Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of our most frequently asked questions:

(Click a question to find the answer)
Q. Why do we need to use report writing software when a Word document does the job?
A. This is a fair question, but you need to consider the time involved with making 30 or so individual reports for each teacher, which then need to be distributed, and shared with the head and possibly other staff. With Word, each teacher then has to juggle between their reports and concentrate on avoiding mistakes if they copy and paste common paragraphs between pupils.

A major issue with Word is when you need to alter your report layout or add something like a table or subject AFTER reports have been started - this can get especially complicated and time-consuming when dealing with possibly hundreds of documents.

With ReportComplete sharing reports between two jobshare teachers or the head is done automatically, and teachers automatically get layout changes to their reports even AFTER they have started writing them!
A. This depends on the time of the year (we get very busy between January and August) and the distance from our office in Preston. Other than that we are happy to arrange a presentation with a full working demonstration and question session.
A. Whilst we offer an extensive range of parent-friendly comments in the program, these can be turned off. We recommend teachers to type 'freehand' into their reports and use our comments more as a guide or to help if they have writer's block. ReportComplete is more about ease and convenience.
A. ReportComplete is a full program that is downloaded onto computers, it's is much faster and more reliable than a web-based program. It only uses the web to securely back-up and share report data around your school.
A. You do not need a particularly fast internet connection as the program works on your laptop and updates in the background when possible. If you lose your connection the program will continue to work and save your data on the computer updating the next time web access is available to it.
A. We can offer all of the support you need remotely. We 'set up' the system for you then staff just download the program once and use your school's 'licence name' to find their user name and then enter their password to access. It's very easy to make minor changes, and we are always on hand to help with this.

The program itself requires no installation, you can start it from where it has been downloaded or copied.

Click here to see an initial getting started guide which explains things in more detail.
A. All of the reports produced in 2025 for example will be stored in a 2025 index which teachers can then access in future years. If you decided to stop using ReportComplete you can backup your reports as PDF or Word documents locally for future reference.

(Technically rather than stored by the year, it stores reports by their 'report name', this way schools can have multiple reports per year if they like - for example Winter, Easter and Summer reports with each type having its own layout.)
A. Sensitive data is specially encoded before it is saved or leaves the program. We operate to the highest level of encryption (SSL) when moving data over the Internet. Data remains encoded until you reload it into the program.

Click here to see more information regarding security and privacy.

What our schools are saying...

 Software is very easy to use and produces good clear reports that staff and parents like. 
Headteacher, Castlefields, Runcorn

 Thanks for the fantastic support with the issue I experienced on 7/6/09. The support I received was accurate and... 
Class teacher, Chilwell, Nottingham

 We have used ReportComplete for the past five years and it fulfils the requirements of the professionals, parents and Ofsted... 
Headteacher, Gosport, Hampshire

Want to hear more about what teachers have to say? Click here...