Education leaders are presently processing so much information, that they are potentially in overload,  as they deal with one decision after another. It takes real focus to ensure valuable outcomes are achieved. Just like individuals, organisations have all sorts of different issues that are being brought to the attention of the leadership every day, but to truly be effective, they must have a clear sense of direction and purpose. This means they must know:

• WHAT they want to achieve 
• WHY they want to achieve these things 
• HOW they will achieve it - strategic plan

Strategically planning iP to align with your school vision and priorities for the next academic year, and beyond, will allow you to determine which iP functionality is needed for you, so that quality time can be allocated to implementing and developing the functions, to get the most from your iP system. 

Planning is key to the success of any organisation, but 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, and successfully, manage so many different projects at one time, so effectively planning will help guide the direction, allocate the correct resources, including staffing, to successfully achieve the desired outcome. SchooliP is not seen as another project to add to the list, but more it integrates with existing projects. 

Allowing staff the opportunity to collaborate will have the most impact, and it puts the organisation in a better position to achieve success. It is important to set aside quality planned meetings, in one or two hourly chunks, away from distractions to allow focus and clear thinking. 

A successful 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:-

• The new academic year and the new appraisal cycle
• Changing the Academic Year
• Adding and removing staff before starting new reviews
• Setting up data before the new reviews are opened
• Closing down current reviews (with no move over/copy over of last year’s incomplete Objectives and Areas for Development) 
• Opening and Closing Reviews (with move over/copy over of last year’s incomplete Objectives and Areas for Development)                                                  
• Opening new Reviews
• 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 setup.  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