Educater to become sole online provider of STAT Sheffield tracking and assessment

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Sheffield schools, Sheffield Council and leading tracking and assessment provider, Educater, have partnered together to develop STATonline, a system which helps schools to adapt to life after levels. Educater will become the sole online provider to use the STAT Sheffield assessment grids, and STATonline will be the only system to offer both electronic recording for teachers and high quality analysis for leaders.

 

The content and range of options has been produced by the school leaders who created the STAT Sheffield assessment materials, with the functionality and intuitive design developed by the Bett Futures 2015 cohort and BT Innovation award-winning designers of Educater. The system integrates with leading MIS systems such as Capita SIMs, RM Integris & Facility CMIS, and is web-based, allowing access to data from anywhere. It enables staff to efficiently input data for individuals, groups of pupils or by the whole class, and produces a variety of reports to help track attainment and progress.

 

Stephen Betts, leader of the STAT Project in Sheffield commented: “STATonline enables teachers to record assessment information quickly and has a direct impact on the way they plan children’s learning. It enables leaders to analyse attainment and progress efficiently, both to understand the needs of their school and to report to others. It is the only system to offer both electronic recording for teachers and high quality analysis for leaders.”

 

The partnership between STAT Sheffield and Educater has enabled the team to create an online system which is designed to be intuitive; it is quick to meet the needs and requirements of staff and has the potential to impact directly on teaching and learning.

 

Neil Frankland, headteacher at Brunswick Primary School said: “We’ve been using STAT grids for our tracking and assessment for around two years now and will soon be transitioning to STATonline, which we’re really excited about. The live tracking feature available through the system means that assessment can be carried out in real-time, allowing senior leaders and staff to record and access pupil data whenever they need to. This efficiency allows us to be able to facilitate a fast, accurate picture of a child’s attainment, leading to more accurate planning.”

 

Gareth Heggie, director at Educater said: “Working with the STAT steering group has been rewarding. For our company, having close access to schools has meant that we’ve been able to develop a system that we know is effective, which is always our priority. A collaboration like this means that STATonline addresses a real need amongst schools, helping to assess and track pupils while allowing teachers to plan and school leadership teams to easily access data in real-time.”

 

For more information, visit www.educater.co.uk

HCSS EDUCATION TOP RANKING FIRM IN SUNDAY TIMES’ 100 BEST SMALL COMPANIES TO WORK FOR

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One of the UK’s leading education finance specialists, HCSS Education, has had a strong start to 2016 after being ranked in 69th place in the Sunday Times ‘Best Small Companies to Work For’.

The company increased its position in the ranking table by 22 places from last year when it was awarded 91st place, showing its ongoing commitment to employee satisfaction and progress.

Macclesfield-based HCSS Education received accreditation as an ‘Extraordinary’ employer, based on independent feedback from staff engagement surveys. The firm faced tough competition from hundreds of other small companies with up to 250 employees that had put themselves forward to be named in this year’s list.

The accolade follows a record year for the company – back in August it announced a 48 percent increase in turnover, which has helped create dozens of jobs in the area.

The annual ranking from The Sunday Times and Best Companies aims to find the most content and motivated workforces in the country. All the scores and ratings are based on employee opinions and every year the questionnaires are revised to reflect the current workplace concerns.

Howard Jackson, founder and head of education at HCSS Education, said: “We’re extremely proud to have achieved a three star accreditation in The Sunday Times Best Small Companies to Work For, for the second year running. We are absolutely delighted to have increased our ranking by 22 places from last year. It’s a fantastic achievement and a testament to all our hardworking staff.

“At HCSS Education we ensure our employees are happy by making sure that they are fully engaged and involved in the strategy and vision for HCSS. Our team knows that everyone plays a key part in delivering on our objectives and achieving our goals. We try to promote an open-door policy which encourages openness and transparency. We also like to invest in social activities like our annual day at Chester Races. It is great chance for the team to socialise and bond outside of the working environment.

“Our philosophy has always been to deliver innovative products and services to the education market to ensure that schools have the tools, support and guidance they need to ensure effective financial management. In order to do this we continually invest in our own people to create an inspiring place to work. This determination and the hard work of our employees has enabled us to get to where we are today.”