"“It’s just changed the way we communicate... we don’t have anyone slip through the gaps anymore.”"
The search for an academic reporting solution
Vermont Primary School has been using Sentral since 2014. It wasn’t the desire to switch to a school management platform that started the journey, but a need to find a comprehensive system for academic reporting. A few different options were considered, and the standout solution was Sentral. Whilst this met the immediate need, the transition to Sentral Academic Reports was to be so much more for Vermont Primary School. After implementing the system, it was a presentation attended by Assistant Principal Helen Murphy that pulled the veil back on what was a much larger, comprehensive and complete solution for Vermont Primary School.
Enhanced collegiality
Organisational change can be difficult to navigate. The staff at Vermont Primary School were ready to embrace the changes possible with Sentral as they were “calling out for change and more modern practices”. They were eager to find new efficiencies in their daily routines and Sentral was able to deliver that change. Helen describes that the highly configurable design of Sentral enables staff to foster their team culture and design new methods that work for them and keep the students at the centre of all processes. Staff continually work together towards best practice and actively share methods amongst the team. Sentral better enables the team to break out of siloed approaches to running the school for mutual and widespread benefit.
Improved Communication
Helen remarks that Sentral has positively changed the way the team communicates at Vermont Primary School. Information can now be passed seamlessly between those who need to access it since it resides in a secure, centralised location. Tracking student issues is made much easier through the removal of manual process and the instant access to updated information about students, incidents and related matters. As Helen says, “we don’t have anyone slipping through the gaps anymore”. This has been particularly relevant during COVID throughout 2020, where attendance and wellbeing have been that much more complex to manage.
Sentral Wellbeing consistently used and relied upon
COVID placed increased pressure on all schools throughout 2020 in many ways. Wellbeing is a major focus of the strategic plan at Vermont Primary School. It was crucial for the school to track engagement during the challenging times of remote learning and lockdowns, and Sentral greatly assisted the team to monitor how the students were coping. The team considers this to be the number one issue for the school outside literacy and numeracy. Sentral plays a key role in not only providing for the students, but also for the staff as they improve their skills in using the platform to prioritise mental health within the school community. Helen emphasises that Sentral Wellbeing is used daily and heavily relied upon to continue to drive improved learning and wellbeing outcomes.
"It’s reliable, it’s safe. It’s just so responsive."
Sentral facilitates strategic planning
Vermont Primary School began its journey with Sentral with a slow and steady approach which quickly developed with the aid of a well-defined strategic plan. The team spent the better part of a year analysing how the school was going to look for new efficiencies and any holes that needed filling. They discovered that Sentral’s capacity could expand with them and be configured to suit the school’s emerging needs. The initial transition to Sentral Academic Reports became so much more, eventually transitioning the school to a comprehensive solution. Yet Helen comments that there is still so much to explore as it investigates new modules to replace existing systems within the school. And it can be confident to do that with a platform that is secure and trustworthy. For Vermont Primary School, the future with Sentral looks very bright.
