Combining academic and pastoral records

Brief description of the project

The school monitors attendance by Optical Mark Reader sheets and the information is passed to the year tutors. Part of their role is to monitor pupil attendance and general discipline so that they have an overview of what each pupil is up to. The year tutors currently keep all their records on paper so that they are available to them as they ring or contact parents by letter or in interviews.

The school wanted these records to be available to other appropriate senior staff so that pupils can be tracked across both academic and pastoral fields.

The school aimed to extend the role of these year tutors in order to make them responsible for the overview of each of their pupils academically as well as pastorally. This required them to have access to the SIMS Assessment and Recording module.

It also required the detailed pastoral records — often kept in narrative form in relation to particular incidents — to be kept electronically.

The school is using the SIMS MIDAS module together with the Assessment and Recording module. This enables staff to have ready access to up to date information on both academic and pastoral aspects of pupils.

Outcomes of the project

The use of the two systems in concert allows the academic progress of pupils to be tracked alongside their pastoral development. This will allow more specific monitoring of individual pupils to compare academic and pastoral progress, for example, pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties or underperforming pupils.

More immediate correction/praise and target setting is also possible as the data can be analysed electronically in ways which go beyond the current mental agility of a busy year tutor.

Information about pupil attendance and discipline, formerly kept on paper, is now available on computer. Checking for correlations in patterns of indiscipline, non-attendance, etc. is easier and, as training becomes more comprehensive, staff will become more creative in their use of the information.

It is anticipated that, over the year, 250 hours will be saved in form filling.

Transferability

The system provides one model for any school wishing to adopt a comprehensive reporting and pupil monitoring system.

The DfES has drawn up detailed guidance on when and how exclusion should be implemented - Improving behaviour and attendance: guidance on exclusion from schools and Pupil Referral Units. This guidance came into force on 20 January 2003, and applies to any exclusion on or after this date. In addition, the Behaviour and Attendance website is updated with new developments and best practice on a regular basis.

The £66m Behaviour Improvement Programme (BIP) package is designed to improve behaviour within schools, reduce truancy and the need for exclusions. This will fund more Learning Support Units, electronic registration and truancy sweeps, full-time education for excluded pupils, behaviour and education support teams and summer activities aimed at improving discipline. It also supports the Department’s long-term strategy on behaviour improvement, based on the excellent practice already in place. Further details of the BIP can be found on the A-Z of School Leadership and Management website. 

For further details contact:

Brian Walker
Tel: 01332 662337
Fax: 01332 280767

Resources and staffing

As part of the implementation of this solution the school has purchased an additional five networked workstations at a cost of £5,000.

Context

West Park School is a foundation 11-18 secondary school with 1,258 pupils.