It’s almost that time of year, where schools up and down the country are preparing for Results Day. Juniper Education is largely made up of ex-headteachers, senior leaders and teaching professionals, so when we say we can sympathise with what you are going through, we truly mean it. Louise Joseph, Sisra Data Consultant, Juniper Education, has walked in your shoes, having previously worked as a Data Manager for over 6 years. Louise wanted to offer some words of wisdom, give her top tips, and discuss how to navigate the Results Day ‘jungle’ in our latest blog.
“Two summers ago, I was still working as a Data Manager in school and I remember the feeling well. The mixed sense of dread and nervous anticipation.
On a recent course, someone who was new to the ‘Data and Exams role’, asked for some survival tips.
Let’s be honest, it can often feel like you’re about to be launched off a helicopter and thrown into the ‘I’m a Celeb’ jungle. Don’t worry though, there is lots of great advice and guidance out there!
All you need to remember is preparation, preparation, preparation! Even for those who have been in the role for years, this still applies.
Ensuring you are well prepared before you leave at the end of term does take time, but it will make the embargo days less daunting, and bit less like ‘I’m a Celeb’. Of course, you cannot always prepare for all eventualities, but it is good to have a back-up plan in case something does go wrong, such as staff illness or no internet connection.
Like most Data Managers, I am a big lover of checklists and spreadsheets. My children hate me for it!”
Our marketing leading software, Sisra Analytics, is a data-driven pupil assessment tracking system that has some fantastic checklists for KS4 and KS5, with best practice tips to work through. These checklists ensure your Sisra setup is accurate for when you receive your exam results in August. I would always work through these prior to the end of term so that I knew my system was all set up and ready for the Results Days.
We also have checklists with steps to work through on Results Day itself, to ensure your exam grades are uploaded and set up correctly. Things can often get a little hectic on the day, so having these printed off and ready to work through would always ensure that I had a process to follow.
You can find the following checklists within our Sisra Analytics Help Centre, under the Results Day & Exams section.
If you are new to the role, it would be great if you could arrange a visit to another school, whether that be within your trust or a local school. You may also want to come along to one of the free online Sisra Data Meets this term. There will certainly be lots of discussion on preparing for Results Day! For more details and to book your place, click here
So, what kind of preparation can you do for ‘the jungle’?
“There could, of course, be things that happen outside of your control. However, you should treat these, and any mistakes, as something you can learn from. Plenty of people are going through the same thing; we’re all in the ‘jungle’ right now, but by following these steps, you should encounter less cockroaches and snakes on Results Day!
As always, we’re running our hugely popular Results Day Workshops and Webinars to help you through the planning, upload, and analysis of exam results at KS4 and KS5. You can view the full range of events on offer here.
I’m a Data Manager… get me out of here!
Good luck everyone!”