Please read this article and let us know how you would like your EYFS 2020 tracker set up.

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We have a new service that will save all OTrack users hours of time…

This is a free service to all OTrack schools. We can now copy or move assessment data from one term to another. So for example, if your most recent data entered was in February (Spring Mid), then we can copy this to other terms.

We can also do this for any targets that you have recorded in OTrack.

If you have a specific data management need, please email us at support@optimumotrack.co.uk explaining what data you’d like to be moved or copied and we’ll get onto it for you.

Our parent company Juniper Education has created a resource hub of regularly updated information to support schools, teachers and parents while social distancing measure are in place.

New resources are being developed by our team of education specialists on a daily basis and added to the ‘Keeping You School Running Effectivley Resource Hub’.

Resources by category

• Parents/Home Learning
• Resources for Teachers
• Staffing and HR
• Finance and Compliance
• Governance
• Education Resources Service
• Educational Visits

Additional Support, advice and guidance can also be found on Juniper Education’s LinkedIn and Twitter social feeds.

We all know the adage that weighing the pig does not make it fatter… and so it seems do Ofsted:

“Schools choosing to use more than two or three data collection points a year should have clear reasoning for what interpretations and actions are informed by the frequency of collection”.

Anecdotally, as I visit schools up and down the country, it is clear that many are moving to a 3 times a year data drop model rather than half-termly, and now that straw poll has been backed up with some data.

We’re delighted to let you know that OTrack and Juniper Education have combined forces to create a stronger provider able to provide a more local service.

We’re delighted to let you know that OTrack and Juniper Education have combined forces to create a stronger provider able to provide a more local service.

New for June 2019…

On Tuesday 4th June, we released a new report. This report is designed to be a supplement to your written parent reports.

See it in action

Watch the video below to see what the report can do:

If you have any questions, please email support@optimumotrack.co.uk

The data that’s available to you in ASP and IDSR can be invaluable, but do you use it to positively impact your pupils and your school as a whole?

Maze Education and OTrack are working together to give you free simple and effective training that will help you use this data to positively impact on your school.

We will show you how to build the skills you need to become an advanced ASP and IDSR user. We will also show you how to address the accountability see-saw whilst identifying the support needed to help each child progress.

Check dates, and book your place now

Key benefits

• Learn how ASP works, and how to simplify the key terminology and calculations that are used.
• Get to grips with IDSR and understand the underpinning calculations/measures better.
• How to interrogate your own data and answer the most important questions for your school.
• Reduce the time you spend looking at data and empower you to focus more on the classroom.
• How to ensure that your data is recorded once and used many times.

What delegates will learn

• How to interpret data using the ASP platform.
• Demystify the key terminology/calculations and concepts of ASP.
• Answer the key questions that are most pertinent to your school by interrogating your own ASP data.
• Understanding the new IDSR.
• What is available to support your school improvement journey.

Please note that this course focuses on Primary age ranges from EYFS to KS2.

All attendees will qualify for trial access to Maze Education’s end of year reporting, including QLA.

Book onto the training course here

In November, I was working with The Grange Primary in North Lincs. We were discussing the most robust way to report progress.

The school were wanting to set individual targets based on prior attainment. My response was a simple one, “That’s easy, use our Termly Targets feature”.

So we got to work on recording these targets. The SLT told me how they set targets and we started entering the data. Whilst I was helping them do this, I found out what a massively onerous task it was. I knew then that we needed to build a tool that would help you record these targets much easier and much faster.

We needed your advice

When we originally released the Termly Targets feature, we thought (assumed actually!) that it would be a tool for teachers. As it turns out, I’ve since found out that it’s mostly SLT that record the pupils’ targets.

I asked for feedback from our users… and I got it! Within 24 hours I had received over 250 emails telling me how the feature was used and how long it took to set targets.

What have we done about it?

After reading all the emails, we discussed the best way to meet the majority of schools needs, and our Application Development team got to work. I have to say, it was far easier for me to explain what was needed than it was for our Devs to actually build the new tool. But we like a challenge :).

We released the updates earlier this month and have trained many schools on how to use this new tool. If you haven’t seen it yet, get in touch and we’ll show you what it does. We’re sure you’ll love it because it will make recording targets much, much (much) quicker.

Email our support team to find out more: support@optimumotrack.co.uk

As you may know, when we released the newer version of OTrack we made a significant change to the EYFS tracker. This was really welcomed by many users, but it hasn’t been popular with others.

The change I’m talking about is the removal of a code between Secure at 40-60+ and meeting the ELG.

The good news is if you’re not a fan of this change we can re-add the extra code if you need it. If you don’t want that extra code, don’t worry, this won’t affect your tracker.

I’ll explain a little further...

In the old OTrack you used to have these codes available towards the latter end of the EYFS code set:

• 40-60 B
• 40-60 D
• 40-60 S
• ELG B
• ELG D
• ELG S

The default codes in the new version of OTrack are:

• 40-60 B
• 40-60 D
• 40-60 S
• G (meaning a pupil understands the ELG)
• E (meaning a pupil is exceeding the ELG)

Some schools contacted us to say they felt that they need a code between ’40-60 S’ and ‘G’ so they can report progress. We can now update your EYFS tracker to have the following:

• 40-60 B
• 40-60 D
• 40-60 S
• W (meaning a pupil is working towards understanding the ELG)
• G
• E

If you want this extra code adding to your OTrack account please email support@optimumotrack.co.uk