Empowering a Generation of Girls with Furlong Software

Queen Anne’s Caversham is a prestigious all-girls independent school which was founded in 1894. Offering both day and boarding solutions, the school has a motto to instil, ‘kind hearts, fierce minds and strong spirits. The focus on encouraging independence heavily relies on having the right software in place to facilitate efficient operations. This is important as it means attention can be paid directly to pupils, offering an elevated experience for the young ladies.  

We recently spoke with Deborah Hunt (Data Manager) to find out what the school thinks of our SchoolBase and FeeMaster software solutions and to learn how they have improved outcomes in recent years.  

Background of Furlong Software for Queen Anne’s Caversham 

“I joined the school in 2016 and had used a competitor platform previously. Although SchoolBase was already being used, it was not optimised so during my first year, I helped to change how the team interacted with the tool. This involved adjusting access levels and helping our teaching staff to better use the available features.” SchoolBase is designed to offer SLTs and all other teaching professionals a simple way to interact with MIS data. By ensuring individuals can have their access levels defined and with modules being available for everyone, usability is enhanced. It’s also great for us to understand how training is carried out within a school as this also shapes the support from our own team for future users of the software solutions. 

The intention of this is also to create a succinct set of tools which work together efficiently. When we asked Debs about her thoughts on this, she commented, “All the tools work well together, and the experience is seamless for everyone. I would honestly recommend the software to anyone. Although I do think it’s simple for anyone to use, functionality is improved even further if you have the right person to manage the task. If you know what you are looking to achieve, a combination of the Furlong support team and software can make it happen. 

The system is intuitive to use, making it simple for anyone to interact with.  

Everything is also extremely flexible, which is perfect if you have a complex set up or operational requirements to contend with. Lastly, I must again mention the quality of available support as they make the entire process of using tools easier.” 

What are the main features used? 

“We use most features regularly, but I would say the most helpful ones for improving daily operations are the daybook for registrations, cover management for visiting teachers and timetabling features. The only feature that we don’t use SchoolBase for is managing activities as we use SOCS software for this.” 

Which SchoolBase feature has most greatly enhanced efficiency? 

“I would say that the My Day system features have offered many benefits to our teaching staff which has improved efficiency. Being able to clearly see daily activities means everyone can be more in control of their responsibilities. Recent updates to the feature in recent years have improved usability even further and our team feel confident using the tool.  

Additionally, the timetable planner and exams module have also helped us to streamline student experiences. This is important in helping us to achieve our value statements.” 

Is SchoolBase easy to configure or edit when you want to make changes? 

“Yes, we are always able to make changes and customisations when required as the system is easy to use. This is also made simple thanks to the brilliant support from the Furlong team.”