Helping the Assembly Government plan for better education

01 December 2006

Method4 have recently worked in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government to provide a solution to store and validate data for the next Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC).

PLASC is undertaken each January and is a statutory requirement for all schools in Wales. Information about every pupil is stored in the system, including data such as free school meal provision, special educational needs and levels of fluency in Welsh. The data is used for detailed statistical analysis, and influences decision making for the annual £1billion budget for education in Wales.

Each year, data is exchanged between over 2000 schools, the 22 Welsh Local Education Authorities and the Assembly using a standard XML format. Method4 provided software to the Assembly and the LEAs to validate and cleanse the data using a comprehensive set of validation rules. The system ensures accuracy of the data and allows the collection exercise to be completed in a timely manner.

Our consultants have worked closely with the Assembly since this project's inception in 2000 and have provided expertise in systems analysis, project management, software development and implementation.