Less Time on Website Checks, More Time for Pupils

We spoke to Dawn Platt, Northern Regional Director at Shaw Education Trust, about how they’ve been using Robin to help schools reach 100% website compliance, uncover hidden policies, and even support Ofsted inspections.

From saving hours on manual checks to encouraging schools to take a closer look at what’s really needed on their websites; Dawn shares the difference Robin has made after just two reviews.

Shaw Education Trust and Robin

Tell us a little about your Trust, your role and website compliance

So we started off with 3 schools, and now have 31 - a mixture of special schools, secondaries and primaries. We’re spread over quite a large area from northwest England to the midlands.

When it comes to our school websites we’re continually trying to make sure that our websites are not just compliant, but promoting the culture of the Trust and of the school.

We live in a world, where the website is the window to the school, we know that our regulators always look at a school website before they visit, and we also know that prospective parents and members of the community go on the school website as well.

It’s multifaceted - we want them to be DfE compliant, but we also want them to be easy to navigate, and for users to find things quickly.

“You don’t have to spend hours on your school website checks anymore - a quick click and you know what’s there, and what’s not.”

Before Robin - how did you manage website compliance?

The team and I used to do the website checks manually.

We’d go to the website, check for the requirement and RAG rate the checklist in a Word document.

It would take a good hour and a half per school. And, we’d do this maybe once a year.

How are you using Robin at your Trust?

I’ve used a few different approaches to make sure schools with access are engaged.

Firstly, I’ve been doing training with staff to show them how easy Robin is to use. And then what to do if Robin hasn’t found something.

I then give them a deadline for the updates, so I can go and check the results on Robin after a new review.

We were also keen to put a bit of a competitive element in, so we reward schools that are 100% compliant.

We send them a “Bobby dazzler” email acknowledging all their hard work, and these have been really positively received!

It’s definitely been working! I saw you had 9 schools at 100% compliant and 19 over 90% compliant!

Where else has Robin made an impact?

The policy audit has made a big impact in our schools as it reveals any forgotten policies.

Schools have been surprised to discover old and outdated documents still published on their websites, because they don’t go online to check for them.

It’s uncovered that on average our schools have 40+ policies published. Some of our schools have policies on their websites for everything, and they really don’t need them. There are key policies that need to be on the website and there are others that can go on their school intranet.

What’s feedback been like amongst your schools?

I’ve received lots of compliments from our school leaders. They’re impressed with how useful and easy Robin is to use, and they like how Robin flags out-dated policies.

“We uploaded Robin’s website compliance document to the Ofsted portal and there were no questions asked.”

How have you used Robin during Ofsted inspections?

We uploaded Robin’s website compliance document to the Ofsted portal and there were no questions asked.

It just looks better for your leadership and management, because it looks like you’re in control of website compliance at your school.

You’ve not only got the ability to run your school effectively, but also check for DfE compliance too.

How else has Robin supported your Trust?

It’s really made us consider what should be on our school websites, and what’s truly necessary.

We’ve uncovered a vast difference in the number of policies published across our schools, from 18 to 84! So, we’re asking schools to remove policies that don’t need to be publicly available, and which can be sent directly to parents.

From a school perspective, if Robin can’t find something on their website, it’s really made them think about the structure, the navigation and whether it’s fit for purpose.

Robin has made everyone pay much closer attention to what’s on their school websites!

What’s your aim for the next few months?

I want our schools to become self-sufficient in managing their websites with Robin. So I can take a step back from directly monitoring and continuously checking.

We currently have 9 schools at 100% compliant -  I want all of our schools to be there!

That’s the aim. That’s the high expectation of everybody, and there’s no reason why we can’t be.

If you were describing Robin to another Trust, what would you say?

It’s a game-changer. It saves a lot of time and allows schools to focus on improving outcomes for pupils, rather than worrying about their website compliance.

You don’t have to spend hours on your school website checks anymore - a quick click and you know what’s there, and what’s not.

Find out more about Shaw Education Trust.

Join our growing community of 100+ MATs (1,300 schools) saving time and energy on website checks this term. Get a free preview

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