Key performance indicators (KPIs) for schools and trusts

Find advice about financial and non-financial KPIs, including examples of key performance indicators for maintained schools and academies. Learn how to use them effectively alongside your school improvement plan (SIP) or strategic plan.

Last reviewed on 5 September 2023See updates
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 40743
Contents
  1. Your board's role in setting KPIs
  2. Ask questions when setting KPIs
  3. Setting and monitoring financial KPIs
  4. Setting and monitoring other KPIs 
  5. Examples from schools and trusts

Your board's role in setting KPIs

Setting KPIs is a joint process through a discussion between your board and senior leaders. Your senior leadership team should bring draft KPIs to the full governing board or trust board meeting. You can ask questions of the KPIs and set additional ones if necessary to monitor improvement

Do this in the summer term when you're reviewing other improvement documents. This is so that your KPIs are ready for the beginning of the new academic year, and are linked to the school improvement plan (SIP) or trust improvement plan (TIP).

Understand your role in improvement planning and be clear on how you can use it to monitor progress.

Ask questions when setting KPIs

Make sure you know what the KPIs are intended to do, how you can use them to monitor progress towards priorities, and how you can use them to assess any impact.

What school/trust improvement objective is it linked to? Is the