Planning for the year with Alps

One of the most important elements for any successful organisation is forward planning. In educational terms, this means looking towards the next academic cycle – while still striving towards excellence in the current one. Schools and colleges who use Alps find that our system follows this academic cycle closely, with key points in the year when our reports and training are most effective.

May – Book training with Alps for the summer or autumn terms
One of the most effective ways to use your Alps report is to combine it with our high quality Strategic Performance Review training. These sessions are delivered in your centre by an experienced Alps trainer and are based on your own reports. You can book over the phone, by email or online at (link)

June – Download the latest 2017 versions of the Alps software for KS4 and KS5
Our free ADCS software is available to download in June. Downloading early gives you time to familiarise yourself with the system in advance of Results Day. Always check the website  (link) to make sure you have the latest version.

July – Start collating data in preparation for Results Day
At KS4 this means collating your students’ KS2 fine scores. For KS5 it could mean ensuring you have the average GCSE scores for those students who did not sit their GCSEs with you. If this is your first year with Alps you can also collate your previous years’ historical data in advance of Results Day.

August – Upload your results data to Alps
If you upload your data to Alps as soon as it is available we will aim to deliver your report in time for the start of term in September – we dispatch all Alps reports within 8 working days of receiving your data.

Early September – Review your Alps report
Once you have received your report you should immediately be asking what the outcomes indicate. How will this information be incorporated into assessment/evaluation reports for governors and other stakeholders? If you have booked Alps training this is a perfect time to discuss your performance strategically with one of our consultants.

Early September – Set Minimum Expected Grade targets for your students
Using your students’ prior attainment scores, you should be setting aspirational Alps MEGS for all students right from the start of their courses in September.

Mid September – Order an Alps Monitoring Point Zero (MPZ) report
This is a special monitoring report, ordered for your students starting Year 13 and based on their final results from Year 12. By comparing AS performance (or teacher predictions) against the A level benchmark, you can see how your Alps report will look in the following summer if your students maintain their grades.

October – Resubmit your data to Alps
All Alps reports include one free of charge rerun of your Alps reports. This means that you can benefit from the speed of our analysis in September, while still having a report which reflects any changes following remarks or appeals. This is also a perfect time to order any additional reports, such as Gender or Ethnicity.

October to May – Monitor student progress and submit monitoring data to Alps
Alps Monitoring reports are ordered by schools and colleges throughout the year. They are available at each of your key internal assessment points (e.g. after mock exams). They contain the same level of detail as our end-of-year Provider reports, but are based on your in-year assessment grades. In 2017/18 it will also be possible to upload your monitoring grades directly into Alps Connect.

The above gives a possible timescale but be assured that our reports and training can be requested when they are most convenient for your curriculum model.

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