Speaking to UK schools as often as we do, it’s no surprise that the topic of Ofsted (the national schools inspection agency) comes up time and time again. Schools are under pressure to perform well in Ofsted inspections, which are scheduled at very short notice, and inspection time can be extremely stressful for students, staff and parents alike.

We’ve taken a look at the official Ofsted guidelines to establish how Titus Learning can best help schools prepare for and succeed in inspections through the use of educational technology. Outside the UK, the points are still relevant – many education systems have goals and requirements which overlap significantly with those in the UK.

Two key areas of interest to inspectors are:

• quality of teaching, learning and assessment
• personal development, behaviour and welfare

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Almost all UK schools will have some form of learning platform in place, so it seems obvious to mention that our VLE solutions can assist with teaching and learning. Where we go further than other providers though, is in our dedication to ensuring that staff and students alike are fully engaged, comfortable and enthusiastic in their use of the platform.

This is partly achieved from a technical standpoint – our learning platforms are carefully designed with usability and ease of use in mind – but more importantly by looking at culture.

We work closely with each of our clients to provide a full implementation plan for the launch and rollout of their new platform, ensure staff are trained and have adequate support and conduct regular usage reviews to guide schools on how well the platform is being used, and what could be improved.

It’s a two-way exchange, with our large client base giving us constant feedback on how to tweak and improve the user experience, features and capabilities of Titus LMS.

The consultative approach empowers school leaders to use Titus LMS as an effective tool in improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare

On the pastoral side, most school leaders we speak to have the same message – student welfare and development is closely tied to the quality of home-school links.

Since founding Titus Learning, we’ve always encouraged schools to give parents access to the learning platform, enabling them to keep abreast of their child’s grades, assignments, timetables and key achievements.

Taking this a step further, our newly launched app EduLink One allows schools to link up their learning platform with their management information system.

This means that from a single mobile application, parents, students and teachers alike can view real-time data on grades, behavioural issues and attendance, as well as timetables, homework assignments, resources and exam calendars.

With built in instant messaging and alerts, the power to communicate directly and efficiently between home and school tangibly improves the welfare of students.

Of course, this is only an overview – we’ll be publishing a more detailed guide to how we can help schools meet each part of the requirements shortly.

In the meantime, if you have any questions on how Titus LMS can help your school evidence the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and your approach to personal development, behaviour and welfare, contact our team.