A couple of weeks ago, Ofsted came visiting and used the website as a source of information gathering ahead of their visit.  They commented to us that it was very easy to use and navigate through – so thank you.

In fact not only are there new statutory requirements for school websites, but Ofsted are now openly advising that with the introduction of no notice inspections school websites are being assessed in advance of any visit.

Earlier this year, Sir Michael Wilshal (HMCI) wrote to all schools to say:

As you know, schools are required to provide key information to parents and others on the school’s website, including details of curriculum provision. Inspectors will use the website as a starting point when considering provision in the school.

Sir Michael also said in a speech last year that no notice inspections:

will support the good Head who thinks carefully about how to prepare for an inspection by ensuring the website is up-to-date with information on school evaluation, development planning, the school timetable, etc.

Okay I confess, we love school websites so are totally biased, but I hope you’ll agree that your school website is an absolutely essential resource.

Ideally your school website will not just help Ofsted and satisfy your statutory requirements, but will also:

• Instantly show what’s unique and special about your school
• Look good
• Be easy to navigate
• Be easy to update
• Contain all the useful information which parents find useful such as term dates, newsletters, lunch menus, letters, admissions policy etc etc
• And much more..

You won’t be surprised to hear that we can help with all of this. In fact, we’d love to – it’s what we do.

And, if you’ve just broken out in a cold sweat after reading this, don’t panic! We can provide you with an Emergency Website in a day which will allow you to cover your statutory requirements while we work on a beautiful new website for the school.

“It would be great if I could add all my policies in one go without creating umpteen individual links on a page one by one”

Absolutely! And while you’re at it, why not newsletters, letters to parents and other documents?

So we’ve taken your suggestions and created ‘autolists’ within our Content Management System (CMS).
Once an autolist is dropped into a page you may never need to edit that page again. All you need to do is upload your documents to the relevant folder and that’s it.

There are 5 standard autolists in the CMS:

• Newletters
• Policies
• Letters
• Vacancies
• General

We’ve recently seen a strong upsurge in interest from schools who wish to add the Google translator to their website. Anecdotally, schools have told us that Ofsted see it as a useful aid to parental engagement for those schools with parents whose first language is not English. The good news is that we can add it for free if you ask us at the design stage. 

For the user, the process is simple; they select their desired language from a dropdown list and the page instantly appears in that language. How does this magic work? Well, a lot better than it did when it first appeared in 2006, when it was rule based and outsourced. Since 2007 it has used a process called Statistical Machine Translation, and because of the statistical learning techniques involved it’s been getting better and better since.

Basically billions of words of text with known translations were analysed and statistical rules built. The original sources were UN documents which were routinely translated into 6 languages. Since then Google have used a combination of its own search data and also feedback from its own translations. In fact anyone can suggest a better translation. There’s a great video here:

The upshot is a free translation service for every page of your website which, whilst not absolutely perfect, is more than comprehensible and is getting better all the time.
You can see some examples of our school websites using Google Translate here:

http://www.greenleafschool.org.uk/
http://www.ravensthorpeprimary.org.uk/
http://www.wealdjuniors.org.uk/

And don’t forget the pets of your families. Those nice people at Google have a translator for them too.

Though these requirements aren’t strictly from Ofsted, there is plenty of evidence that with no notice inspections, they will be taking a very good look at your school website ahead of any inspection. Indeed, page 5 of the School Inspection Handbook states that inspection planning should be informed by analysis of, amongst other things:

“Information available on the school’s website, which may include a prospectus and other information for parents.”

And, if you want more insight about the importance Ofsted put on an up to date school website, look no further than HMCI himself, Sir Michael Wilshaw who said in a speech earlier this year that no notice inspections “will support the good head who thinks carefully about how to prepare for an inspection by ensuring the website is up-to-date with information on school evaluation, development planning, the school timetable, etc.”

To be honest, for many years we’ve been helping schools realise the benefits of a beautifully designed & usable website which is quick and easy to update. One that extols the school’s uniqueness and is informative for its key audience which may be a combination of current parents, prospective parents & staff and the wider community. Focus on these core elements and Ofsted won’t fail to be impressed.

The current ‘stick’ for a new website may well be Ofsted, but whatever your reasons for seeking a new website, we’ll help ensure it’s more rounded and packed full of carrots!

We can completely transform how your website looks with a new home page layout & look & feel. Best of all, every page will automatically be updated – no need to tediously edit every page. This means a re-design can be very economical. Why not give us a call to discuss your ideas?

Ormiston Sandwell Academy
Chipping Sodbury School

Specified information to be published on a school’s website:

1. Contact details
2. Admissions arrangements
3. Most recent Ofsted report or link
4. Most recent KS2 results (data prescribed)
5. Most recent KS4 results (data prescribed)
6. Link to school performance tables on DfE website
7. Curriculum content by year group by subject with source for additional information.
• KS1 phonics & reading scheme details.
• KS4 course & qualifications
8. Behaviour policy
9. Pupil premium amount, details of last years spend and its impact on attainment
10. Governing body report on implementation of SEN policy
11. Charging and remissions policy
12. Statement of ethos and values

Details from legislation.gov.uk

If you’d like to discuss the features of our school websites which will help make publishing this information slightly less painful, please contact us.

You may already be aware that on 26th May 2012 new rules about cookies on websites came into force.

The only cookies used by any of our websites are for Google Analytics, which allow you to track the number of visitors to your website. These are classified as ‘performance cookies’ (ie not advertising cookies), so our interpretation of the compliance procedure appears to be quite painless; you just need to create a ‘terms’ page for your website.

To help, we have prepared some text which you are welcome to copy from this page on our website:

http://www.greenschoolsonline.co.uk/Legal/suggested-terms/

We’d suggest adding a “Terms” page, maybe as a sub-page of the Contact menu.

We have heard a couple of reports of companies using scare tactics and offering their services for several hundred pounds in order to make the school website ‘compliant’.
We’d recommend contacting us first as you shouldn’t need to spend lots of money in this way.

What’s the best way to achieve this? Here’s 10 things to consider designing into your home page.

1. Add the School name & logo

It seems obvious but make sure your school name is displayed prominently on the home page. Often your school name is displayed alongside the school logo.

But you can be more creative.

2. Position your school with a description or strap line

If it’s not obvious from your school name what type of school you are, or your phase, qualify your name prominently.

Perhaps you have a specialism that needs highlighting?

Or a strong ethos?

3. Use photography

Happy children doing interesting things. There’s no more powerful way to portray your school. Professional photography definitely helps and also allows you the opportunity to let the pictures do some of the talking with a large gallery header. A gallery in the header also adds interest to every page of your website.

Or an alternate could be a static header with a feature gallery nearer the centre of the home page.

If your photography is not quite as good, you might not notice if the images are smaller – a montage can help make a feature.

4. Welcome

A strong welcome from the head will really help introduce the school and its’ strengths – and a photo adds a personal touch. If you wish to be easier to find in google, don’t forget to include some keywords here.

5. News & Events

News & events are most commonly aimed at current parents, but it’s worth remembering that prospective parents and other visitors can get a good flavour of the sorts of interesting things which happen day to day in your school, not to mention your successes. So don’t include too many news items about parking! Open days and other events for prospective parents can also be included here.

And if you have the resources, why not add interest to your news items with a little photo?

6. Channel your target audience

If you’re particularly looking to capture the interest of prospective parents, then why not use some of the home page to allow them to easily find what they need. Or what you’d particularly like them to see. This might take the form of some nicely designed prospectus or admissions buttons.

7. Make navigation easy

The worst thing you can do is frustrate your visitors with quirky navigation or hiding content in non intuitive places. A well thought out and logical structure will help, along with adherence to standard navigation conventions. You can always help your visitors though by placing quick links on the home page. These can be targeted at a mix of current & prospective parents or staff.

Or you might consider a ‘super nav’ for current parents & staff which shows at the top of every page.

8. Video

If you have one, a video clip can really introduce the school. You could embed it onto the home page so visitors can play it on the home page.

9. Social media

A Twitter feed is not just a great way to keep interested ‘followers’ updated about the school. It’s also an easy way to update the school home page from your phone. A Facebook page could also be linked to, or perhaps a Facebook like button added.

10. Other Ideas

A nicely designed ‘noticeboard’ is useful for highlighting news or making important announcements stand out.

You could a feature panel to highlight something you’re particularly proud of.

How about highlighting a quote form Ofsted?

In fact, there’s no end of ways to ensure your home page is engaging and informing.