This post is for schools and settings who would like to know more about the pros and cons of choosing one large Tapestry package or multiple smaller packages.
For schools, we generally recommend having an account for each Key Stage, especially for larger settings, but we will layout below what we think are the pros and cons of each of the options to help you decide.
Nurseries, that form part of a chain of nurseries, will probably need an account for each setting for administrative, financial and legal reasons.
Our customer service team are always happy to provide pricing options to help ensure you get the best possible value for money.
Advantages
- Since all of a setting’s data is on one Tapestry account, it’s easier to compare assessment data between year groups if you wish to.
- You can use the Groups and Key Children functions to allow staff to only see the data they need to. Because all the children are on one account this is easier to reorganise if practitioners move roles.
- If staff work in different year groups or key stages, they will be able to access all the relevant children’s data from one account.
- If relatives have children in more than one year group, they only have to have one login and can see all their children’s data on one account.
- Data management and administration will just need to be carried out on one account which may save time and provide consistency in terms of the way the data is entered and maintained.
- There is no need to carry out Child Transfers between Tapestry accounts at the end of a school year; you can just assign children to new Groups, rename Groups, or they can be assigned as key children to different staff at the beginning of the new year.
- Report formats can be added and maintained in one place.
- “All school” Memos can be published to relatives on one account, rather than needing to do this is multiple accounts.
- If you use Accidents, you can monitor all accidents for all children.
- If you decide to use Documents to store and provide access to policies, resources etc. having just one copy on Tapestry means these do not need to be maintained on more than one account.
Disadvantages
- The more data you have on an account, the longer the initial set-up may take and the more chance there will be errors in entering the data. An example is the use of Groups, where you will need to make sure these are updated each year and when children start or leave the setting.
- With larger amounts of data to be maintained, there is the potential for more mistakes to be made. That being said, the use of CSV files to upload children, staff and relatives, makes this process easier and the account History can be used to help spot any errors when they are made.
- For administrators, finding the information they need may take longer if they have more data to check through.
- Apart from User Permissions for staff, relatives and children which can be set per individual user, the settings in the Control Panel apply to everyone on the account. For example, the KS1 teachers may be able to see and access the EYFS framework as an option when adding an observation, because these will be enabled for all those users able to add observations on the account.
Advantages
- Initial set up of the account is quicker as you may not have to add so many groups or set up key children for staff.
- With fewer children on the account, there will be fewer children to scroll through when adding observations, although the page filters and the key children feature can make this easier to manage on a large account.
- As you can have an account for each year group or key stage, if you decide you no longer need the account for this set of children, you can just cancel the subscription, once you have downloaded any data on that account that you need.
Disadvantages
- With multiple accounts, you will not be able to see the data for your whole setting from one account. For example if you have several packages for your school, you won’t be able to see data for children from reception to year 6. You’ll only be able to see data for the children who are managed on that account at that time.
- The end of year process can be more labour-intensive. For those children moving between year groups or key stages, you will either need to transfer children to the key stage account or rename the package if you have a package for each year group.
- If staff work in more than one year group of key stage or teach one subject across the school, they may need to switch between accounts to carry out their daily tasks or administration work. However, they can have the same email and password for more than one account, so switching is not too difficult.
- Relatives who have children in more than one key stage, may need to log in to more than one account although, again, they can have the same email and password for more than one account, and just switch between accounts.
- For finance and office staff at your setting, they may need to deal with more invoices if you have more than one account. However, if the expiry dates are aligned and all the accounts are managed under the same account holder email, all the subscriptions can be invoiced together.
- You will not be able to send ‘All School” memos to relatives and staff, as this will need to be scheduled separately in each account.
- If you use ‘Messaging‘, users with access to more than one account will need to be aware of what account they are one, in case the person they wish to contact is a user on one of the other setting’s accounts.
