THIS IS THE ONLY COMPLETE SOLUTION FOR SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND SENCOS IN THE UK
HOW IS EARWIG BETTER THAN OUR CURRENT TEACHING EVIDENCE AND ASSESSMENT SOFTWARE?
The Earwig teaching evidence and assessment package was originally created in 2014 and, over the last five years has been further developed deal specifically with the unique requirements of special needs schools.
Because it is the new kid on the SEND block, it is able to harness all the latest technology to provide more features and an easier user experience for both teachers and leadership teams.
As a result, is it now by far the fastest growing and most recommended software package for special schools in the UK and we have a bank of leading SEND Headteachers who are happy to recommend Earwig to you and explain how it works for them. Here are a few reasons why.
WHAT THE DFE SAYS ABOUT EARWIG FOR SEND
Recent pronouncements and ‘guidance’ from the DfE have done nothing to reduce teacher workloads. In fact, the move away from ‘Levels’ towards individualised, EHCP-based target setting and the addition of the Engagement Model for children with severe and multiple difficulties have added a further layer of work on an already stretched system.
One of the reasons they have done this is that they are aware of the fact that modern software can make the whole process easier, faster, more accurate and better presented. They have made it clear in two recent publications that this is the way they expect schools to keep on top of their evidence and assessment load.
Government departments are very careful not to recommend any commercial educational suppliers in official documents. So we were very pleased when, in the 2018 report on the Engagement Pilot Study, they specifically mentioned Earwig as a suggested route to more efficient and effective assessment, tracking and reporting.
WHAT DOES OFSTED THINK OF EARWIG?
It’s ironic that, while the DfE is adding to the admin load for SEND teachers, Ofsted, with the new Inspection Framework, has added this extra question for school Headteachers – ‘What are you doing to reduce teacher workload and stress?’
Ofsted are specifically forbidden from commenting on school software but we do know directly from the Heads at recently inspected Earwig schools, that they are extremely impressed. If you want more detail on that, check out this blog article.
But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we are proud to boast that, in the five years that Earwig has been used in schools, NO EARWIG SCHOOL HAS EVER BEEN DOWNGRADED. And several have been elevated.
This is spite of the fact that most Earwig clients are Outstanding and, in 2019-20, only 16% of Outstanding schools inspected retained their top ranking.
HOW DO I MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
If you would like to talk to other schools, dealing with similar types of disability, which are already using the package we will be happy to put you in touch.
Contact Earwig for a free demonstration of the system. All special schools have unique sets of disabilities to deal with and methodologies for optimising pupil outcomes. So we work with you to configure a specific set of processes and progress measurement schemes which reflects your assessment strategy. We then monitor this with your SLT annually to evolve you’re the right implementation and training plan to keep your school ahead of the game – wherever the goalposts move in future.
The result is a professional and elegantly presented teaching evidence and assessment process for your whole school, from early years to adult learning. This enables staff to relax because they can
1. Reduce the time they spend on this aspect of the teacher’s workload
2. Improve the quality of evidence and reporting
3. Always stay abreast of changes in SEND pedagogy
This will help the school ensure that teaching outcomes for every child are better and more consistent and that the school is always ready for that phone call.
Beacon Hill School - Essex
Yes, we were outstanding again!
We used Earwig to show the pupil evidence to match the curriculum areas that they looked at as part of the deep dive.
They were impressed with the pupil work evidence, particularly where we had uploaded videos for some of our more complex children.
If we had been given a target, we would have asked to look at personalising our use of Earwig even further, but if you are Outstanding you don't get a target!
Sue Hewitt
Headteacher
