. Added additional clarification in line with regulations to the SEN section.

  7. Updated policy for content on academy websites.

  8. Updated guidance for the current academic year.

  9. First published.