SIMS makes the grade in Portugal

INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDY
Oporto British School
SIMS makes the grade in Portugal
SIMS International has helped Oporto British School display the professionalism that
parents expect and it’s saving hours of time on reporting too.
About the school
With 450 pupils aged 4 to 18, the Oporto British School in
Portugal is a relatively small international school. But as the
oldest British school on continental Europe it has a long tradition
of providing high quality education. Over 80% of the student
population is of Portuguese nationality, but the Curriculum is
English. The education the school provides is also recognised as
being of a high standard by the Portuguese education authorities.
What were the issues?
Before SIMS the school had only a very basic management
information system. “It was predominantly a paper based
system,’ says Joana Saraiva, SIMS Manager. “If any pupils changed
address or phone number we had to go into three or four
separate documents to change the information.”
The biggest issue for Joana was ensuring that the regular reports
to parents were accurate and delivered punctually.
The school sends out Effort and Attainment grades to parents
every six weeks. Six years ago these reports were all hand written
and Joana spent days manually collating information. “The Head
of the Senior Section, who I am responsible to, knew not to ask
anything else of me during reports week,” she says.
How has SIMS helped?
The school was keen to get as much information on SIMS as
possible: “We wanted to move away from having files full of bits
of paper,’ says Joana. The school has also introduced Registration
and Admissions, and SIMS Assessment.
“In a high achieving school like this, parents
expect the level of professionalism that SIMS
provides. By using SIMS the school can be
sure that its communication with parents is
accurate, up-to-date and accessible.”
Joana Saraiva, SIMS Manager
INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDY
Oporto British School
“We used to insist teachers completed reports
at least three weeks before issuing them to
parents so we had time to collate all the relevant
information. It took a full week to do this. Now
everything feeds seamlessly into the system
which prints off the reports. Not only do I
go home on time that week, but my job has
expanded and developed as a result.”
Joana Saraiva, SIMS Manager
How has SIMS helped? - Continued
Before SIMS, there were occasions when staff were unable to
phone a parent because the member of staff who knew where the
relevant piece of paper was stored was away. “That simply could
not happen now; the data is always there on SIMS and we can
easily look at a child’s details and records over several years.”
This means that the school feels it can now present a more
professional approach to parents: “In a high achieving school
like this, parents expect the level of professionalism that
SIMS provides. By using SIMS the school can be sure that its
communication with parents is accurate, up-to-date
and accessible.”
What has been the impact?
The advantages of SIMS can be seen across the school, says
Joana. Staff, pupils and parents are benefiting from what Joana
describes as a “more efficient school”.
Undoubtedly the greatest impact for Joana has been the
improvement in reporting procedures. “Using SIMS for reporting
has saved hours of my time each half term,” she says.
“We used to insist that teachers completed reports at least three
weeks before issuing them to parents, so we had time to collate
all the relevant information. It took a full week to do this. Now
everything feeds seamlessly into the system which prints off the
reports. Not only do I go home on time that week, but my job
has expanded and developed as a result. I am able to assist with
examination administration, provide more support to the Head
of the Senior School and devote time to developing SIMS use
in school.”
Next steps
The aim now is to encourage the Primary Section to use the
reporting and assessment tools in SIMS. The school is also
investigating the benefit of introducing Lesson Monitor, which
Joana believes will make lesson planning simpler and more
efficient for teachers. They also want to bring SIMS Learning
Gateway into the school. She says: “This will enable us to
communicate with parents in an even more professional and
focused way - and all at the press of a button.”
For more information on how SIMS International can support
your school call +44 (0) 1285 647470.
© Capita February 2011
SIMS International, 5 Mercian Close, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1LT
Tel: +44 (0) 1285 647470 Fax: +44 (0) 1285 647 599 Email: [email protected]
www.sims-independent.co.uk