Dartmouth Academy Adopts Cloud-Based Management Information System

Devon-based Dartmouth Academy, an all-through co-ed school for three to 19 year olds, has adopted a cloud-based management information system (MIS).

The education institution is already increasing its performance and has been able to reduce reporting time from two days to seconds since implementing the software.

The solution, Progresso from educational software provider Advanced Learning, enables teachers to analyse data in real-time from any device.

The Academy selected this software because it offered stability, speed and is one of the only cloud-based MIS systems available, giving the organisation a more flexible and cost-effective option.

“We believe each student should be given every chance to attain their potential and that individualised learning leads to individual attainment,” claimed Dartmouth Academy Assistant Principal Andy Carpenter.

“Unlike other products, Progresso is a learning-centric system which can help us achieve this goal,” he added.

Staff are able to use the MIS on their iPads to monitor the academic performance and attendance of the school’s 525 students with up-to-date information.

The solution also enables heads of departments, teachers, parents and students to securely access tailored school information, as well as providing a clear picture of each student’s learning progress online.

Progresso also measures student assessments, exams and interventions and reports on these with the up-to-date information.

A powerful analytics solutions means staff can view trends in behaviour and attendance patterns and student trends can be quickly displayed and analysed in a single intuitive dashboard module, saving time when searching for data.

Improvements Since Implementation

Since the MIS was implemented, the school has seen a 100% attendance rate at detentions because its hosted functionality allows teachers, students and parents to view information from tablets and smartphones.

This is said to build the relationship between the three parties and give parents and children more ownership of their progress and real-time information allows for quick intervention when required.

“Progresso has come a long way to become the most innovative MIS on the market. The fact that the system is cloud-based gives us so much more flexibility and is a much more cost-effective option, which is always crucial in education,” claimed Carpenter.

“The great thing about this MIS is that it allows not only staff but parents and children instant access to their progress, which saves so much time.

“Our teachers have moved from using spreadsheets to analyse data, which took days, to being able to input and view data on their iPads in a matter of seconds.

“They can therefore devote more time to taking remedial action with learners and senior leaders benefit from streamlined Ofsted reporting,” he added.