Student Information Systems

There are ways schools and trusts can minimise stress and keep the day to day school life running smoothly with a student information system.

Learn how you can combine your management information system (MIS), engagement solutions and more to help students and staff succeed.

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Support students and staff with better-connected education management and engagement systems

If you’re looking for a way to better manage school life, schools and trusts can use their student information systems and engagement apps for a combined approach.

A flexible and customisable management information system (MIS) (sometimes referred to as a student information management system) will allow you to link it up with your engagement apps and platforms. This means:

Teachers and administrative staff can easily access student records and data to help manage exams, e.g. checking which students have access arrangements
Students can easily view important information (e.g. where and when an exam is being held) via a single, accessible online portal
Parents and carers can log in and see things such as exam timetables and are notified of any changes, so they can ensure their children are suitably prepared

a school teacher using a student information system to manage exam season

Improving communication to reduce stress during exam time

With students experiencing higher levels of exam stress than pre-COVID levels, the pressure is on to improve outcomes for learners.

Enabling clear and convenient communication can help keep stress to a minimum. By connecting your cloud-based MIS (sometimes called a student data system) with your school or trust’s engagement software, you can:

Make it easier for teachers to send last-minute updates, such as timetables and room changes, to students, parents and carers
Ensure staff can access a centralised communication platform and loop in relevant people or groups, e.g. copying in SENDCO on an update about a student’s exam accessibility requirements
Keep students, parents, and carers up to speed with exam timetabling

How can schools and trusts use their student management systems to make exam season easier?

For schools and trusts, their student management system (otherwise known as an education management system or school MIS) is a system-critical tool – especially when exam time rolls around.

Find out how you can utilise your education management system (including how you can use it alongside other systems) to reduce stress around exams and ensure they run as smoothly as possible.

Smarter exam planning and management
Using your school information management system (or MIS) to help you manage and administrate exams can take some of the strain off your busy school staff.

Your MIS can be used as a centralised and automatically up-to-date source of accurate information for students and teachers during exam time, allowing them to quickly access information like:
- Exam locations and, if applicable, guidance on how to get there
- Dates and times of planned exams (including any changes)
- Seating plans and what students are and are not allowed to bring
For staff, a centralised education management system can be used to access information like student exam registers, exam accessibility logistics and planned staffing levels during assessments.
Ensure exam accessibility needs are met

Schools and trusts can use their education or student management systems to ensure students with access arrangements or SENDCO support are fully accommodated during exam planning.

When teaching staff has access to clear data and reliable, easy-to-access information about each student, they can make sure students with exam accessibility requirements get the right support on exam days.
Meaningful intervention

Most student management systems are cloud-based. You can access real-time student analytics by integrating information from your school’s other management systems into one central source.

Schools and MATs can easily spot patterns in student data and make correlations based on various criteria, including class, study group or individual level.

For instance, if you notice a particular student’s attendance drop leading up to their exams, your system may flag that the student is supported by SENDCO. This kind of data can be used to gain ‘big picture’ insights into how different students are coping through exam season, allowing you to make more informed strategy decisions.
Engage parents and carers
School and trust leadership can use education management systems (sometimes called student data systems) to involve parents and carers in their child’s education, especially around exam time.

When combined with an engagement app or software, schools can ensure parents or carers can better understand the exam process and their role in helping their child succeed, accessing resources like:
- A condensed syllabus that outlines subjects
- Supporting materials to aid with at-home learning
- Guidance for parents and carers on how to facilitate revision
Engagement software can also be helpful for keeping parents and carers in the loop. SMS notifications and email alerts help them stay informed and up-to-date on their child’s progress.

Featured Guide

Navigating the stormy waters of exam season

Discover how to make the best use of your student information system, taking schools from stressed to streamlined during exam season.

Our helpful guide covers everything you need to know, including:

Statistics on SATs, GCSEs and A-Level results for schools
Strategies to reduce staff workload during exam time
Using software to improve the wellbeing of your students
Using your student management system to minimise exam stress

Download the guide

Streamline more than just exam time with a connected education management solution

A cloud-based education management system like IRIS Ed:gen provides a centralised single source of truth, which staff and students alike can access during exam time and beyond to help everyone stay informed, organised and less stressed.

View real-time student data in one place and ensure staff are working with the right information
Save time with task automation like automatically generating suitable exam timetables
Connect with engagement software to share relevant information with students, parents and carers

a pupil accessing their data on a cloud-based student information system

How do cloud-based systems help support students

By using a cloud-based student information system, school and trust leadership are better equipped to handle day-to-day school life.

Cloud-based systems are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection – meaning staff, students and parents/carers can access critical information at any time
Accessible staff portals make it easier to view and amend information (even if users aren’t 100% tech-confident)
When your student information management system is online, hardware issues or server crashes aren’t going to affect how you organise and run things like exams

“Ed:gen is working fantastically for us; we’ve got better analytics than ever before, our view on pupil and staff data has immensely improved, and we’ve streamlined many of our workflows and processes”