An integrated management information system, which improves
accountability, monitors performance, raises standards and reduces
administration, is not some Orwellian nightmare but an everyday reality
for staff and pupils at St Paul's High School in Bessbrook. But far from
looking nervously over their shoulders to check the whereabouts of 'Big
Brother', teachers at the County Armagh school are delighted to be
pioneering Capita's innovative integrated management information
software (SIMS.net) to help improve all aspects of teaching and learning
in the school.

Mr Jarlath Burns, Vice Principal with responsibility for Pastoral Care
explains that SIMS is made up of a range of modules which can be used
for just about every information management process in a school, ranging
from the very simple storing and sharing of personal contact details of
pupils to the more complex management and analysis of pupil performance
data.

St Paul's High School is using the Behaviour and Achievement module to
help implement the school's Pastoral Care and Positive Behaviour Policy.
The main thrust of the policy is to support pupils in their learning and
development and deal with any difficulties that may hinder their
progress, says Mr Burns. He explains how members of the Students'
Council, which is made up of pupils, came up with a sliding scale of
'offences' ranging from minor first offences like incomplete homework or
forgotten PE kit to more serious offences like bullying or fighting.

"Teachers at St Paul's all share responsibility for Pastoral Care and
the school's Merit System is used to promote positive behaviour among
pupils. Now that all teachers are  using online electronic registers,
it's very easy for us to record not only pupil attendance but any
achievements and misdemeanours. When the information is collated on both
a weekly and monthly basis, we can see which classes and individuals are
doing well and reward them accordingly. The school management has
budgeted for pupil incentives and these are presented at the end of each term."

Mr Burns stresses that raison d'etre for monitoring behaviour is not so
much to punish bad behaviour but to reinforce positive behaviour and
improvement and reward good performance.

"Previously good or bad comments were recorded in the class book and at
the end of each month and term, form teachers had to collate all the
information which was very tedious and time consuming. Now that we have
SIMS, all kinds of different permutations can be thrown up with a touch
of the keyboard, which saves a lot of time for teachers. Because the
information is so readily available, it is much easier for form teachers
and year heads to see patterns emerging and reward positive behaviour.
On the other hand though, if someone is missing classes or falling
behind with their work, with the information being shared more
effectively, problems may be identified earlier and we step in to try to
resolve them before they get any worse."

Mr Burns says he is very encouraged by the way St Paul's staff have
embraced the use of SIMS so enthusiastically. "Admittedly it did take
some time getting used to it but I think they are really beginning to
appreciate the difference it can make to their workload now."  

He adds that the support from C2K staff also helped make a real
difference. "C2K seem to be quite excited by our innovative use of SIMS.
They are always receptive to new ideas and very responsive to any
requests from us for support."