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Tracking overview

Learn why effective pupil tracking is a key tool in your school improvement process and understand its purpose.

Effective pupil tracking

Effective pupil tracking to review attainment and progress, across the whole school and each cohort, is a key tool in your school improvement process. It drives learning and teaching and supports strategic decision-making.

Diagram of the school improvement cycle with emphasis on the tracking component

A diagram in a rectangular blue box contains the heading 'Termly school improvement cycle supporting ongoing school self-evaluation processes'. A large heading down the right side reads 'Challenge and support'. A rectangular yellow box under the top heading contains the text 'Review of attainment and progress: Tracking'. This text has been circled and an arrow from it points towards another yellow box which reads 'Single plan'. There are two arrows from this box: one points towards a yellow box containing the words 'Whole-school systematic CPD' while the second points towards a dark blue box containing the words 'Learning and Teaching: Ensuring the progress of all learners', which is surrounded by five smaller red boxes, connected by arrows, that contain the words 'Plan', 'Teach', 'Apply', 'Assess' and 'Review'. A double-headed arrow connects the 'Apply' box to the 'Whole-school systematic CPD' box. An arrow from the 'Plan' box leads to another rectangular yellow box containing the words 'Monitoring, evaluation and review of impact on pupil progress'. Two arrows lead from this box: one back to the 'Single plan' box and a final arrow to the first box, at the top of the diagram, containing the words 'Review of attainment and progress: Tracking'.

Learn more about the role of effective pupil tracking in the school improvement cycle in Self-evaluation using the school improvement cycle.

Purpose of tracking

The key purpose of pupil tracking is to make sure all children achieve good rates of progress. Any child falling behind is identified quickly. Appropriate action is then taken to accelerate progress to achieve age-related expectations and at least two levels of progress across a key stage.

In its report Twenty Outstanding Primary Schools (2009) Ofsted cited rigorous assessment and tracking as an undoubted feature of all the schools' success.

Good tracking also supports your leadership team’s strategic planning and is central to your school's monitoring and evaluation cycle.