As the end of the academic year approaches it is time to evaluate and reflect on iP and plan forward into the next academic year and the next review cycle. 

Thinking ahead and planning iP will help your organisation identify what you want to achieve from the system and determine which functions are key, so that proper time can be allocated to completing them. It is also the opportunity to plan for the future and to look at adapting and evolving iP to meet your needs , rather than ploughing on regardless of the outcome.  Out of the evaluation and planning process new opportunities will emerge that deliver better outcomes.

Too often staff say they are too busy to plan, but if you don’t plan where you want to go, don’t be surprised if you end up somewhere else.

“To Fail to Plan is to Plan to Fail…”

Staff can only realistically manage so many projects at one time, so planning will help guide the direction, allocate the correct resources, including staffing, to make the most sense of  the goals. Collaboration on the project will have the most impact, and it puts the organisation in a better position to achieve success.

It is important to set aside quality time to plan in one or two hourly chunks, Preferably this should be away from distractions to allow focus and clear thinking. A series of planned meetings, that are well organised with focused  content and the right staff can make this process painless, maybe even fun. 

For new organisations who join our iP community we work in partnership creating an implementation plan. Our team of educational professionals are happy to work in partnership with our organisations to follow a similar plan to help you develop the functionality to align with your vision and culture. This is the link to the diaries of our educational professionals  Support and online training is FREE to our iP community

Creating a plan involves clarifying your vision and setting specific objectives, goals and targets, which if met, will keep everyone on the right path. Such goals and operational plans, when correctly aligned with your vision, will drive success of iP. Planning should be seen as an investment, devoting upfront time and resources will reap benefits. So if you lack the time or expertise, then seek help and let us work with you to create and develop your iP system.

So how can iP support planning for the new cycle?

The leadership team and the Administrator of the iP system, have a number of decisions to make regarding setting up iP including how to organise the opening and closing of review periods and which default dates to display in the system etc. 

The Derventio Education Training New Academic Year Guide and matching bitesize videos will take you through the steps, in order.  Click here to access the webinar, guide and the bitesize videos on the following:-

1 The new academic year and the new appraisal cycle

2 Changing the Academic Year

3  Adding and removing staff before starting new reviews

4 Setting up data before the new reviews are opened

5 Closing down current reviews (with no move over/copy over of last year’s incomplete Objectives and Areas for Development) 

6 Opening and Closing Reviews (with move over/copy over of last year’s incomplete Objectives and Areas for Development)                                                  

7 Opening new Reviews

8 Adding and editing Objectives, Standards, Areas for Development etc. (to an open review before it is agreed having opened it in any of the options)

It is strongly advised to use both resources in tandem.  You may not need to refer to all of the guidance as all areas may not fit in your organisation’s new review procedures and site set up.  Some of the site set up from the current academic year may also simply carry over to the new.  It is intended to select the appropriate guidance. 

For further guidance on this or any other area, please contact us on 0333 0433 450