TestimonialsClaire Dodd - Regional Safeguarding and Child Protection Lead, Co-Operative Academies Trustposted 3 months ago

How did you hear about SCR Tracker?

The system was recommended to us by our safeguarding consultant Carolyn Eyre.

What initial challenges did you encounter that led to your decision to upgrade to SCR Tracker?

As a growing Multi-Academy Trust it was becoming increasingly difficult to have a consistent, safe and secure way of both viewing the individual academies SCRs from a central perspective but also sharing up-to-date information with our academies regarding the checks that have been completed on central colleagues. 

Were there any external influences or industry trends that added to your decision to upgrade to us or an online automated solution?

The requirement for us to comply with KCSiE, to maintain a single central record detailing checks carried out in each academy and centrally within the Trust. And the need for a platform that allows for those details to be provided separately, and without delay, to those entitled to view that information, including inspectors.

What made our solution stand out against our competitors/other software available?

After viewing a range of platforms, the procurement team decided that SCR Tracker looked to be the easiest to implement and use across a large Trust with functions that enabled the ability to create templates, user groups and permissions centrally, resulting in a consistent and compliant approach to recording and retaining the correct information. 

How did you implement/introduce our solution?

With the support from Lisa at SCR Tracker we were able to build the system centrally for our Trust. We shared information about the system with our leaders and those who are responsible for inputting and maintaining the SCR in each academy. We scheduled a number of video training sessions, that were delivered by Lisa, for colleagues to attend. We created and shared a ‘frequently asked questions’ document, which contained a selection of links to helpful documents/videos provided by SCR Tracker to guide them during the implementation. We also offered ‘online drop in’ appointments to academy colleagues, and ad hoc support as needed whilst they were transitioning to the new system.

What are the key areas that have either made your life easier or positively impacted the business?

Implementing this system has enabled key members of the central team and those who have responsibility for the SCR in multiple academies to have immediate access to the SCRs wherever they are working. It has also enabled academy leaders and other relevant staff to have access to the most accurate and up-to-date information about central staff in a secure way.

What features are most appealing to you and why?

We love the ‘traffic light’ dashboard which provides an immediate overview of the different groups of people within each of the academies, providing a clear view of where compliance has been achieved or where there are outstanding actions. The system enables colleagues to prioritise their work, and ensures they have completed and recorded all the necessary checks. 

The SCR Tracker Help Bot is a great resource that helps users to quickly find answers to questions about the system by sharing a range of help documents. If the documents don't answer the question and you are still needing support, it will provide you with the option of having a direct conversation with one of the team. 

Being able to quickly navigate between each of the different academies across the whole Trust (or between the range of academies where access has been given) is a brilliant feature for different members of the central team and academy users. It’s easy to use, and provides immediate access to everything that is required centrally.

Being able to set the templates, user groups and permissions centrally enables Co-op Academies Trust to be confident that all academies will be applying a consistent approach that is also compliant with KCSiE.

Has using our software helped save you time, resources, or money somehow?

Being able to navigate easily and quickly between the different academies has saved us time having to search our systems centrally to access the different academy SCRs. Having a consistent approach has also saved time knowing that the system will immediately flag if the information is missing or has incorrectly added the wrong date, rather than relying on reading each individual line on an excel or google sheet. 

What success have you experienced overall since using SCR Tracker?

The ability for multiple users to view the record from different locations and discuss the content has enabled us to discuss and resolve queries more efficiently.