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Welcome to the final IRIS Textbook Newsletter of the 2021/22 academic year!

With the summer holidays just around the corner, now is a great time to consider the challenges and opportunities the next academic year will bring.

So, to help you set off on the right foot come September, read on to learn more about:

  • How data can be used to improve your MAT
  • The right way to approach implementing a new MIS
  • The role technology plays in building strong MATs and supporting sustainable growth
  • The pitfalls of operating with historical, error-ridden data
  • How to promote and maintain a healthy education workforce
  • How boosting parent engagement can work to close attainment gaps (and the platforms available to facilitate it)
  • How we are helping students prepare for work

We hope you enjoy the remainder of this term and hope you have a lovely, well-earned break.

We’ll see you in September!

All the best,
Simon Freeman
Managing Director, IRIS Education
 
 

Harnessing data to improve your MAT

 
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Making sense of data from across your trust can be difficult. Information stored in different systems at different schools can make it near impossible to obtain a clear picture of what’s going on.

And if you can’t see it, how can you expect to manage and improve it?

If you’re looking for an easier, quicker, and more meaningful view of what’s happening across your trust, view our recent webinar: The Power of Data to Improve your MAT.

The webinar covers:

  • Data’s role in enabling trusts to operate efficiently, improve outcomes, and empower staff
  • How assessment dashboards help trusts measure and improve attainment by acting swiftly on developing trends
  • How IRIS Central’s self-reporting functionality can give trusts the ability to build personalised reports and measure the areas where insight is needed most
 
 
 
 
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Thinking about a new MIS?  

If you’re thinking about making the switch to a new MIS, chances are you’ll have questions about the process.

What criteria should a new system meet? How should you approach implementation? And how can you ensure you get it right?

Our new guide Implementing a new MIS: your guide to getting it right has the answers. Download it for free to discover:

  • Practical advice on what to consider when switching MIS
  • A step-by-step overview of what switching entails
  • Details on how schools should best prepare for a new MIS
  • Helpful hints and tips for achieving MIS implementation best practice
 
 
 
 
 
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How we’re making an IMPACT for the upcoming workforce
 
We were delighted to welcome a group of students from Maiden Erlegh School this month, who joined us at our Heathrow Office to experience the world of IRIS. We showed them what it's like to work in a range of departments while delivering insights into career paths and skill sets.

Our very own Jas Ghuman has also been delivering sessions on careers and opportunities within the software industry at The Dean Trust... “It was fantastic to engage with each year group and explain how career opportunities and progression became possible for myself, I trust that they too can now see how education and success can lead to a very rewarding career."

At IRIS, we are passionate about inspiring the next generation. See what the Maiden Erlegh School students got up to over on our socials.
 
 
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Tackling the staff mental health crisis in schools
 
The UK is facing a staff mental health crisis, and schools are no exception.

The NASUWT teaching union wellbeing survey supports this narrative, discovering that almost 80% of school staff report mental health issues at work.

It’s clear that action is needed, and something must change.

So how can you drive improvements across your school or trust to maintain a healthy workforce? Tom Kershaw shares his recommendations in his new blog.
 
 
 
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Promoting and maintaining a healthy education workforce

If your staff have struggled this academic year, they’re not alone: 80% of school staff are now reporting mental health issues at work.

Staggering? Yes. Surprising? Not so much.

But it’s not too late to make a positive change.

To get a handle on staff mental health and wellbeing, view our webinar Promoting and Maintaining a Healthy Education Workforce anytime on demand.

The webinar offers:

  • Insights into the Mental Health Foundation’s peer education project and the benefits being delivered
  • A deep dive into the strategies Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust has implemented to better support staff wellbeing
  • Real life examples of wellbeing issues and solutions
  • Expert tips and practical advice to take into the next academic year

View on demand
 
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Hit the ground running with parents in September

When the gap between home and school is effectively bridged, absenteeism reduces, student confidence, behaviour and wellbeing improve, and aspirations and outcomes flourish.

To help you hit the ground running with parents in September, we are currently offering 25% off our premium solution*; a complete engagement suite inclusive of modules that enable you to manage communications, online payments, parents evening and form collections all in one place.

Alternatively, if you don’t require a complete engagement solution, you can purchase any individual module and get IRIS PlusPay free for one year*.

Built for and around parents, our parent engagement suite offers an all-in-one solution that responds to yours and your parent's needs.
 
 
 
 

*Terms and conditions apply. Please speak to a member of the team for full details.
 
 
 
 
 

Dates for your diary
 
 
 

2nd October 2022 | MAT Growth Conference

We are proud to be sponsoring the next MAT Growth Conference that aims to support trusts through their growth journey in the new academic year. Book your place to attend today.

Book online
 
 
 
 
 
 

11th – 12th October & 22nd - 23rd November | Multi Academy Trust Partnership Network

Multi Academy Trust Partnership Network is a unique networking and shared learning event, bringing together senior leaders in MATs and the sector’s most transformational suppliers to connect, collaborate and learn around transformation and innovation. Register your spot below.

Register
 
 
 
 
 
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Are you paying the price of historical, error-ridden data?
 
If you’ve ever found yourself sitting in a trust leadership meeting, looking at the headline figures and questioning the legitimacy of what’s being presented, you could be paying the price of historical, error-ridden data.

The thing is, there’s no way to delve into the details behind the headline figures without asking colleagues to find out the answers ahead of the next meeting. And by this point the opportunity for meaningful intervention may have passed.

If you’re regularly looking at data without confidence in its integrity, check out our blog: historical, error-ridden data is costing MATs dearly for the answers.
 
 
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Has IRIS Education delivered benefits to your school or trust?
 

Do you have a success story to share? Or would you like to support peers to foster EdTech best practice by adopting similar strategies and solutions?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we’d love to hear from you with a view to creating a customer testimonial.

 
 
 
 

We will be keeping you up to date with the IRIS Textbook monthly. If you think that your colleagues might benefit from receiving our newsletter, they can opt-in to receive our updates via the form at the footer of this page. Alternatively, if you would like to opt-out of receiving our newsletter, please do so here.