Our belief: Data should drive action, not just fill reports.
report → act → review cycle so every insight leads to real change for students, staff, and the school community.
1. Lead with Decisions, Not Just Data
We use a decision-first framework. Before collecting any data, we define:
- The decision to be made
- The metric
- The action owner
- The review cycle
Every data point must close a decision gap. If it doesn’t, we don’t collect it.
2. Keep Data Collection Low-Burden
Collect once, use many. We pull from existing systems first (e.g., SMS, LMS, assessment platforms) rather than creating new forms.
New entries are limited to quick, embedded inputs (e.g., toggle, 1–3 tags) only when essential. No new weekly forms.
3. Tailor Insights to the Audiences
Each audience receives a role-based dashboard matched to their decision-making cadence, paired with a Decision they co-create to define triggers, actions, and evidence.
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Board (Quarterly)
- Focus: Strategic trends, equity shifts, key risks.
- Decision Card Example: The Attendance Equity Decision — Trigger: sustained attendance gap >5% between groups; Action: resource reallocation or targeted support.
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Senior Leadership Team (Monthly + Weekly Snapshot)
- Focus: System health, cross-department comparisons, risks, high-need areas.
- Decision Card Example: The Curriculum Coverage Decision — Trigger: <80% of planned units delivered; Action: adjust teaching allocation or provide PLD.
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Curriculum Leaders (Fortnightly)
- Focus: Strand growth, coverage, moderation flags, PLD prompts.
- Decision Card Example: The Assessment Moderation Decision — Trigger: 3+ moderation mismatches in a term; Action: targeted moderation workshop.
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Teachers (Weekly)
- Focus: “Tomorrow morning” next steps for each group, exemplars, and quick checks for understanding.
- Decision Card Example: The Effort Decision (see example below).
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Parents/Whānau (As-You-Go)
- Focus: Strengths-first updates with actionable home strategies.
- Decision Card Example: The Engagement at Home Decision — Trigger: 2+ missed home tasks; Action: micro-commitment conversation.
- IF (trigger): Two cycles ≤2 OR ≥2-point drop in one cycle.
- WHO/WHEN: Teacher now; HOD if no lift next cycle.
- THEN (action): 10-day Structured Work Block: quiet start + task menu; seat/timer; 1× homework club/week; parent contact.
- EVIDENCE TO LOG: Tasks/lesson %; homework club ✔/✘; parent contact Y/N.
- DATA TO COLLECT: Effort last 6 cycles; task completions/lesson; incident count; homework club attendance.
- VISUALISE/DELIVER: Student sparkline (effort), completion gauge, homework club ✔/✘ chips; teacher action queue sorted by “cycles ≤2”.
4. Build Data Literacy and Guard Against Misinterpretation
Every dashboard includes a short explainer (video or text) and a 3-question sense-check (e.g., “Is this a long-term trend or short-term noise?”).
We run 10-minute micro-PDs in existing meetings to embed smart data use into daily practice.
5. Lead with Strengths, Growth, and Equity
Reports start with growth and strengths before identifying needs. Every gap is paired with a next-step strategy and an exemplar. Cohort distributions replace ranking lists. Equity is shown by parallel measures (e.g., gender, year level, learning pathway).
6. Link Directly to Professional Learning
Student and community voice are treated as data. After each review cycle, we generate a heatmap of flat growth. This directly informs a PLD menu. Teachers select sessions matched to their class profile, with follow-up checks in the next cycle.
This manifesto is a living document — reviewed annually with staff and stakeholders to keep it relevant, efficient, and impactful.