Dartmouth Academy is fulfilling its mission of putting student learning first after implementing Progresso, a cloud-based management information system (MIS) from Advanced Learning. The Academy has already made great strides in performance and has reduced reporting time from two days to seconds after implementing the software, which enables teachers to analyse data in real-time from any device.
Dartmouth serves students aged three to 19 and focuses on individualised learning for pupils – with targets and processes, which range from the academic to the softer personal skills, for them to achieve their goals in life. Itwent live with Progresso in September 2014. The system was selected due to its stability, speed and the fact that it is one of the only cloud-based MIS systems available on the market, providing the Academy with more flexibility and a more cost-effective option.
Andy Carpenter, assistant principal, Dartmouth Academy said: “We believe each student should be given every chance to attain their potential and that individualised learning leads to individual attainment. Unlike other products, Progresso is a learning-centric system which can help us achieve this goal.”
Staff use the MIS on their iPads to monitor the academic performance and attendance of Dartmouth’s 525 students with up-to-date information. Progresso enables heads of departments, teachers, parents and students to securely access tailored school information and provides a clear picture of each student’s learning progress online. Student assessments, exams and interventions are also measured and reported on with up-to-date information.
The powerful analytics solution also enables staff to view trends in behaviour and attendance patterns. Student trends can be quickly displayed and analysed in a single intuitive dashboard module, which saves time manually searching for the data. The system’s hosted functionality will allow teachers, students and parents to view information from smartphone and tablet devices, building the relationship between the three parties and giving parents and children more ownership of their progress. Real-time information also enables staff to intervene quickly. The school has seen a 100% attendance rate at detentions, since the MIS was implemented.
Carpenter added: “Progresso has come a long way to become the most innovative MIS on the market. The fact that the system is cloud-based gives us so much more flexibility and is a much more cost-effective option, which is always crucial in education.
“The great thing about this MIS is that it allows not only staff, but parents and children instant access to their progress, which saves so much time. Our teachers have moved from using spreadsheets to analyse data, which took days, to being able to input and view data on their iPads in a matter of seconds. They can therefore devote more time to taking remedial action with learners, and senior leaders benefit from streamlined Ofsted reporting.”
The Academy has seen 6% growth in student numbers in the last year and plans to grow by 15% over the next two years. “This year we are targeting for our students to achieve above 58% for five grade A* to Cs – which will put us above the national average,” said Carpenter “Progresso’s powerful analytics feature has enabled us to identify and help children who need to improve. We have already seen 14% progress in this area since implementation, largely due to this system.”
“Cloud-based MIS systems such as Progresso are the future for the education sector. Teachers have enough pressure with administration so they need to be able to report with as much ease as possible. The system also removes any data storage maintenance worries for the school, so we can concentrate on supporting our children to reach their full potential.”
Following extensive investment in the system, the number of schools using Advanced Learning’s Progresso has increased by 160% in the last year.
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