Digital inclusion for all at Bardwell School - Bardwell School Case Study

At a glance

130+ young people, teaching staff and parents using Multi Me

96%+ of parents reported receiving valuable information about their child’s progress at the time of the case study

Multimedia assessment using video, photographs and text

Shared information between school, families and professionals

Consistent evidence to support assessment, reviews and moderation

Successful digital inclusion using Multi Me

Since 2013, over 130 young people, teaching staff and parents at Bardwell School have used Multi Me as a summative assessment tool.

The individual profile format mirrors the school’s approach to delivering a personalised and student-centred curriculum. The ability to upload videos and photographs means that every student can have their progress captured and celebrated.

Multi Me also provides ways for home, school and other professionals to communicate and share information, giving students and their families opportunities to share successes and experiences from different aspects of their lives — from learning objectives and physiotherapy plans to family holidays.

“Parents say that communication from school staff is now excellent... this is due to the effective use of communication books, regular newsletters and the implementation of online multimedia assessment.”

— OFSTED, September 2018

Here are some of the ways Bardwell School reported that Multi Me positively impacted the education and lives of its students.

Streamlining assessment and reporting

Multi Me helped streamline teachers’ working practices when assessing and reporting.

Once assessments were uploaded to Multi Me, they could be used in a number of ways. During termly review evenings, each pupil’s Multi Me profile provided a starting point for conversations about their progress.

By accessing pupils’ Goals, stories and other evidence, staff could give families a comprehensive picture of their child’s education.

Assessment entries could then be revisited during annual reviews to report on a child’s learning across the year. Rather than rewriting reports or starting again, the school structured its Multi Me assessments so that information could be transferred into other reporting documents used by the school.

Making assessment clear through multimedia

When video is uploaded alongside written assessment, staff can see what a child has achieved and how they achieved it.

For pupils who may learn through small, incremental steps, accurately capturing those stages is particularly important for tracking progress.

Bardwell found that multimedia evidence also supported richer conversations between teaching staff. Videos uploaded to Multi Me could become a starting point for discussions about learning and help staff explore how best to support individual students.

Bringing therapists into the picture

When a child’s therapist is part of their community on Multi Me, they can contribute up-to-date information about specific plans in place for that child.

For example, where a child has a movement plan that needs to be followed both at home and at school, that information can be made available to the people involved in supporting them.

This helps provide consistency and clarity when delivering programmes specifically tailored to an individual pupil.

Keeping people informed

Multi Me enabled people involved in a pupil’s learning to receive updates when new information was added.

This meant school leaders could keep track of assessment activity, while families could find out about successes and progress being recorded at school.

If a story about a school trip was added before the end of the day, for example, families could use it to help start a conversation when their child returned home.

For pupils who experience challenges recalling or relaying what has happened during their day, photos, videos and stories can provide something concrete to share and talk about.

This level of information sharing could otherwise be time-consuming to achieve through conventional paper diaries or telephone calls.

Sharing achievements beyond school

Many families reported positive experiences sharing their child’s Multi Me pages together at home.

Children with additional needs may experience challenges with recall or communicating messages, making it difficult to tell their families about their school day.

Multi Me enables school-based successes to be shared through text, photographs and video that families can access from home.

Regular updates also give families opportunities to practise skills at home and celebrate progress together.

Importantly, communication works both ways: families can also share achievements and experiences from outside school with the school community.

Consistent and meaningful record keeping

Bardwell’s teaching team developed a template for assessments recorded through the Multi Me Goals function.

This helped ensure that assessments were organised logically, contained appropriate detail and made each pupil’s progress easier to follow.

Within curriculum areas, teachers could follow progress through specific strands of learning and use this information to identify appropriate next steps.

“As a teacher, when a student joins my class I am able to trace their learning journey within a particular strand of the curriculum. The video evidence allows me to see exactly how a student approached a specific task and to see them demonstrating the skill... ensuring that the learning journey of all students can be successfully continued.”

“It also helps teachers to quickly and accurately pitch learning for their pupils, ensuring that progress is maximised.”

— Bardwell School teacher

Strengthening school-to-home communication

At the time of the case study, over 96% of Bardwell parents stated that they received valuable information about their child’s progress.

Through Multi Me, families could see what their child had achieved and how they had achieved it.

This visibility helped families engage with their child’s education and better understand and celebrate their development.

“I love sharing it with my son. Watching his face as he watches is amazing.”

— Bardwell School parent

Supporting moderation across the school

Providing they had an internet connection, school leaders could access assessment records across pupils, curriculum areas, classes and key stages.

This made moderation more straightforward, allowing evidence and data to be reviewed and cross-referenced while showing each pupil’s learning as an ongoing chronology.