Pete Collison
General Manager – UK & IE, Compass Education
Management information systems (MIS) provide schools with comprehensive insights into the wellbeing of students and staff, helping to build an environment where everyone can thrive.
As mental health challenges among young people increase, schools are faced with a mammoth challenge. Namely, how do they support the wellbeing of their pupils — often seen as crucial to academic and personal success — while managing their educational and other critical needs? The answer is: ‘It’s difficult, but technology has the potential to help.’
Student mental health challenges
Research commissioned by Compass Education* shows that there are many reasons why pupils may have poor mental health, including exam stress, bullying or cyberbullying, relationship troubles, unhappy home lives and worries about finding jobs or university places. As they often keep their struggles secret, it’s hard for school staff — who are under pressure, time-poor and even potentially dealing with their own mental health challenges — to notice that a young person may have an issue.
“From a mental health standpoint, the education environment is now increasingly complex,” shares Pete Collison, General Manager UK and IE, Compass Education, a provider of school MIS. “Data tells us that there are increasingly large numbers of pupils who require extra support to have a successful education experience. That’s a challenge for the young people with those needs, their classmates — and their teachers.”
Management information systems with wellbeing indicators
Schools already have a myriad of issues to deal with. They are under immense pressure to help their pupils achieve academically, ensure they behave appropriately and prepare them for their future careers — all with tightly constrained budgets and finite resources. It’s no wonder that balancing these competing priorities alongside the mental wellbeing of students and staff can seem like an intractable dilemma.
For mental health challenges
to be addressed, they must
first be recognised.
However, this is where technology plays a pivotal role, says Collison. For instance, modern and interconnected management information systems can bring various data sets together and overlay them on one dashboard, so teachers can view wellbeing indicators — such as a pupil’s academic performance, behaviour and attendance — at the touch of a button. Aside from removing or reducing the administrative burden, it’s a holistic way for staff to identify any wellbeing concerns and make interventions where necessary.
Removing or reducing the administrative burden
“For mental health challenges to be addressed, they must first be recognised,” explains Collison. “That’s what MIS technology does. It makes all pupil data easily visible in real time, building a picture that helps busy school staff understand where their involvement may be needed. By making it simple for teachers to see all information in one place, they can notice any concerning trends. Based on that information, they can then take decisions that are in the pupil’s best interests.”
The most efficient MIS solutions are ones that are easily accessible to school staff and parents, via a web browser or app. “Parents can log on and immediately see their child’s attendance, grades and any behaviour concerns,” says Collison. “They can see a news feed about what’s going on at the school to help them and their child feel more connected to it.”
Edtech can improve overall school wellbeing
Collison sees a bright future for the wellbeing of pupils, with different sources of connected data continuing to deliver greater insights into a pupil’s academic journey and mental wellbeing. “Going forward, I would love to see edtech have a bigger impact on staff wellbeing, which is an underserved area,” he says. “I think AI tools will increasingly make the lives of school staff easier and less time-pressured, which will be good for their mental health. Ultimately, the right technology used in the right way has the power to make the school day more productive, impactful and enjoyable for everyone.”
*Source: Compass. Disturbing currents: Wellbeing and mental health of children in Wales. 2024.
