Self Review Framework

Providing the tools enabling all schools to complete an annual self review.

All schools are required to complete an annual self review. This generally requires primary D&T subject coordinators and secondary subject leaders to provide information to their senior management team. The process of collecting this information can be demanding, and may not be well supported by resources that aid the process adequately. The Self Review Framework and D&T Mark has been designed to address this need.

Technical Labs undertook months of careful planning and consultation with key stakeholders from within the D&T Association and external educational specialists to develop a comprehensive plan to build a sophisticated review platform, that would link many disperse systems together, including CRM, CMS and e-commerce.

The resulting ASP.NET, Web API, AngularJs solution is a revolutionary system that allows schools to report on the current state of their own D&T education.  The system asks the school to compare themselves to understood examples of good D&T practices, and recommends next steps based on the feedback given.  The system dynamically pulls in products and examples of best practice resources from across the D&T Association, and links schools with the best consultants to help with improvement.

Once the system is satisfied that the school is ready to progress, moderators are assigned to review and audit the actions of the school, and then decide if more input is necessary, or if the system should award them the D&T Mark (an official recognition of excellence in D&T education).

The system has been very well received and takes a lot of complexities away from the school’s need to report and progress.

Providing the tools enabling all schools to complete an annual self review.

Technologies Used

  • ASP.NET MVC C#
  • Umbraco
  • Angular JS
  • SQL Server
  • Zendesk

Technical Labs were introduced to us by IndigoBlue in 2013 as we urgently needed a digital supplier willing to work very collaboratively, and flexibly to demanding deadline. As a small organisation we lacked in-house expertise and wanted to rely on expert advice from a supplier, placing a lot of trust in them in this respect. We were not disappointed! The project was complex and required a balance of technical integration and design, integration of payment systems, CRM and the implementation of paperless direct debit. They have invaluable knowledge of how to balance user experience with the critical commercial aspects of a site like ours, which is effectively my organisations shop front. The project was completed in September 2013, it proved at times very demanding and required good ongoing communication and significant additional effort at no additional cost to deliver successfully. The project was recognised in the 2014 Agile awards as the Best Project in the Not For Profit Sector, for its excellence in approach to project management. Since then we have continued to work with the team through 2014 and 2015 on numerous other projects and we remain impressed by their drive for quality and focus on delivery at affordable prices.

Richard Green MA, The D&T Association

Richard Green MA Chief Executive, The D&T Association

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The Design and Technology Association support and champion design and technology education in schools.

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