IP Newsletter September 2025
As a new academic year begins, we’d like to wish you and your team a successful and rewarding start to the term. September is always a busy time, filled with fresh goals, new opportunities, and the shared ambition to make a positive impact on teaching and learning. At SchooliP, we’re here to support you every step of the way - helping to streamline performance management, strengthen professional development, and provide the tools you need to focus on what matters most: supporting staff and pupils to thrive.
Education is changing rapidly - and this is the moment to rethink how we approach appraisal, performance management, and monitoring. With iP, you can rethink your appraisal and performance management processes by:
Review and Refresh Objectives Mid-Year
Objectives set in September don’t need to stay fixed for the whole year. Priorities evolve, unexpected challenges arise, and staff often take on new responsibilities. Regularly reviewing objectives ensures that the appraisal stays relevant, realistic, and aligned with what’s happening.
Use Portfolios to Track Continuous Growth
Portfolios in iP are more than just a storage space for documents; they are a powerful tool for capturing and showcasing ongoing professional growth. Encourage staff to log CPD sessions, learning walk feedback, observations, and personal reflections (in their blog posts) throughout the year.
By doing so, staff can:
Demonstrate progress over time: Each entry builds a chronological record of development, showing how skills, practice, and impact evolve.
Link evidence to objectives: Portfolios allow staff to directly connect their learning and reflections to appraisal objectives or school priorities, making appraisal conversations more focused and meaningful.
Support reflective practice: Regular entries encourage staff to think critically about their own development, identifying strengths and areas for growth.
Save time at review points: With evidence already logged throughout the year, end-of-term or annual appraisal meetings become quicker and more productive.
Highlight successes and achievements: Portfolios provide a structured way to celebrate accomplishments, creating a positive, growth-focused culture.
Leverage Reports for Insight, Not Just Compliance
Reports in iP are far more than a compliance tool - they give leaders a powerful way to see the bigger picture. Instead of just showing that monitoring or appraisal has been completed, reports help identify what’s working well and where support is needed.
How to get the most out of reports:
Align Appraisal with Strategic Priorities
Connect every objective and development activity directly to your SDP or school improvement goals. iP allows you to link evidence seamlessly to strategic outcomes.
Embed Feedback into Action
Ensure feedback isn’t just recorded - it’s acted upon. Use portfolios and notes from learning walks or observations to track how feedback leads to tangible improvements.
Tip: Schedule a mid-year check-in using iP’s dashboards. It’s a simple way to future-proof appraisal while keeping the process efficient and meaningful.
Over the school holidays, we have been working on making your iP experience even more efficient and user-friendly.
A new school year brings fresh priorities, updated objectives, and new cycles of monitoring and CPD. To ensure a smooth transition, follow these key steps to get set up and ready for 25/26.
Here's a checklist to help you prepare:
Close off 2024/25 reviews - Finalise objectives and evidence so staff have a clear record of their achievements.
Update Staff Details - Add new starters, update roles and responsibilities, and check line manager links.
Refresh your Standard Objectives - You should add new objectives that reflect this year’s priorities, and archive any that are no longer needed to maintain clarity and focus.
Plan Monitoring Cycles - Schedule learning walks, lesson observations, and book looks in advance.
Tailor Reports and Dashboards - Focus on the data that will best support leadership decisions this year.
Upcoming Session: Linking the QIP to Individuals within the Team at York College
Wednesday 24th September, 12:00 PM GMT
With: Liam Reece, Andy Goodeve & Debi Saunders
Discover how York College is transforming its Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) into a truly collaborative process. Senior Quality & Compliance Officer Debi Saunders will share how objectives are being aligned so every team member can contribute evidence and improvement activities, making the QIP part of day-to-day practice, not just a compliance task.
If you are enjoying iP…
Refer an organisation today for money off your licensing fee. Simply send us your contact to info@derventioeducation.com.
If our team successfully signs you up, we’ll apply the credit to your next renewal.
If you would like more information on this, get in touch with our referral team
We're proud to share that SchooliP has been voted the number one tool in its category by EdTech Impact! Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback. If you'd like to leave us a review, you can do so by clicking here.
