Data Unlocked

Making your data work for you

If you Google 'data and schools', a never-ending list of websites come up. Some have genuinely helpful suggestions, some are trying to sell their own products and some are downright useless! We have tried to sift through the information to give you a briefer succinct idea of what to look for.  This article will highlight how Schools & MAT's can benefit from Business Intelligence in Education.

One System

If you have your data scattered about the place in a variety of applications then it is always going to be a headache to access it. Get it all in one Management Information System (MIS) that best suits your school or MAT. Not only will this make it easier for you to find what you need, but it will also save £££ on software licenses!

One Place

So, all of your school's information is now stored in one MIS, in our experience, this is usually SIMS. That’s it right? Unfortunately not! Whilst all that data is there, if you need to get meaningful stats then you will need to physically compare it. What you need is an analytics tool to allow you to have dashboards displaying the required information.

One Look

We all find familiarity useful in technology. For example, we’re all used to the way Microsoft Windows applications look now and can use them with ease, so the power of a consistent look and feel should not be minimalised. Making sure that your analytics solution has a uniform appearance will save you so much time in the long run.

One Purpose

The whole point of recording data is so that you can use it in a meaningful way, such as identifying trends in your school or MAT which you can then use to positively influence your decision making. Modern school life also means that you have to regularly report on certain criteria in order to meet government guidelines. In the wider world it is know as Business Intelligence (BI).  Business Intelligence in Education is emerging as an essential tool. 

Basically what we’re saying is, a little effort now to properly set up your MIS and Analytics system will save you huge amounts of time and money in the long term. Make your data work for you!