Over the past decade, schools have steadily built up a wide ecosystem of digital tools.
We’ve all seen how attendance platforms, safeguarding systems, communication apps and assessment tools have become part of the everyday fabric of school life. Don’t get me wrong: each one has been introduced for a good reason... and each one also promises to make an important part of school life that bit easier.
Yet when I speak to school leaders, a familiar theme tends to emerge, and it becomes clear that the challenge is rarely that there is too little technology available (in fact it's usually the opposite). Schools now rely on multiple systems, and when those systems don’t connect well, technology can begin to feel like an additional layer of complexity rather than a genuine support.
It's that tension (between flexibility and simplicity) that I have been reflecting on recently. I have come to the conclusion that schools do benefit enormously from having the freedom to choose tools that suit their context, but this freedom to choose only works if systems are able to work together in a way that keeps information both clear and accessible.
Most school leaders will recognise the experience of trying to understand what is happening for a particular pupil (or group of pupils) and then realising that the information they need actually sits across several different platforms. For example, attendance data might live in one system, and safeguarding records in another, and assessment data somewhere else too!
There’s no doubt that each platform performs its own role well, yet the full picture, which is far more useful to a school leader who needs to act in the best interests of their pupils, only emerges when those pieces are brought together. And it's often during the process of navigating multiple systems (that takes up valuable time) where mistakes can be made.
When I was leading a school, the moments that mattered most were often those where leaders were trying to connect those pieces quickly. You might notice a change in attendance patterns and want to understand whether there were any safeguarding concerns... or there might have been a behaviour issue that prompted questions about wider support around a pupil. In those moments, clarity and speed of information really matter.
When systems remain separate, two things tend to happen:
First, staff spend time ‘context switching’ and moving between platforms, manually piecing together information that already exists somewhere in the system.
Second, decision-making slows down because it takes longer to see how different strands of information connect. This is an example of how technology that was intended to simplify school life, frustratingly starts to introduce extra steps.
At the same time, it's important to recognise that no two school settings are the same because schools serve different communities. They develop their own approaches to behaviour, safeguarding, curriculum and communication. So when we think about it like this, it seems obvious that the tools that support one school effectively might not necessarily be the right fit for another.
Because of their unique circumstances, schools benefit from having the freedom to choose the systems that align with their priorities. A trust may prefer one assessment tracking platform whereas a different school may find that a particular communication tool works best for its families. Naturally, leaders should be able to make those choices based on what works for their pupils, their parents and their staff.
Technology works best when it supports those decisions rather than restricting them. However, flexibility needs to sit alongside coherence. If every system operates entirely independently, the benefits of choice can quickly be overshadowed by the complexity of managing lots of different disconnected platforms.
For me, the real value of education technology is revealed in the everyday decisions leaders need to make.
Schools are constantly asking practical questions about how pupils are doing and where support may be needed. These might include:
Which pupils need additional support right now?
Are attendance or behaviour patterns changing?
When systems connect effectively, the answers to these questions (and the ‘why?’ that sits behind them) become much easier to arrive at.
Information that once sat in separate places can now be viewed together, helping all educators to see patterns more quickly and respond sooner. This really matters because leadership conversations should focus on pupils and their progress, not on navigating a host of disconnected systems to find the information needed.
Across the sector we are also seeing a broader policy direction that points toward more connected approaches to information. The government’s longer term reform plans, outlined in the Schools White Paper Every Child Achieving and Thriving, highlight the importance of a national education data infrastructure designed to support better sharing of information and stronger analysis across the system.
For schools, this reinforces something many leaders already recognise in practice: data becomes most valuable when it helps people understand what is happening and enables leaders to act quickly to support pupils.
I still think about one pupil in particular who had just stopped attending school and was at real risk of becoming completely disconnected. During one of her many review meetings, with other agency leaders present, we looked through the number of different systems that each housed a little bit of context on this pupil.
We attempted to fit it all together ourselves in order to gain one joined-up view, but it was challenging.
This was until our SENCO referenced her love of Art...
This was it. The magic piece of information that was sat in some system somewhere but too hidden and not visible enough to enable us to recognise its value to the pupil... and use it to help them.
As a result of this eureka moment, we offered her a way back in through something that meant something to her. She was provided quiet Art sessions each morning with a specialist teacher.
It took time but slowly she began to re-engage, first with those sessions and then with the wider life of the school.
That experience has never ever left me and is one of hundreds that I encountered just like it. It was a reminder that some of the most important pieces of information we need to have to support our pupils (to the absolute best of our abilities) are so often the least visible at first.
It's the reason why I believe the only acceptable answer for schools is information that is connected... since without it, we're reliant on manual intervention and, often, a scavenger hunt to try to put all the pieces together. Well, when those pieces represent pupils, I believe this to be unacceptable.
What this tells me is this: properly understanding our pupils depends on being able to see the full picture, not just fragments.
Thinking about this, what if what schools need now, in order to properly support pupils, is a more bespoke joined-up digital system? One that is tailored to meet the needs of a school’s unique context and surfacing all relevant pupil information together in one place...
The problem is that, when it comes to digital systems at least, schools are forced to choose between two imperfect options:
On one side are tightly integrated platforms that simplify access to information but limit the freedom to choose alternative tools. On the other are flexible ecosystems of separate systems that provide choice but leave schools managing the complexity of multiple disconnected platforms.
In reality, the most effective approach sits somewhere in between.
Schools should be able to retain the systems that work best for them while ensuring those systems are able to connect and exchange information where it matters. When integration is designed thoughtfully, technology adapts to the way schools operate, rather than schools being expected to reshape their processes around the technology… allowing flexibility and simplicity to seamlessly coexist.
Ultimately, it's the way technology is designed that determines whether it reduces workload or adds to it. And when systems connect effectively, information becomes easier to access and leaders can gain a clearer picture of what is happening across their school. Staff then spend less time navigating multiple platforms and more time focusing on the work that matters most.
At Juniper Education, this thinking has shaped the development of JoinUp. Our intention is not to replace the systems schools already rely on, but to help connect them so that schools can maintain the tools that suit their context, while reducing the administrative burden created by fragmented information.
It's a small but important altering of perspective: rather than asking schools to change the tools they use, the aim is to make those tools work together more effectively.
It almost goes without saying that technology should ultimately support the work of schools, rather than complicating it.
When systems are flexible, connected and designed with real school life in mind, they become practical tools that help staff understand what is happening and respond quickly when pupils need support. Schools therefore benefit most when they can make their own choices about the tools they use, while knowing that those systems will work together behind the scenes.
Getting that balance right matters. Because when technology becomes simpler and more connected, leadership conversations can return to where they belong... focusing on teaching, support and the outcomes that matter most for pupils.