THE WHITEBOARD B Squared Ltd Newsletter Issue 4: February 2018

Welcome! The B Squared team has been out and about a lot this term. After talking with teacher

customers we’ve realised that many schools don’t know how much B Squared has

developed and changed over the last few years.

Yes we started off providing paper-based assessment folders for teachers to track the

progress of their pupils with SEND. We developed our Connecting Steps software to

enable schools to ‘go digital’ with their assessments. The software itself has changed

hugely, V4 supports different ways of showing progress and the fact it’s now web-based

means it’s far easier to use! We have also extended the range of curriculums available –

to assess EYFS, SEND, Primary and Secondary pupils (with a post 16 SEND curriculum

in development). This means Connecting Steps can provide one assessment platform for

pupils working across different curriculums in your school! In addition, our evidence

management software Evisense can be used to link photo/video evidence of learning to

assessment points to demonstrate pupils’ achievements.

This issue of our customer newsletter includes details on what we have been up to so far

this term as well as updates on our newest ‘Rochford Review Ready’ assessment

frameworks for children with SEND. You can access sample pages of Engagement Steps

(for pupils not yet engaged in subject-specific learning) using the links on page 2. You can

also request a FREE 15-minute online presentation. Got any feedback? We would love to

hear what you think about our newsletter and what you’d like to see in future issues.

Dale Pickles, Managing Director, B Squared

Your feedback

Your feedback is crucial to us!

By listening to our teacher

customers we have developed

our assessment and evidence

management software to meet

your needs. You can reach us on:

01252 870133 or

hello@bsquared.co.uk

Please follow us on Twitter &

like us on Facebook

Link to our Twitter feeds and

Facebook pages for B Squared,

Evisense and Autism Progress

where you see the logos!

One assessment platform for pupils working

across different curriculums in your school! Our assessment software Connecting Steps

has been created for use with a wide range of

schools and curriculums. It was designed from

the start to be easy to use, save teachers’ time

and be flexible enough to suit their needs. The

software has to cater for a wide range of users

- assessing EYFS pupils has a very different

set of requirements compared with pupils

studying for GCSEs. Connecting Steps has

been designed to meet all of these needs.

Schools that use Evisense (our evidence

management software) alongside Connecting

Steps are also able to link photo/video

evidence of learning to assessment points,

providing powerful proof of pupil progress that

may otherwise have been hard to

demonstrate.

Do you struggle to track the progress of children with PMLD, SLD or CLDD?

Take a look at our NEW Rochford Review Ready assessment frameworks for children with SEND!

There's no need to struggle!

Our newest Rochford Review Ready assessment frameworks have been designed to help teachers identify and record the ongoing achievements of pupils with SEND. Used within our Connecting Steps software, these frameworks track even the smallest of improvements.

What 'The Rochford Review' means for pupils with SEND

The Final Report identified two categories of pupils with SEND, each with very different assessment requirements. B Squared has developed two brand new assessment frameworks to meet these needs.

For pupils not yet engaged in subject-specific learning - Engagement Steps is NOW AVAILABLE! This framework helps teachers assess progress for those pupils with the most significant disabilities and difficulties, including children with PMLD, SLD or CLDD. Engagement Steps is divided into key developmental areas which reflect the four areas of need. It has been designed to work in a non-linear fashion, to reflect the fact that these pupils will experience and engage with skills across multiple levels. Keen to find out more...

For pupils engaged in subject-specific learning - Progression Steps is in development This framework will help teachers identify and record the on-going achievements of pupils who are working moderately or severely beneath age-related expectations, in some or all areas of their development. Our Cognition & Learning content helps assess the intellectual development, knowledge and abilities of a child with SEND against National Curriculum subjects...Once the DfE publishes legistation on this, B Squared will review it against our assessment framework, amend as necessary and then release Progression Steps - we will let you know when this happens!

Connecting Steps makes assessment easier!

It can be used to help improve pupil outcomes, free up teaching time and simplify reporting for senior leaders. Our brand new assessment frameworks extend these benefits to your pupils with SEND in this new post Rochford Review era!

Show me some sample pages

Request an online presentation

Meet The Teacher

Meet Jo, she is an inspiring and positive

influence as Deputy Headteacher at

Heath Farm School, part of the largest

combined children’s services group in

the UK - Acorn Care and Education

Group. The effectiveness of leadership

and management at the school is

judged Outstanding by Ofsted. Highly

motivated staff at Heath Farm School

say, ‘it is a privilege to be part of this

school and to be valued as a team

member’. Find out why Jo advocates

using B Squared software.

Heath Farm supports pupils with a wide range of needs, including social

and emotional issues, learning difficulties and mental health problems.

Pupils often have ‘spiky’ profiles, meaning that in some areas they can

exceed, whilst in others they fall below age-related expectations -

assessment needs to work in a non-linear fashion to reflect this. At its last

inspection, Ofsted observed that leaders effectively track the progress

that pupils make in a wide range of subjects. Pupils move on to college

courses, apprenticeships and jobs, confident they can lead happy and

meaningful adult lives.

Connecting Steps is used at Heath Farm School for assessing progress

for all pupils from KS1 through to post 16. Ofsted identified one of Heath

Farm School’s further improvements as - enabling teachers to participate

in the analysis of pupils’ performance information so that they gain a

greater understanding of how this can be used to improve their teaching.

Jo used Connecting Steps to address this guidance from Ofsted enabling

teachers to create Progress Intervention Plans.

CSAM (Connecting Steps Analysis Module) facilitates data analysis

and creating essential reports for Ofsted, Governors and Senior

Management. “CSAM enabled us to identify that KS3 pupils were making

outstanding progress within the statistic strand of maths. We introduced

GCSE statistics to KS4 and pupils are making huge progress,” says Jo.

CSAM has cut down Jo’s workload in terms of data analysis and helped

her to make bold strategic decisions.

Evisense captures and manages photo/video/audio evidence of learning.

It is being embedded across the school to support teachers’ judgements,

linking evidence to Connecting Steps assessment points saves teachers’

time and clearly demonstrates pupil progress.

“Evisense supports our teacher assessments and allows robust collection

and reporting of evidence. We are also starting to use Evisense as a

moderation tool,” says Jo.

Heath Farm intends to roll it out to parents, carers and social workers in

the future to increase parental engagement and promote transparent

communication between all stakeholders.

Jo Johnson Deputy Headteacher at Heath Farm School, part of the Acorn Group

Bett Show 2018 The top 3 priorities for many

headteachers in 2018 are to reduce

costs, retain talented teachers and

streamline teacher workload. At this

year’s Bett Show, visitors to our

stand found out how B Squared’s

‘teacher timesavers’ are helping

headteachers to address these

challenges.

Our assessment software

Connecting Steps and evidence

management software Evisense

help teachers to ‘escape the pain of paperwork’ and focus on what they do best – teaching!

“Make teachers’ hours count by using Evisense to enable quick, easy and more efficient observations! Reduce time

spent recording and collating pupil observations - creating more time for marking and proactive lesson planning.

Help your teachers gain control and feel positive about their workloads.”

Dale Pickles, Managing Director at B Squared

Deputy Headteacher Jo Johnson from Heath Farm School also joined us to explain how she’s using B Squared

software to support good practice in the classroom.

Escape the pain of paperwork… ...use Evisense to manage evidence of learning the easy way! 3 lucky schools who had fun in our photobooth at the Bett Show will be

finding out for themselves how to reduce teacher workload by going digital for

their evidence of learning! The winners of our prize draw now have Evisense

FREE for 1 year for their whole school.

The winning schools were: Bettws Lifehouse in Powys; Lancaster School in

Westcliffe-on-Sea; and Stanton Community Primary School. The teacher who

entered the draw on their behalf also wins an Escape Room

Adventure for 4 people. Enjoy!

Forthcoming Events

For more information on any of our products, contact us on hello@bsquared.co.uk, call 01252 870133, or visit:

B Squared Autism Progress Evisense