Parents in England now have a new way to research schools before deciding where to send their children, following the launch of a government online service bringing important school information together in one place.
The Department for Education has introduced its new Find and Compare School and College Profiles tool to help families understand what individual schools offer, how pupils perform and what happens to students after they leave. The service is designed to make it easier for parents to compare schools without having to search through different websites and reports for basic information.
The launch comes as primary school applications are open across local authorities in England, with families preparing to choose schools for children due to start primary education. Parents applying for a reception place in September 2027 will generally need to submit their applications by 15 January 2027, although families should check the arrangements and deadlines set by their local council.
For parents making these decisions, the new profiles could provide a useful starting point. Rather than concentrating only on examination results, the service brings together information about attendance, school performance, location, age range and other aspects of school life.
What information can parents find on the new school profiles?
The new service is intended to answer some of the questions families commonly ask when researching a school. Parents can look up a school and view information about its location, the ages it accepts, attendance figures, academic performance and wider provision.
The profiles also include details of services such as free breakfast clubs, helping parents understand some of the support and opportunities available to pupils beyond their classroom lessons.
For families choosing a secondary school, the information goes further. Parents can examine GCSE subject entries and see what pupils from a particular school have gone on to do after Year 11, including further education, apprenticeships and employment.
These details can help families build a broader understanding of a school’s academic environment and the opportunities available to its pupils. A school with strong examination results may be attractive to some parents, while others may place greater importance on attendance, pastoral support, subject choices or the routes available to students after their GCSEs.
The government says the aim is to make school information clearer and easier to access, helping parents make decisions based on a wider range of factors.
More comparison features and Ofsted information are planned
The service will continue to develop after its initial launch. A side-by-side comparison feature, which is currently available for secondary schools, is expected to be extended to primary schools. This should make it easier for parents to examine different schools using the same categories of information.
The government also plans to add Ofsted reports next year, allowing families to access inspection information through the profiles. This could make the service more useful for parents who want to consider a school’s performance alongside its inspection findings.
Further information about enrichment opportunities is also expected to be added in the coming years. This is part of the government’s wider ambition to give pupils more opportunities to participate in activities beyond traditional classroom lessons.
The proposed changes to the curriculum are intended to create more room for subjects and experiences such as arts, sport, nature, practical learning, debate and skills that could help prepare young people for future employment.
For parents, this could eventually mean being able to compare not only academic performance but also the wider experiences schools offer to help children develop confidence, interests and practical abilities.
Government wants stronger relationships between schools and parents
The launch of the school profiles is part of a broader government effort to improve communication between schools and families. Alongside the new service, the Department for Education has announced two expert-led groups known as the Enrichment Alliance and the School-Parent Partnership Alliance.
The alliances are intended to bring together education experts, school leaders, trusts, teachers and parents to identify ways of improving children’s experiences at school and strengthening relationships between families and education providers.
The School-Parent Partnership Alliance will invite parents, teachers and school leaders to share examples of how schools communicate with families and involve them in children’s education. This could include parent forums, school apps, transition events and other approaches that help families understand how their children are progressing.
The alliance plans to examine which approaches work best and explore how successful ideas can be tested in more schools from next year.
The government says research has found that children whose parents receive very clear information about their progress achieve better GCSE results and are less likely to be persistently absent from school. The findings support the argument that parents need regular, understandable information to play an active role in their children’s education.
The Enrichment Alliance will focus on helping schools provide a wider range of activities and experiences beyond the classroom. It will build on the government’s Enrichment Framework and explore practical ways to make extracurricular opportunities more accessible to pupils, with attention to what children and young people say they want from their school experience.
Why enrichment matters beyond examination results
For many families, choosing a school is about more than whether pupils achieve good GCSE grades. Parents also want to know whether children will have opportunities to develop their interests, build friendships, gain confidence and discover possible career paths.
Activities such as music, drama, sport, outdoor learning, debating and practical projects can help young people develop skills that are not always reflected in examination results. They can also give pupils opportunities to discover interests they may not otherwise encounter.
Steve Chalke, Chair of the Enrichment Alliance and founder of Oasis Charitable Trust, said enrichment should be treated as an essential part of education rather than an optional extra. The alliance will bring schools and partner organisations together to share practical ideas and listen to young people’s experiences.
This focus is particularly relevant as the government considers changes to the curriculum intended to reduce pressure from an overloaded school day and create more space for broader learning.
The challenge will be ensuring that enrichment opportunities are available to children from different backgrounds, rather than being limited to pupils whose families can afford private clubs, equipment, transport or additional activities outside school.
What parents should know before using the new tool
The new profiles are designed to help families research and compare schools, but they do not replace the formal school admissions process. Parents applying for a primary or secondary school place must still follow their local council’s application arrangements and submit their preferences through the appropriate admissions system.
Families should also remember that published performance figures are only one part of the picture. Attendance and examination results can provide useful information, but they do not necessarily show what a school is like for an individual child or how well it will meet particular educational, emotional or additional needs.
Parents may also want to visit schools, speak to teachers, review available support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and ask about pastoral care, communication and extracurricular activities.
The new service should therefore be treated as a research tool that helps families ask better questions and make more informed comparisons, rather than an automatic ranking of the best schools.
The Department for Education has indicated that the profiles will be expanded over time as more comparison features, inspection information and enrichment details are introduced. Its longer-term ambition is to make information more accessible and strengthen the relationship between schools and the families they serve.
What the new school comparison tool means for Nigerian parents in the UK
For Nigerian parents raising children in England, choosing a school can involve questions that go beyond academic results. Families who moved to Britain from Nigeria may be navigating an education system that works differently from the one they experienced growing up. Understanding school admissions, catchment areas, GCSE options, attendance expectations and the support available to children can take time, particularly for parents who are still becoming familiar with local authority procedures.
The new profiles could make that process easier by bringing key information together before families make their applications. Nigerian parents comparing primary schools may find attendance information and details about breakfast clubs useful when considering the practical needs of a working household. Those choosing secondary schools can also examine GCSE subject entries and what previous pupils have gone on to do after Year 11, helping them ask more informed questions about academic pathways, apprenticeships and further education.
There is another important consideration for families raising children between Nigerian and British cultures. Parents may want their children to achieve academically while also developing confidence, friendships, interests and a strong sense of belonging. Information about enrichment activities, when added to the profiles, could help families identify schools offering opportunities in sport, arts, debate and other activities that support children’s wider development. Parents should also ask schools how they support pupils from different cultural and language backgrounds, and how they respond to bullying or discrimination.
For Nigerian families who are new to the UK, the most important practical point is not to confuse researching a school with applying for a place. Applications are handled through local authorities, and parents should check their council’s deadline and admissions criteria rather than assuming that using the new government tool automatically registers their child. At Chijos News, we will continue to explain changes to the English education system in practical terms, helping Nigerian parents understand their options, ask the right questions and make informed decisions about their children’s education and future.