The Department for Children, Schools and Families wants to broaden statutory attainment targets for underachieving pupil groups. At present, local authorities must set performance goals for different ethnic groups. This method is now considered unsuitable because some ethnic groups actually overachieve at school.
Under new proposals, targets would be set for pupils who receive free school meals, pupils of black, Pakistani and white non-British origin, as well as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children. Local authorities would no longer set targets for groups that overachieve, so there would be no statutory targets for Indian, Chinese and white British pupils. However, if pupils from these groups do underachieve, the local authority would then have to set a target for that particular group. The number of pupils that constitutes a pupil group will remain at 30 per local authority area. If there are less than 30 free school meal or white non-British pupils in an area, then the authority will be exempt from setting them individual targets.
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