AT A GLANCE
CHALLENGES
- Lots of disparate systems
- Information stored in many places
- Difficult to readily recall evidence of improvement
BENEFITS
- Excellent value-for-money
- Single central solution
- Easy to use
- User-friendly
- Links improvement processes
OVERVIEW
Minsthorpe Community College is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, England. It is specifically for students aged eleven to eighteen. It is situated on Minsthorpe Lane, in the Minsthorpe district north of the town.
Minsthorpe Community College: A place where everyone plays a part in strengthening our learning community through motivation, commitment and care
"I would highly recommend SchooliP. It has reduced workload and allowed for a much smoother alignment between staff performance, middle leaders and whole school action planning and reviews."
SARAH ADAMS
Assistant Principal of Quality & Impact, Minsthorpe Community CollegeOUR CONVERSATION
Now that the team at Minsthorpe have been using SchooliP for a while we checked in on them to see how they are
CAN YOU PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR SCHOOL, INCLUDING THE SIZE, LOCATION, AND ANY UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
Minsthorpe is a large mixed Single Academy Trust in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, serving predominantly three ex-mining villages. With over 200 staff employed and nearly 1600 students on roll, we offer a wide ranging academic and vocational curriculum to Years 7 to 13, plus a SEND Resource Provision.
HOW LONG HAS YOUR SCHOOL BEEN USING SCHOOLIP?
Just over 2 years.
WHAT LED YOUR SCHOOL TO CHOOSE SCHOOLIP AS A SOLUTION? WERE THERE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES YOU WERE TRYING TO ADDRESS?
We needed a user friendly system that does details appraisals, middle leader action plans and the College Strategic Plan (SEF).
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING SCHOOLIP AT YOUR SCHOOL?
Calendared INSET sessions were used to train SchooliP champions across the College, who then disseminated the training to their teams.
HOW WELL DID SCHOOLIP INTEGRATE WITH YOUR EXISTING SYSTEMS AND WORKFLOWS?
Very smoothly.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE FEEDBACK FROM TEACHERS, STAFF, AND OTHER USERS REGARDING THE USABILITY OF SCHOOLIP?
Very positive as it is a user friendly, logical and functionable platform.
HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANY CHALLENGES IN GETTING USERS ACCUSTOMED TO THE PLATFORM, AND IF SO, HOW WERE THEY ADDRESSED?
No challenges.
WHICH FEATURES OF SCHOOLIP HAVE BEEN MOST BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR SCHOOL?
The ability to align middle leader action plans with the priorities and actions of the College Strategic Plan. The recording of progress towards objectives and Actions for all staff within the Appraisal process, and recording strengths and areas for development.
CAN YOU SHARE ANY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OR SUCCESS STORIES RELATED TO THE USE OF SCHOOLIP IN YOUR SCHOOL?
We have successfully completed the review of Year 1 of our 3 year CSP and SchooliP was willing and able to modify the review facilities, tailoring them to our specific needs.
HAVE YOU SEEN ANY QUANTIFIABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHER PERFORMANCE, STUDENT OUTCOMES, OR OTHER RELEVANT METRICS SINCE IMPLEMENTING SCHOOLIP?
The workload of staff and leaders has improved. The time spent on Appraisal, the CSP and Middle Leader Action Plans is now much more better spent in an evaluative dialogue, as the system fully supports and aligns these processes.
HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF SCHOOLIP IN YOUR SCHOOL?
Staff voice, also Leadership's evaluation of the quality of Appraisals, the CSP and Middle Leader Action Plans reviews.
HOW CUSTOMISABLE IS SCHOOLIP TO MEET THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF YOUR SCHOOL?
On the whole, it has been customised to our needs.
HAVE YOU MADE ANY SPECIFIC CUSTOMISATIONS TO BETTER ALIGN THE PLATFORM WITH YOUR SCHOOL'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES?
Review of 3-year CSP - tabs renamed to support this.
HOW HAS THE SUPPORT AND TRAINING FROM THE SCHOOLIP TEAM BEEN THROUGHOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS AND ONGOING USAGE?
Excellent - always on hand and very speedy.
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY CHALLENGES, AND IF SO, HOW WERE THEY RESOLVED?
None.
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU SEE YOUR SCHOOL'S USE OF SCHOOLIP EVOLVING IN THE FUTURE?
A greater use of the system for recording of dialogue and support between the Appraiser and Appraisee, not just at mid and end-of-year review points. This will be through further in-house staff training.
HOW WELL DO YOU THINKS CHOOLIP CAN SCALE AS YOUR SCHOOL GROWS OR FACES NEW CHALLENGES?
Effectively.
IF APPLICABLE, HOW DOES SCHOOLIP COMPARE TO ANY PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS YOUR SCHOOL MAY HAVE USED?
SchooliP is much more efficient.
WHAT SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES DOES SCHOOLIP OFFER OVER OTHER PRODUCTS IN THE MARKET?
SchooliP was recommended by a neighbouring school, was affordable and the demo showed its functionality successfully. We did look at other platforms but felt this was best suited to our needs.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND SCHOOLIP TO OTHER SCHOOLS, AND IF SO, WHY?
Yes, it has reduced workload and allowed for a much smoother alignment between staff performance, middle leaders and whole school action planning and reviews.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER SCHOOL LEADERS CONSIDERING THE ADOPTION OF SCHOOLIP?
I would highly recommend it!
