The ScR ICSEA FOEI report provides information on the number of students in each SES Quartile across schools in NSW.

This report is available only to the School Communications and Engagement unit (SCE).

How will this report benefit me?

SCE staff can view information on the socioeconomic makeup of a school. A school can be compared with multiple local competitor schools on the same chart. This provides contextual information that will assist SCE staff to engage a school’s parent body effectively.

What does the ScR ICSEA FOEI report provide?

The following visualisations are available in this report:

Number of Students in each Quartile (Information Tiles)

• The four information tiles display the total number of students in each SES Quartile in the selected school.

Number of Students in each Quartile (Chart)

• This column chart displays the number of students in each quartile for selected school/s.
• Select multiple schools to compare their SES distribution side-by-side in this chart.

Socio Economic Status Indicator

• This table displays the SES distribution in quartiles as a percentage rather than actual numbers. This provides an easier way to compare schools with very different numbers of students.
• The School Indicator column displays either the ICSEA or FOEI. This is driven by the Indicator Type – ICSEA/FOEI slicer.
• The percentages in SES quartiles for multiple schools can be compared in the same table.
• Export the data in this table to Excel to do further analysis.

Use the following slicers to select a school and analyse the data:

• School Name – Choose a school in this slicer first. This will select the local area to analyse.

• School Distance Band Name – Choose one or more distance bands to view. Note that they are set up as concentric rings. To view all schools within 10km of the proximity school, you need to select both the 5km and 10km distance bands.

• Selected School Name by Distance – This slicer displays all schools within the selected radial distance of the selected school, sorted by distance. After selecting a value in the previous three slicers, use this to select one or more schools within the distance of the selected School Name. Note that if you leave the previous slicers blank, all schools in the state will appear in this slicer, with a distance of 0.0 km.

• School Type – select the school type, e.g. secondary school.

• Indicator Type – ICSEA/FOEI – This slicer controls which School Indicator is shown in the Socio-Economic Status Indicator table.

Calendar Year – The data in this report changes each year based on the family makeup of students enrolled in that year. Choose a calendar year to view how the makeup has changed from year to year.

What should I look for?

• Schools with an SES distribution skewed towards disadvantage may need additional support from the unit.
• Schools where the SES distribution varies markedly from neighbouring schools (either much higher or much lower) may indicate parental choice.
• Higher numbers of students in the Top and Middle 1 Quartiles, indicate a more advantaged school.
• Higher numbers of students in the Middle 2 and Bottom Quartiles, indicate a more disadvantaged school.
• Note that the data in the chart and information tiles does not change based on the Indicator Type. The number of students in each quartile has been calculated using a combination of both indicators.
• Both the ICSEA and FOEI are calculated from responses to parental education, occupation, ethnicity and language background provided by parents on school enrolment forms. The FOEI also includes a loading for students with a disability in the school as this attracts additional funding. These responses are entered into ERN by school administration staff when the student commences at that school.

Where does this data come from?

• ICSEA: This index was developed by ACARA and applies Australia-wide. The median ICSEA for all of Australia is 1000. Schools with a lower ICSEA (< 1000) are more disadvantaged. Schools with a higher ICSEA (> 1000) are more advantaged.
• FOEI: This index was developed by the NSW Department of Education and applies to NSW only. A FOEI of 0 indicates a school with an extreme advantage. Higher FOEIs indicate more disadvantages. There is no “maximum” FOEI, however, in practice, the maximum FOEI seen in schools is around 200. The FOEI is used by the Department to calculate equity-based funding to be allocated to a school.

How frequently is data updated?

• Both the ICSEA and FOEI are updated annually for a school, based on the students enrolled at the school for that year.
• ICSEA is calculated by ACARA
• FOEI is calculated by DoE