Data & Intelligence
Use the information your trust already holds
Most trusts already collect far more than they can use. The difficulty is that it sits in different systems, in different formats, owned by different people.
Three ways information is introduced
Approved API connection
Where a supplier provides access and the connection has been approved, reviewed and tested for your trust.
Controlled file import
A defined, scheduled import with validation, an owner and a record of each refresh.
Secure reference or maintained record
A link to the source system, or a small maintained record where copying data would not be proportionate.
Integration availability depends on supplier APIs, permissions, security review and commercial arrangements. Proposed connections are labelled as proposed until built.
How we work
Map before you move anything
- 1Map the systems, spreadsheets, owners and consumers
- 2Agree the questions leaders actually need answered
- 3Decide the minimum data required to answer them
- 4Connect through an approved method
- 5Validate, monitor quality and show provenance
- 6Retire the spreadsheets the system now replaces
Principles
Minimal data, visible sources
- Copy as little as the purpose requires
- Aggregate rather than hold identifiable pupil records wherever possible
- Every field carries a source, an owner and a refresh date
- Confidence and gaps are shown, not hidden
- Data quality issues become owned actions
- Every change is recorded in the audit history
Start with a systems and data review
We map what exists, who owns it and where the gaps are, before proposing anything.