It uses Facility from Serco as its management information system. ““We are an outstanding school, so we needed an information management system that is also outstanding. We needed something that could keep up with our aims. We wanted a company that would give us support, fulfil our needs but still be flexible enough to work with our vision,” said assistant head Cath Smart.
Middleton, four miles from Manchester city centre, is a co-educational school with 1050 students aged 11-16. At its last Ofsted inspection it was awarded grade one “outstanding” in all areas.
It challenges its learners to reach the highest standards and consequently generates consistently high examination marks. More than 80 per cent of its students each year gain five A* to C grades.
The school decided that Facility would be the only product that could provide an accurate and immediate view of what is going on in school with live data, available to all, including staff, pupils and parents.
Middleton is determined to ensure that the Government’s Every Child Matters aspirations are placed at the heart of students’ learning so it monitors contributions to each of the five aims – safety, health, enjoy and achieve, economic wellbeing and make a positive contribution. It has set up a searchable record in Facility that can be analysed to ensure everyone is achieving in all the sections.
The information will also be incorporated into each child’s report. It is believed that Middleton Technology School is one of a few schools in the UK to be keeping such records and making them available to parents.
A mainstay of Middleton’s success is its concentration on assessment. The school uses Facility to assess each learner on a regular and calendared basis and compares the data collection results against upper quartile predictions. The results are linked to an electronic mark book so it is possible to identify quickly who is under-achieving and put interventions in place that support raising attainment.
The school is looking forward to building even further on its reputation with Facility. It already carries out roll-call and lesson attendance, assessment, options, examination entries and timetable and next plans to open its records to parents and students through ePortal.
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