Atkey Solutions - sustainability case study

What is the project?

To encourage schools to use the power of technology to minimise inefficient performance management paper-based systems and ensure that any staff travel is essential.

Blue is an online tool which reduces the use of print materials within staff performance management and provides the evidence to help CPD leaders and staff make informed decisions on appropriate training opportunities.

Staff use Blue to store their professional portfolio and performance targets and identify personal development needs. CPD Leaders use Blue to efficiently manage staff performance and identify and focus on specific staff development needs linked to school improvement planning.

What have you done so far?

Blue Sky online performance management and CPD tool uses the capacity of information technology systems to efficiently organise, analyse and report on data, including:

Online training needs analysis schools and local authorities identify group training requirements and set up precisely appropriate opportunities either in-house or shared with other schools, sharing resources and reducing wasted time, travel and expense.

Online Training Calendar alerts individual staff to training opportunities relevant to their specific needs without resorting to paper based communication.

Online implementation and training resources and phone support for use by our Blue Sky clients.

Remote live demonstrations of Blue Sky used as frequently as possible, over the phone rather than in person at the school or Local Authority concerned.

What challenges have you faced?

We passionately believe that because Blue Sky reduces paper use and creates a systematic approach to training and development across the whole staff our clients are ensuring that scarce resources are put to the very best use … our biggest challenge is getting that message across without adding to our own carbon footprint.

We are investing time and resources in online systems and staff training to ensure our own online training and phone based support service matches the high quality our clients expect from our in-person training delivery.

What are the next steps?

• Show more schools and local authorities how Blue Sky can help them support sustainability whilst delivering performance management and needs- focused staff training.
• Continue to use phone demonstrations in preference to personal demonstrations where possible, complementing this with attendance at key exhibitions, such as SSAT National Conference.
• Develop online video presentations and create a demo site for our enquirers to explore at their convenience.
• Continue to develop our remote training resources and investigate the use of video conferencing to support training.