This is a series of occasional blogs by BESA members and is part of their paid membership service. These views are not necessarily those of BESA and a published blog does not constitute an endorsement.

The busy nature of school life means that teachers/leaders are constantly juggling finances and priorities. As a result, staff development is sometimes not given the investment it deserves. This is detrimental in the improvement of teaching and learning. Professional feedback and dialogue does not always take place. However, edtech is helping to raise the profile of appraisals and professional development which are then linked to school improvement.

Charlotte Wardle, Deputy Headteacher of Richmond School has introduced edtech to efficiently manage her staff appraisals. Using the SchooliP solution, has made staff development a priority in the school.

“Appraisals are spoken about a lot more, they have become part of our daily conversations as a positive influence on further developing teachers’ expertise.” Charlotte Wardle – Deputy Headteacher – Richmond School

A simple colour-coded system for staff objectives means progress can be tracked with ease. 

Powerful data means that individual, departmental and overall needs can easily be identified, focusing resources, saving both time and money. Professional development is given greater focus and CPD needs are easily identified via the teachers’ standards. Kamini Mistry, Head of Sudbury Primary School identifies that technology is helping to shape training. 

“As a school leader, analysing performance management data for our CPD is now much easier and a lot less time-consuming.” Kamini Mistry – Head of School – Sudbury Primary School

The time saved can be focused on teaching and learning rather than administration.

Gareth Butcher, Deputy Headteacher of Southfield School, also uses SchooliP and the use of edtech has led to increased accountability.

“A range of crucial processes are now interwoven with demonstrable value and measurable impact. School and departmental self-evaluation forms are linked to improvement planning.” Gareth Butcher – Deputy Headteacher – Southfield School

With specific activities assigned to staff, evidence is uploaded in one central place. The automatic collation of data reduces the amount of administration time that is required. Governors and inspectors are able to log in and immediately view relevant information.

The advent of multi-academy trusts has led to the creation of large education networks. Overseeing performance on different sites presents challenges. SchooliP contains a MAT view that is proving very useful for executives and trustees who can see how every employee, department and school are progressing. It serves as an effective competency check and if any development needs are identified, immediately support can be assigned. Increased accessibility to data is helping to streamline processes and save valuable time. 

Moving to an efficient electronic appraisal system means that paper is no longer required. Information is easily accessed and analysed avoiding replication of tasks. Information is collected once and used many times. Directly linking staff objectives to wider school priorities helps to communicate a vision to enhance overall standards. School improvement has never been so easy to manage. Teacher professional development is the central focus. Edtech is linking key processes and empowering leaders to make informed strategic decisions.

Getting in Touch

To find more about SchooliP, call us on 0333 0433 450 (Option 2) or email: info@derventioeducation.com. We would be delighted to tell you more about how our software drives school improvement processes and saves valuable professional time. Alternatively, please click here to arrange a demonstration.

If you are an existing customer, please remember that our customer care team can be contacted on 0333 0433 450 (Option 1) or customercare@derventioeducation.