Your guide to planning module roll out in Arbor

This article is designed to help Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) and Local Authority (LA) central teams strategically plan the rollout of Arbor's various modules

Migrating to a new MIS is a significant undertaking, and our approach focuses on a smooth, phased rollout of Arbor's modules. We encourage a 'crawl, walk, run' strategy, allowing you to gradually implement each area of Arbor at a comfortable pace, rather than trying to tackle everything at once. This ensures a less disruptive transition for your team. 

This means we'll work with you to plan the implementation of each Arbor area step-by-step, avoiding the overwhelm of doing everything at once. This approach helps to maximize your team's comfort and confidence with the new system.

Key Project Considerations

Roles & Responsibilities

• Identifying "Arbor Champions" within different departments, with specific responsibilities to support their colleagues and advocate for the system, is a common and effective strategy.
• Each individual or team knows exactly what they are responsible for, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability for their part of the project. This helps identify who to go to if there are questions or issues with a particular aspect of the rollout.
• A well-defined structure of roles allows for a systematic and organised approach to the rollout, making it more manageable.
• When roles are clear, it allows the MAT and school to leverage Arbor's full capabilities more effectively, as each area of responsibility can focus on maximising the benefits of the module and ensure alignment where appropriate

Review of current systems

• What’s in use, who uses it and where?
• If using third party systems, look at contract dates - what can you continue to use for a short time while staff get used to the basics, or what expires that Arbor needs to replace sooner?

Set Objectives and Plan 

• To ensure a smooth transition, work closely with your schools to develop a clear plan
• Outlining key dates and milestones for each stage of the rollout
• Are their areas you want to standardise across all schools (e.g assessment frameworks or comms templates?)

Product Requirements & Scoping

• To help ensure Arbor meets all your needs, have you had a chance to explore its functionality using our help centre guides and videos? This will help you confirm it aligns with your previous system's capabilities and covers everything you require

Timeline & Communication

• A clear communication strategy is essential for a smooth transition and successful adoption of any new system like Arbor. This strategy ensures everyone knows what's happening, when, and what it means for them.
• Have a clear timeline on planning/training/roll out. How are you going to keep staff/students/parents up to date with the changes you are planning

Training

• Comprehensive training is paramount. It builds staff confidence, enabling them to utilise the new functionality effectively and ensuring a seamless, well-functioning system