Every school collects assessment data. Reading ages. Cognitive scores. Standardised assessments. Teacher observations. Yet many school leaders still face the same challenge.
How do you turn assessment data into better decisions for students?
That was the question LiFE Multi Academy Trust set out to answer. Serving ten schools across Leicestershire and Leicester City, the Trust wanted more than another screening programme. It wanted a consistent approach to learner identification that could be used across every school, support classroom teachers, strengthen SEND provision and improve outcomes for pupils.
After reviewing its existing assessment process, the Trust adopted SWIFT assessment as its whole-cohort screening tool. But what followed wasn’t simply a change in assessment.
It became a complete rethink of how assessment data was collected, interpreted and translated into classroom practice.
Today, SWIFT is embedded within the Trust’s wider inclusion strategy, helping leaders identify hidden learning barriers earlier, supporting teachers with practical classroom strategies, and creating a shared approach to learner identification across multiple schools.
About Life Multi Academy Trust
Life Multi Academy Trust consists of six secondary schools and four primary schools across Leicestershire and Leicester City.
Its schools serve communities with diverse needs, including areas of significant deprivation alongside areas of higher social mobility. Like many trusts, Life MAT is navigating increasing expectations around inclusion, SEND reform and accountability while ensuring every learner receives the support they need.
At the heart of Life Multi Academy Trust’s approach is a simple but powerful belief:
“What is vital for some is valuable for all.”
Rather than viewing inclusion as the responsibility of the SEND department, the Trust wanted every teacher to better understand the learners sitting in front of them. That philosophy became the foundation of its assessment strategy and ultimately its decision to implement SWIFT across its schools.
The Challenge
Before introducing SWIFT, Life Multi Academy Trust had already collected large amounts of assessment data. Students completed reading screeners. They completed cognitive assessments. Teachers had SATs data. SENCOs held intervention records. Educational psychologists contributed specialist reports.
There was no shortage of information. The difficulty was turning that information into meaningful classroom action. Teachers frequently knew what a student had achieved. They rarely understood why a student was struggling.
As Vicky Johnson, Director of SEND at LiFE MAT explaines;
“The challenge isn’t collecting more assessment data. It’s making the most effective use of the data you already have so that you can make better decisions for your students.”
That single observation became the catalyst for reviewing the Trust’s entire assessment process.
Why the existing assessment process wasn't working
Rather than immediately looking for a new assessment platform, Vicky first asked staff across the Trust what wasn’t working.
The feedback was remarkably consistent.
The existing screening process required a separate reading assessment and cognitive abilities test, taking around three hours to complete.Teachers described several practical challenges.
- Timetabling assessments across ICT suites was difficult.
- Students often lost concentration or became “click happy”, reducing the reliability of results.
- The process consumed valuable time during the first weeks of Year 7, when schools wanted teachers building relationships rather than administering lengthy assessments.
- Budget constraints made multiple assessments increasingly difficult to justify.
But the biggest frustration came after the reports arrived. Teachers looked at the data and asked:
“I’ve got a great data set… but what do I actually do with it?”
Only two of the Trust’s secondary schools were consistently following up screening results with further diagnostic assessment. For many pupils, the screening process generated information but not action.
Life MAT realised it didn’t need more reports. It needed assessment that could genuinely support teaching and learning.
Three question framework
Rather than asking, Which assessment platform should we buy?”
Vicky challenged the Trust to answer three more important questions first.
- What do we want to know about our students?
- What’s the most effective way to gain this knowledge?
- How can we use this data to improve teaching and learning?
Those questions became the framework for evaluating every assessment option. The Trust wasn’t looking for software with more reports. It wanted an assessment system that could help teachers quickly understand learners’ strengths and barriers and influence classroom practice.
In Vicky’s own words;
“Those three questions are the fundamentals that every teacher wants to know as they walk into their classroom.”
Why LiFE Multi Academy Trust chose SWIFT
After reviewing its existing process, Life MAT evaluated SWIFT against three priorities:
- Time
- Cost
- Educational value
The first advantage was immediately obvious. Instead of requiring two separate assessments over several hours, SWIFT screened five key areas in a single online assessment:
- Reading Fluency
- Number Fluency
- Working Memory
- Processing Speed
- Spelling
The assessment could be completed in around 40 minutes, making whole-cohort screening significantly easier to manage while reducing disruption to teaching. However, time savings alone weren’t enough to justify changing a Trust-wide process.
What convinced Vicky and her leadership team was something much more important.
Unlike the previous approach, SWIFT didn’t simply tell teachers whether a student could read or spell. It helped explain why some students continued to struggle despite appearing academically capable. By screening areas such as working memory and processing speed, SWIFT gave staff earlier visibility of barriers that often remain hidden until GCSE years, when examination pressure exposes them.
Instead of waiting until Year 9 or Year 10 to begin investigating learning difficulties or considering access arrangements, schools could identify potential barriers much earlier and begin providing support while there was still time to make a meaningful difference.
For Life MAT, SWIFT wasn’t simply replacing one assessment with another. It was giving teachers information they could actually use.
And then one student demonstrated exactly why that mattered.
The Student Who Changed Everything
Sometimes, the strongest argument for changing an assessment system isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s a single student. Vicky Johnson shared the story of one anonymised learner who fundamentally changed how Life Multi Academy Trust thought about assessment.
Under the Trust’s previous screening approach, the student appeared to be doing exceptionally well. Their profile showed:
- Reading age above 17 years.
- A Standard Age Score of 126.
- Average to above-average cognitive scores.
- No indication that further assessment or additional support was required.
That same profile remained unchanged from Year 7 through to Year 11. On paper, there was nothing to investigate. Yet teachers continued to notice that something didn’t quite fit.
The student understood the curriculum. They contributed confidently in lessons. But under timed conditions, their performance rarely reflected what staff knew they were capable of achieving.
When the Trust introduced SWIFT, Vicky decided to screen the same student again.
The results told a completely different story. Although reading fluency and spelling remained areas of strength, SWIFT identified significantly lower scores in processing speed and working memory.
For the first time, teachers had evidence explaining why the student struggled to complete work under time pressure. Nothing about the learner had changed. The assessment had.
As Vicky reflected;
“It was this level of insight into a student’s needs that sold me, and ultimately our Trust leaders, on using SWIFT for whole cohort screening.”
That moment became the catalyst for implementing SWIFT across the Trust.
Watch: Beyond Screening – Building a Whole-School Strategy for Student Success
Hear directly from Vicky Johnson as she shares the Trust’s approach to assessment, inclusion and implementing SWIFT across multiple schools.
Assessment was no longer the end point
It Was the Beginning of Better Questions. One of the biggest shifts wasn’t the introduction of SWIFT itself. It was how the Trust started thinking about assessment.
Traditionally, many schools treat assessment as a destination. Students complete a test → A report is generated → The data is stored → The process ends.
Life MAT deliberately chose a different approach. Every SWIFT assessment became the beginning of professional enquiry.
Instead of asking: “What score did the student achieve?”
staff started asking: “Why has this learner achieved this score, and what should we do next?”
This line of inquiry became one of the most important principles underpinning the Trust’s use of SWIFT.
Every SWIFT score was a starting point
Rather than treating SWIFT results as absolute, staff used them to guide further investigation. One example shared during the webinar involved a student whose SWIFT working memory score suggested a significant area of concern.
Under many assessment systems, that score might immediately trigger intervention. Instead, the Trust looked deeper.
Reviewing the assessment showed the student had only answered one question before the assessment session ended. Rather than assuming the result was accurate, the student simply completed that section again.
Sixteen minutes later, the Trust had a score they could genuinely trust. Without following that line of inquiry, valuable intervention time could have been directed towards the wrong learner.
In another example, a student initially appeared to need a reading intervention.
However, further investigation using SWIFT, combined with additional assessment, showed that reading comprehension wasn’t the underlying difficulty.
The student’s primary barrier was working memory. Instead of placing them in a generic reading programme, staff developed a more personalised package that combined working memory strategies, reading fluency support, and pastoral intervention.
Early indications suggested that this targeted approach was significantly more effective than the originally planned intervention.
For Life MAT, SWIFT wasn’t replacing professional judgement. It was strengthening it.
Turning SWIFT data Into action
One challenge quickly became obvious.
If over a thousand pupils completed SWIFT, teachers would be presented with thousands of individual scores. The risk wasn’t having too little information. It was having too much.
Life MAT solved this by simplifying how SWIFT data was interpreted. Rather than overwhelming staff with spreadsheets, every learner was grouped into three simple priority bands.
🔴 Red: Students requiring immediate review, further assessment or targeted intervention.
🟠Amber: Students requiring monitoring and additional evidence before decisions were made.
🟢 Green: Students continuing with universal classroom provision while remaining under review through normal assessment processes.
The simplicity of the model made SWIFT data accessible to classroom teachers, middle leaders and senior leadership teams. Staff no longer needed to interpret multiple reports. They immediately understood where support should be prioritised.
Making SWIFT manageable at scale
The Trust also introduced a structured workflow that ensured every SWIFT assessment led to meaningful action.
The process looked like this:
Whole cohort screening using SWIFT → Review every learner below the agreed threshold → Rescreen or carry out further diagnostic assessment where appropriate → Identify the most appropriate intervention → Share practical classroom strategies with teachers → Deliver intervention → Retest and review progress
Instead of reacting to isolated scores, the Trust built a repeatable process that could be used consistently across multiple schools. This made SWIFT much more than a screening tool. It became the foundation of the Trust’s graduated approach to assessment, intervention and review.
Building a whole-school approach with SWIFT
For many schools, the biggest challenge isn’t choosing an assessment platform. It’s ensuring the assessment actually changes classroom practice.
Life Multi Academy Trust recognised this from the outset.
Implementing SWIFT would only be successful if assessment data moved beyond the SEND office and into everyday teaching. That required more than a new screening process. It required a cultural shift.
Many schools naturally place assessment systems under the responsibility of the SENCO. Life MAT chose a different approach. As Vicky explained:
“I don’t see SWIFT as being in the remit of the SENCO, and I feel really strongly that to place it there limits the inclusive nature of what we’re setting out to do.”
Her reasoning was simple. Not every student identified through SWIFT would require SEND provision. Some learners simply had cognitive barriers that were affecting classroom performance. Those barriers could often be addressed through high quality teaching before they became significant learning difficulties.
Keeping SWIFT separate from formal SEND processes allowed the Trust to focus on early identification rather than waiting for pupils to reach the threshold for specialist intervention. Instead of becoming another SEND system, SWIFT became a whole-school improvement tool.
Turning SWIFT data into professional development
Collecting assessment data is relatively easy. Helping teachers understand what the data means is far more difficult. Life MAT recognised that if SWIFT was going to influence classroom practice, teachers needed confidence in interpreting the information.
Rather than asking the SENCO to deliver this training, the Trust deliberately involved Teaching and Learning Leads, Reading Leads and curriculum leaders.
This decision proved critical.
When classroom practitioners led discussions around SWIFT data, assessment became everyone’s responsibility rather than something owned by the SEND department. Staff training focused on questions teachers encounter every day.
- What does low working memory actually look like during a lesson?
- Why does one student complete work confidently while another struggles despite similar attainment?
- How should teaching change when a learner has reduced processing speed?
- Which classroom strategies make the greatest difference?
Using real SWIFT cohort data, staff worked together to translate assessment findings into practical teaching strategies they could implement immediately.
Universal learning plans powered by SWIFT
One of the Trust’s most innovative developments came after screening had finished. Rather than allowing SWIFT reports to remain separate from everyday teaching, the Trust integrated assessment findings directly into its Universal Learning Plans.
Teachers could move seamlessly from a student’s SWIFT profile to practical classroom strategies linked to that learner’s specific areas of need. For example, if SWIFT identified reduced working memory, teachers could immediately access recommended classroom approaches. If processing speed emerged as a barrier, practical strategies were already available.
This transformed SWIFT from an assessment platform into a day-to-day teaching resource. Assessment no longer finished when the report was generated. It continued influencing teaching throughout the academic year.
Could Your School Benefit from the Same Level of Insight ?
If you’re reviewing your current assessment approach or planning your Year 7 screening strategy, we’d be happy to show you how SWIFT works in practice.
The impact after year one
completed SWIFT screening across Life Multi Academy Trust, with all six secondary schools adopting the process as part of their Year 7 transition programme. While Vicky was careful not to describe the project as complete, she highlighted several early improvements that were already evident.
Earlier identification
Students whose learning barriers had previously gone unnoticed were being identified much earlier, allowing schools to intervene before difficulties became embedded.
Better classroom practice
Teachers reported greater confidence using SWIFT data to understand why students were struggling and how classroom practice could be adapted.
More targeted intervention
Rather than applying generic programmes, interventions increasingly reflected each learner’s individual cognitive profile.
Greater Collaboration
Teachers, middle leaders, SENCOs and senior leaders began working from the same evidence, creating more consistent conversations across schools.
Stronger Strategic Decision Making
Trust leaders could view SWIFT cohort data across multiple schools, supporting more informed decisions around professional development, resource allocation and inclusion planning.
Five take aways for schools considering SWIFT
Reflecting on the LiFE Trust’s journey, several themes emerged that may help other schools planning their own assessment strategy.
#1. Start with the decisions you want to make:
Assessment should answer meaningful questions, not simply generate reports.
#2. Treat every SWIFT result as the beginning of professional enquiry:
Data becomes more valuable when combined with classroom observation and professional judgement.
#3. Keep SWIFT focused on teaching, not administration:
The greatest impact comes when teachers use assessment information to improve learning.
#4. Build whole-school ownership:
Assessment becomes more sustainable when responsibility extends beyond the SENCO.
#5. Remember why assessment exists:
The purpose of SWIFT isn’t to collect more information. It’s to help schools understand learners earlier and respond more effectively.
When asked what advice she would give schools beginning a similar journey, Vicky’s response wasn’t about software. It was about mindset.
“Win hearts and minds. Start with what you already know. Build confidence gradually. Let early successes encourage wider adoption. And above all, keep asking the same question that shaped Life Multi Academy Trust’s entire approach:
“How can we make better decisions for our students?
For Life MAT, SWIFT became the platform that helped answer that question. Not because it generated more data. But because it transformed assessment data into meaningful action.
Move Beyond Screening with SWIFT!
Whether you’re a single school or a multi-academy trust, SWIFT can support a more evidence-informed approach to learner identification and whole-school inclusion.
