17/4/2011

Ref: 110417PP

At a time when the education sector is increasingly focused on maximising budgets; forward-thinking headteachers in over 1500 UK primary schools are creating efficiency where it impacts the most – teacher time. By migrating to online interactive markbook Classroom Monitor (www.classroommonitor.co.uk), teachers are now released from the administrative burden of traditional paper-based systems, enabling them to dedicate over 30 hours* extra time every year to the educational needs of their pupils. The award-winning solution also frees up over 36 hours of senior leadership team annually, allowing heads to focus on raising standards and school improvement.

Representing an annual saving of over £7,000, Classroom Monitor enables teachers to keep all their assessment and reports across every subject in one easy to manage location, accessible anytime, anywhere. “Anything which saves teachers and head’s time is a godsend these days”, comments Alan White, Headteacher at Copley Junior near Doncaster, “The impact on our tracking of children’s progress through school has been immense and has saved hours of teacher time and energy - that’s more important than saving cash.”

Consistency for assessment is crucial and often an online solution that keeps all data relating to each child in one place can be the most practical and offers staff flexibility. Designed to work like a paper marksheet, Classroom Monitor lists objectives from the National Curriculum, numeracy and literacy strategies Primary Frameworks or Foundation Stage Profile, against pupils in a class or set. Classroom Monitor can also help teachers improve their Assessment for Learning (AfL) and Assessing Pupil Progress (APP) practice in the classroom.

Recording assessment data can be time-consuming and inefficient in itself, often throwing up inconsistencies across departments and individuals which make it difficult to extract any real value from the data that is recorded. A consistent, simple approach to assessment will allow schools to sidestep what is often an administrative nightmare yielding inaccurate data that is no longer useful. Using Classroom Monitor, schools benefit from a fast and accurate method of undertaking broader analyses of year groups, classes and cohorts. This enables schools to identify areas for improvement and monitor individual progress more efficiently.

Lisa Hinckley, Headteacher at Whitminster Endowed Primary in Gloucestershire comments: “There has been a huge saving in time due to the fact that the teachers no longer have to produce paper copies, hand them to the Head who then had to input all this data.  Monitoring meetings have been a lot shorter due to all having data easily accessible.”

Supporting the Government’s bid to provide parents, governors and the public with access to more information about schools and how they perform, as outlined in the 2010 Importance of Teaching whitepaper, Classroom Monitor enables schools to produce reports on each child’s progress quickly and easily without adding significantly to teacher workload. Using Classroom Monitor to achieve consistency for reporting opens channels of communication with parents and pupils alike, increasing parental engagement and facilitating a more personalised approach to education. Improved communication within the staff body itself will also make it easier for staff to deal with pupils at points of transition – whether between classes or year groups – enabling them to hit the ground running rather than going back before they can move forward.

Tony Hand, Headteacher at Dosthill Primary in Staffordshire comments: “Classroom Monitor has streamlined processes and has allowed teachers/Phase Team Leaders/ Subject Leaders and the Senior Management Team to interrogate the data more closely and in different ways, in real-time also.  Whilst time has been saved, more importantly, Classroom Monitor has allowed us to have up to date information about all of our learners at our fingertips.  We are able to quickly analyse data in a greater variety of ways than we could easily do before.”

Chris Scarth, Commercial Director at Classroom Monitor, comments: “As schools continue to scrutinise spend and evaluate ways to maximise their budgets, it is imperative that every decision adds value to teaching and learning. Investment in technology can help schools to achieve consistency for both assessment and reporting and at the same time relieve staff of the significant time spent filling out paper-based systems and traditional end of term assessments so they can spend more time in the classroom supporting their pupils’ learning.”

For further information or a demonstration of this product or in your school, please contact Chris Scarth, Commercial Director at Prime Principle on Tel: 0844 5555 211, e-mail: cscarth@primeprinciple.co.uk or visit the website at www.classroommonitor.co.uk.

back to news »