Christopher King, former chair of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference (HMC), and headmaster of Leicester Grammar School, explains how his school supports staff in making informed decisions to bring out the best in every pupil
Making good decisions is part and parcel of daily life in a school. Deciding which course of action to take to support the achievement, conduct and welfare of your pupils is a privilege and a responsibility, so naturally we want to get right.
But, in a busy school, it may not be as easy as it could be to put your hands on the information you need to make good decisions in a timely way. That’s not to say that the information is lacking – most schools collect data such as attendance figures, assessment marks, and target grades – but this information is often stored as a mix of spreadsheets, documents and paper files. This used to be the case at Leicester Grammar, but we have changed that.
Easy access to information
One of the key challenges for teachers is ensuring that lessons take account of each individual pupil’s unique set of strengths and aptitudes, while meeting the needs of the class as a whole. To do this effectively a teacher might want to see how a pupil performed in last year’s maths exams, for instance, or check if there have been any conduct incidents or lateness recorded which may explain why their progress has stalled. However, it’s not ideal for teachers to have to search for this information in a computer file or on an office shelf.
In my school the answer was to give staff fast and easy access to the information they need and are authorised to see. So, we changed how we record information and now store pupil and school data in one place on a management information system – the one we use is from SIMS Independent – putting data in people’s hands so they can make informed decisions to support pupils’ progress.
A clearer picture
Now a class teacher, pastoral leader or head of department can pull up the register and, if a child has a special educational need, for example, this will be flagged up. They then click through to see details of any specialist support that child receives.
For a pupil with dyslexia this might be the need to provide learning resources on coloured paper or in a larger font. Details such as access arrangements in exams will also be noted. With this knowledge to hand staff can ensure each child has everything s/he needs in order to reach their full potential – without having to go hunting for the relevant information!
A dashboard on my desk
As headmaster, having information to hand has transformed my approach to decision-making too, so much so that I now have a digital dashboard of live school information open on my desk all day; I see it as my window on the school.
If I am interviewing a new member of staff, for instance, I can see in a couple of clicks which classes and year groups need to be taught and at what level. Knowing this helps me determine if the candidate is right for the job.
Likewise, if a parent calls me to ask about their child’s progress, I can quickly view information on the pupil’s attainment and discuss what they need to do to meet their targets. I can also see if any learning support has been put in place and can access a record of past conversations any staff have had with the family.
A school’s information fuels the engine of good decision-making and being able to find the data we need, at the touch of the button, helps us ensure that every pupil gets an excellent start in life.
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