Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Encouraging Achievement VIVO/SIMS

The Students and Achievement Team were tasked with the responsibility of looking into Canons current use of electronic systems. We decided that rewards would be our immediate priority and began to research our current system. We have been using Vivo Miles. Vivo is a web-based rewards system that aims to improve student engagement and help achieve school values. Vivo points are awarded to students for positive behaviour, good work and contributions around school. These points can then be used as a currency for students to save up and purchase rewards on their own account.


We undertook a full audit of staff use and student experience of Vivos and rewards.

We used the data recorded within Vivo to determine how often departments/staff use the system and to see which year groups receive the most Vivos.  

We then disseminated a questionnaire for staff on the use of Vivos. The results informed us that 38% of staff rarely or never use Vivos. The main reason being the method in which they are currently distributed is difficult to use on a practical basis. Teachers in a classroom environment found it very awkward and long winded to log in to the web based Vivo system, often didn’t know their login details as they are separate to SIMS and therefore would not use the Vivo system.  

A student survey across all Key Stages informed us that the majority of students across all key stages still value Vivos – even KS5. We didn’t expect to see the KS5 students value Vivos but they overwhelmingly agreed that Vivos are a great incentive to achieve. Almost equally there were requests for more positive comments to go directly to parents/carers.

I visited Whitmore High School to look at their use of electronic systems. They use a SIMS based reward system that utilises InTouch. InTouch can use SIMS data to automatically send messages to parents/carers. This was a “Light Bulb” moment. I thought “Maybe we’d be able to use SIMS to distribute Vivos”. Further investigation taught us that this was possible. We have now simplified the process of awarding Vivos by using SIMS. Within a register as well as selecting an individual or a group of students, any member of staff can simply use the achievement tab to reward a student individually. This means no additional log in for staff. By using this system the achievement is recorded within SIMS and InTouch can send messages home. We have decided that a trial will determine the number of points/Vivos that trigger a message being sent home via InTouch. Promotion throughout the school will be essential. We will produce posters for classrooms and clear guidelines for all staff on how to use the new system. The trial will also determine how data is collected for Heads of Year and Heads of Department so they are able to analyse achievement quickly and easily. 

Advantages

- Sustains a fair and consistent approach to rewards across the school.

- Fulfils the students’ requests for how they would like to be rewarded (parental notification).

- Fulfils staff requests for easier use thus improving the chances that students will be rewarded.

- Records achievements directly onto SIMS.

- Builds on the Canons ‘talking school’ ethos that promotes open dialogue between stakeholders.


I had the opportunity to present this project in an all staff meeting. It’s still in its early stages, but the feedback from staff has been overwhelmingly positive. One teacher said “Thank you, it’s so quick and easy now. I never used VIVOs before but I will now.” I have had many other members of staff say similar things. It is now my responsibility to keep this system consistent throughout the school. The trial will inevitably find some kinks but I hope this system will promote the use of rewards throughout the entire school. 

 


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