The summer holidays may already seem like a distant memory as the new term has quickly swung into action, so it is time for us to do a little looking back, and a lot of looking forward.

Firstly, with this newsletter, I’ve taken over the role of ‘newsletter editor’, so you may notice a slight shift in style, just because I write differently, and we’re aiming to produce a more regular newsletter with a range of topics to inform and inspire.

Recent Improvements

By way of looking back, you may not have noticed, but the Earwig Elves have continued to be very busy improving and adding to Earwig.  For example:

• From a back-room-technical perspective, Earwig was moved earlier this year to a totally new hardware platform, providing immediate advantages in performance, plus giving us room to grow as we continue to help more new schools every month to explore the Earwig Universe.
• Constant improvements to features such as:
• Expanding timeline content (eg, to include assessment details where wanted)
• Evidence record flags (even more types of flag are now possible)
• Reviewing archived targets in EHCP frameworks
• More Assess page crib sheet options to guide teachers to achieve more consistent assessments
• Additional options for exporting data for your own analysis
• Even more frameworks to choose from, and more options for framework builds
• …and a host of other changes, including some noted in a previous newsletter
• Adding extra help features – a new pop-up help panel for most pages that can be redisplayed as needed
• Introduced a cut-down version of Earwig for SEND units and the smallest special schools, providing a cost-effective way in to Earwig for those who don’t need the power of full-fat Earwig and the same degree of consultant access.  Known initially as Earwig Lite, this is already transforming into a graded level of access.

Earwig Conferences

And let’s not forget our highly successful Ambassador’s conference in June.  There is no better way to get to know, and collaborate with, a bunch of like-minded Earwig-ites – some only a few weeks into Earwig and some with many years of experience.  Lasting relationships have grown from these conferences, so you never need to feel alone again.

What’s more, we’re already planning next summer’s main conference, and also planning local versions of the conference – the first taking place in November in Hampshire. Watch out for the announcement in the coming weeks!

Coming Up

Looking forward, I will be exploring Earwig functionality, new and existing, to make sure you get the most out of features you may never knew were there, and keep you abreast of new features as they emerge.  We’re making changes to Earwig pretty much every week – some minor (but vital to those who requested them), and others major.

In the next newsletter, I will explore our new pupil reporting strategy – reports V.20 if you like.  We’ve taken the opportunity to start from scratch to both rationalise and improve the reporting options in Earwig.  There are some really cool things coming along, so watch this space.

Until next time…