CASE STUDY

Seating Plan Software at St James C of E School

Roy Coulson, Deputy Headteacher

St James C of E School is judged “Outstanding” by Ofsted. They came on board with Class Charts because they needed seating plan software that is linked with SIMS. They were looking for a fast and efficient way to create seating plans. This is what they have to say about their experience with Class Charts

Why did you choose Class Charts?

We’ve spent a lot of time looking for solutions to the problem of how we could make it easier for teachers to handle data in the classroom much more effectively.

We were using a different solution but it was not easy to change or responsive to changes in groups.”

How were you previously doing seating plans in school?

Most of our teachers would have been using Excel or Word previously. Although they provided a solution in part, it was uncomfortable, it was difficult, it was messy and at the end of the day it was yet another piece of paper. Class Charts really brought all this together and allowed the teachers to have a much more straight forward and easier way to actually collate their information and by dragging and dropping pupils into the class arrangement that you actually want according to differentiation for example, or pupil premium issues. That information which would have taken a lot of time to get together on a spreadsheet or in word was already there for them. The only decision they have to make is “what information do I want to put forward?” Once having done that the choice is theirs. Changes are made very easily and its been a real hit with the teachers in our school. As its gotten more and more important now with pupil progress in schools that you know exactly whose where and what the expectations are, than something of this nature is going to be really really important.

What are we like to deal with as a company?

A positive feature of the Class Charts team is their response to feedback. They have updated the program since we started last year based on some of the concerns that we had. That’s is not always the case with other software companies and don’t deliver in that area. I can assure you that Class Charts are listening all the time and are very keen to improve what they do. If you are interested in a solution of this type then Class Charts is certainly one that I would have a look at.