New software helps spot struggling kids

TEACHERS at Hobart High School in Loddon will now be able to spot more easily when a child is struggling with their work, thanks to new technology.The school has invested in new software that will allow staff to track and analyse pupil data.

TEACHERS at Hobart High School in Loddon will now be able to spot more easily when a child is struggling with their work, thanks to new technology.

The school has invested in new software that will allow staff to track and analyse pupil data.

It will provide information including attendance, behaviour and achievement and can be accessed by all members of staff from any location.

The school, which has been assessed as “outstanding” by Ofsted, believes the SIMS management information system will help them raise achievement even further.

Sam Griffin, deputy head teacher at Hobart High School, said it would enable teachers to look at specific groups and identify where students need help, providing one-to-one tuition where appropriate.

He said: “For example, if the head of English wants to know how all children with English as an additional language are progressing, and whether they need additional support, they can access that information quickly. We could also look at data for a student that consistently does well to see if they are performing strongly across all subjects or if there is a concern in one subject. This sort of detailed analysis helps us spot issues that may normally go unnoticed earlier so we can step in and help when it is still easy to make a difference.”

The system will also enable parents to access achievement information via the web, enabling them to take a more active role in their children's education.