An Introduction for Educational Agents

• Connected is an online community for British Boarding Schools and educational agents.

• Connected is designed to enable school staff and agents to stay in touch beyond the British Boarding Schools Workshop that we run twice a year in the UK. (www.bbsw.org.uk)

• Agents have FREE access to a one-stop shop of information; search a database of 100+ schools using detailed search criteria, read in depth profiles about the schools with videos and photos, then download documents in one single location.

• Send instant messages or applications to individual schools or targeted groups of schools, after you have conducted a search.

• Tailor the system to your own needs by setting up your own groups to whom you can send messages in minutes.

• Access the latest school information and news, which is updated by the schools themselves.

• Access a resources hub – news on the sector, training videos and editorial features, which are all valuable for staff training.

• Customise the system by adding you own notes to school records.

Structure of the School Profile

The data is structured using Tabs and drop down menus.

TABS and drop down menus• Summary (one page)

• School Profile• About the School• Facts & Figures• The Head• Staff• Facilities• Location and Transport• Testimonials• News

• Admissions• Entry & Admissions• Fees & Scholarships• School Visits

• Boarding• About Boarding• Boarding Houses

• Curriculum• About the Curriculum • Curriculum Subjects• Sport• Music• Performing Arts• Creative Arts• Activities• English as Additional Language (EAL)• Special Educational Needs• Exam Results• Destination of Leavers

• Resources• Calendar/Term Dates• School Documents• Photos• Videos• Links

Fields on the ‘Summary’ page - an overview of the school.

Fields on the ‘Facts & Figures’ Page

Fields on ‘The Head’ Page

Video from the Head.

Fields on ‘Staff’ Page

You can find out who to contact for admissions, marketing, finance etc at the school.

Fields on ‘Facilities’ Page

See which facilities the school has, notes about each facility and a photo.

Additional fields not visible are:• Climbing Wall• Outdoor

Activities Centre• Equestrian

Centre• Sailing Centre• Boat House• 9 Hole Golf

Course• 18 Hole Golf

Course

Fields on ‘Location & Transport’ Page

Fields on ‘Testimonials’ Page

Testimonials are a powerful insight into school life.

There are sections for: What students say, What parents say, What agents say, What others say (inspection reports/Good Schools Guide etc).

The ‘News’ Page

Schools can post a news item and upload an accompanying photo at any time and it will be shown with the date added.

Fields on ‘Entry & Admissions’ Page

Detailed information about entrance criteria and if the school offers short term stays and the length of stays offered

Fields on ‘Fees & Scholarships’ Page

Scholarships: schools can indicate which scholarships are available to British and/or international pupils and provide a description for each

The table for next year’s fees will be available from March 2015

Fields on ‘School Visits’ Page

• Will the school accept visits on Saturday?• Will the school offer a taster day for prospective pupils?• Will the school offer an overnight stay for prospective pupils?• Admissions events at the school• Additional notes about visits.

Fields on ‘About Boarding’ Page

Free text fields

Schools can add the range of different nationalities and the numbers of pupils.

Fields on ‘Boarding Houses’ Page

Information and photos about the different boarding houses

Fields on ‘About the Curriculum’ Page

An overview about the curriculum for different key stages.

Fields on ‘Curriculum Subjects’ Page

Table of the subjects offered at the following levels and relevant notes :

iGCSEGCSEAS LevelA LevelIB

Fields on ‘Sport’ Page

List of sports or fitness activities on offer and the level it is performed to, eg:

• Activity level• Inter-school level• National level• International level• External provider/off site

Schools can provide notes for each sport/fitness activity if required to add specific details.

Free text pages on these areas:

• Music• Performing arts• Creative arts• English as an additional language• Special educational needs

Fields on ‘Activities’ Page

Free text fields entitled:

• Overview• Weekend Activities• After School Activities• Lunchtime Activities

Facility to upload photos.

Schools can upload documents eg activities’ lists for the current term in the documents page and refer to them from this page.

Fields on ‘Exam Results’ Page

Free text fields entitled:• Overview• GCSEs• iGCSEs• A levels• IB

There will also be a template with summarised exam results for the last 3 years for GCSEs, iGCSEs and A levels for:

% of A* - A grades% of A* - B grades% of A* - C grades

For IB schools will provide the average point score for the last 3 years

Fields on ‘Destination of Leavers’ Page

‘Calendar/Term Dates’ Page

Schools can add an event title, start date and duration in days. This will be added to their calendar.

‘School Documents’ Page

Schools can upload documents to this page so agents can access them all from one point.

‘Photos’ Page

Schools can upload photos and assign them to subject areas: school life/boarding/facilities/sports/music/performing arts/arts/other. They can be viewed by area. Schools can add a description to each photo.

‘Videos’ Page

Schools can upload videos and add a description for each.

‘Links’ Page

Schools can provide additional web links and write a description for each eg local tourist offices, local attractions etc.

Search Facilities for Agents

To give you an overview of the detailed search capability, agents will be able to search using:

• School Type• Educational programmes• Subjects• Religious Foundation• Specialisms• Facilities• Sports & Fitness Activities• Number of boarders• Fees• Scholarships• Location• Free text search

Profile on your company

Agent members are required to provide a profile about their company.

Schools can search the database of agents, set up groups of their partner agents and send messages.

Facts and figures about your company

Details about your company staff help schools to feel confident about who they are working with.

Support

If you have any questions about Connected please contact Suzanne Rowse, Director of BBS Connected & BBSW:

Tel: 01892 724926Email: suzanne@bbsw.org.uk www.bbsconnected.comwww.bbsw.org.uk