Serco Learning unveils Progresso MIS to save schools £5k
On Stand F20 at BETT 2012, Serco Learning (www.sercolearning.com) is demonstrating its £20million-plus investment in education – the eagerly anticipated fourth generation cloud-based Management Information System (MIS), Progresso, developed in conjunction with over 2000 schools.
Replacing 20th century systems with powerful 21st century cloud-based technology
A multitude of new and enhanced features much welcomed by the teaching community distinguish Progresso from traditional school hosted MIS systems designed in the last century.
Tim Murphy, Assistant Head, Sandringham High School in St Albans, comments: “Progresso is a system that any form tutor can readily use regardless of their IT literacy levels – a system with a highly intuitive interface. Information is pushed to the desktop alerting users that something’s changed or needs to be looked at. Isn’t that great? The teacher gets an automatic alert saying, ‘These students underperformed in a Geography assessment’. So she can say, ‘What happened in Geography then?’ It changes the whole nature of the conversation.”
Saving staff time substantially
The largest investment in school MIS for two decades, Progresso can save schools, on average, £5,000 and release 1000 hours of staff time each year. Designed to help senior leaders, teachers and administrators to work more efficiently and effectively, Progresso will seamlessly integrate with schools’ existing systems and streamline processes, dramatically reducing staff time spent on managing applications.
Roy Dolan, Deputy Headteacher, William Allitt School in Derbyshire, enthuses: “Teachers are looking forward to being able to quickly and easily extract reports from the system within three clicks of a button without needing any technical knowledge. This will save them considerable time which can be re-focused in the classroom.”
Centralising school communications
Progresso combines SMS and email messaging under one roof, so teachers and SMTs can communicate with selected groups of students, teachers and parents, without exiting the system. Anytime anywhere access to data simplifies life further and allows staff with web-enabled PCs and smartphones to action priorities quickly wherever they are located and to perform essential duties remotely at a time and place that suits them without the need to spend long hours at the school.
Progresso will allow schools to set parameters according to individual teachers’ needs, for example teachers can identify and monitor vulnerable groups by setting a threshold which flags all students with attendance below 95 per cent during a particular timeframe. Teachers can spot trends involving attendance, behaviour and attainment, inform relevant staff about any concerns and send instant notifications to parents.
Simon Pickett, Assistant Headteacher, William Farr Church of England Comprehensive School, Lincolnshire, comments: “The environmental impact of reduced server power is a major attraction for us, as is the fact that Serco Learning will upgrade our systems without the need for down time of our systems. We feel this is a much more secure way of running the school as data will be backed up off-site”.
Significantly reducing cost of ownership
Schools no longer need to purchase, manage, maintain and replace dedicated school servers and associated infrastructure. Freedom from the time-consuming overheads of local system administration including local back-ups and upgrades allow ICT staff to focus their efforts on other school priorities that impact directly on teaching and learning. The reduction in electricity and printing costs will also be considerable.
Mohamad Djahanbakhsh, Managing Director, Serco Learning, concludes: “We are very excited about showcasing Progresso at BETT 2012 for the first time, having completely re-written the software from scratch, in collaboration with the most forward-thinking schools in the country, to incorporate the features they require and ensure that it is fit for purpose for the next 20 years. By choosing to move to the cloud, our pioneer schools are set to drive transformational improvement and re-focus their time on embedding ICT into teaching and learning.”
Visitors to stand F20 at BETT can discover how Progresso can help their school lead with innovation. They will also have the chance to speak to educational experts and attend live seminars to see real-life examples of how the software could save them time and money.
To make an appointment with Serco Learning at BETT 2012, please visit: http://www.sercolearning.com/serco-learning-stand-f20-at-bett2012. For further information about Serco Learning Progresso, please visit Stand F20 at BETT 2012, call +44(0)1 332 660 555, e-mail: enquiries@sercolearning.com or visit the website: www.sercolearning.com/progresso. Follow @Serco_Learning on Twitter.
About Serco Learning (www.sercolearning.com):
Serco Learning provides innovative 21stcentury technology solutions to educational institutions throughout the UK and across the world, designed to meet with their ever evolving needs. Serco Learning is part of Serco Plc, a values-led global services company with a culture and ethos that is at the heart of everything we do, bringing service to life. Serco is strongly committed to sustained investment in the education market, continuously developing its product portfolio to meet the changing needs of schools and academies. In everything we do, our aim is to transform education for the better. We have dedicated Account Management teams and are continually looking for ways to further develop our strong customer relationships. Our customers include Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Academies, Free Schools, Independent Schools, International Schools, Federations and Local Authorities.
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