Critical DevelopmentsFrom First Principles Works

Critical Developments · Product 04

PASSport

See where target pupils should be, period by period.

Period-by-period pastoral tracking.

See PASSport in actionSee what it solves

The gap

Knowing where a pupil should be is not the same as tracking where they are.

Pastoral teams often need a fast answer to a narrow question: where is this pupil expected during this period? The danger begins when that operational question expands into a general appetite for pupil data. PASSport is built around the narrower task—and around the discipline required to keep it narrow.

  1. 01

    Non-standard placements sit outside the ordinary timetable view.

    Staff cross-reference lists, individual timetables and messages during a live pastoral check.

    A selected-period register shows the authorised cohort's expected alternative placement, current operational state and source freshness.

  2. 02

    Recurring provision, one-off sessions and pickups are recorded inconsistently.

    The working timetable cannot explain which arrangement applies on this date.

    Every-week, Week A, Week B, one-off and pickup records retain effective dates, duration, location, staff reference and movement instructions.

  3. 03

    A timetable change overwrites the regular pattern.

    History disappears and the next occurrence may be changed by accident.

    Date-specific exceptions cancel or move one session without rewriting the recurring placement.

  4. 04

    A check produces another informal message rather than owned follow-up.

    Important actions are acknowledged late, escalated unclearly or never deliberately closed.

    Handover records support ownership, acknowledgement, escalation, review, closure and reopening with dated history.

  5. 05

    A broad pupil export is imported because it is available.

    The register accumulates casework and personal data it does not need.

    PASSport admits only the minimum directory and timetable references needed for current placements and unresolved handovers.

Feature map

Find the tools for the task.

PASSport is a period-by-period operational programme, not a pretty printout of the normal timetable.

See the relevant day

  • Today register

    Current or selected period, expected placement, outcome, filters, detail and source freshness for the active authorised index.

  • School-day and cycle rules

    Up to twelve teaching periods, break and lunch bands, year-specific time variants and a confirmed Week A anchor where required.

  • Pupil and group timetables

    Five-day individual and permission-filtered cohort views combining ordinary context with alternative sessions and exceptions.

Record a timetable that survives contact with reality

  • Recurring and one-off placements

    Every week, Week A, Week B and dated sessions with effective dates, location, type, staff code and movement instructions.

  • Quick pickups

    Momentary, timed or full-period staff contacts kept distinct from a full placement.

  • Conflict and exception handling

    Cycle-aware clash checks, safe edits, date-specific cancellation or moves and history-preserving limits.

  • Rapid register outcomes

    Arrived, location confirmed, not seen or cancelled for the exact placement and school date, with attribution and history.

  • Owned handovers

    Routine or urgent follow-up with owner, optional due date, acknowledgement, escalation, review, closure and reopen states.

Connect and govern

  • Controlled references, imports and sync

    School-owned day structures and reference pools, validated imports and a minimum-data, read-only MIS connection enabled only with school approval.

  • Reports, exports and retention

    Bounded reports, spreadsheet-safe exports, saved views, provenance and approval-led retention that preserves linked operational history.

The examples use fictional records. Any MIS connection, retention policy or use of pupil data must be agreed and approved with the school.

Compare with competitors

Find the right fit.

Official published descriptions checked 27 August 2026. Feature sets change; procurement requires direct verification with each vendor.

  1. 01

    Bromcom User Timetables

    Bromcom foregrounds timetable access through its Attendance module, dashboard and lesson views. PASSport does not replace that broad MIS authority. It narrows the view to pupils with non-standard placements and unresolved handovers, joining recurrence, pickups, exceptions and follow-through across an authorised cohort.

    Compare the complete cost Request a complete annual PASSport quote including shared Account, an approved MIS connection, ordinary hosting and processing, standard setup, updates and remote support. Compare any additional modules or integration charges within your current MIS package, including the work needed to use them. Supplier details · Request your complete annual quote

  2. 02

    Collaborative Learning Manager by Perspective

    CLM foregrounds off-site alternative-provision management across schools, providers and local authorities, joining attendance, safeguarding, progress, finance and provider oversight. PASSport serves a narrower school-operational question that can include on-site interventions, therapy, meetings and pickups.

    Compare the complete cost Request a complete annual PASSport quote including shared Account, an approved MIS connection, ordinary hosting and processing, standard setup, updates and remote support. Compare equivalent users, features, integrations and support, including any usage charges, using current written quotes. Supplier details · Request your complete annual quote

Best fit
Pastoral, inclusion and alternative-provision teams coordinating pupils whose expected day departs from the ordinary timetable and who need a fast, shared, permission-filtered period view.
Not intended to replace
The MIS pupil directory or ordinary timetable, statutory attendance register, live location tracking, safeguarding or behaviour casework, provider finance or emergency procedures.

Editorial perspective

The argument behind PASSport.

Pastoral teams often need a fast answer to a narrow question: where is this pupil expected during this period? The danger begins when that operational question expands into a general appetite for pupil data. PASSport is built around the narrower task—and around the discipline required to keep it narrow.

The question arrives at speed

The school day is arranged in periods; pastoral work is frequently arranged in interruptions. A pupil has alternative provision, an intervention, therapy, a meeting or a pickup. A colleague needs to know whether absence from an ordinary lesson is expected.

PASSport brings the permitted non-standard placement into a period-first register so the answer can be checked without reconstructing the day from fragments. That sounds simple. It is simple. The difficulty is preventing a simple tool from becoming something else.

The useful pastoral answer is often a narrow one. Good software resists the urge to make it wider.

Expected location is not observed presence

PASSport records where a pupil should be according to a stated placement. It can record an operational outcome, but it is not live location tracking and does not replace attendance, safeguarding or behaviour systems.

Expected in describes the authority of the schedule. Seen in describes a dated observation. Not seen records an operational check, not a conclusion about motive, conduct or safety.

Period-first means purpose-first

The ordinary timetable belongs to the school's source system. PASSport owns the alternative placement that applies in a stated period: effective dates, recurrence, location, type, movement instructions, exceptions and operational history.

Conflicts must be honest. An every-week placement and a Week A placement cannot silently occupy the same slot. A one-off change should not rewrite the recurring schedule.

Collect less, answer better

There is a persistent fantasy in school technology that usefulness increases with the number of fields imported. PASSport works in the opposite direction. Sensitive casework does not belong in the operational register simply because it exists elsewhere.

This is not privacy purchased at the price of utility. It is utility clarified by purpose: the placement, movement instruction, current operational state and route for follow-up.

Handover turns a check into accountable work

Some questions end when the expected location is confirmed. Others require acknowledgement, escalation, review or closure. PASSport keeps those handovers owned and visible without inventing a free-standing pastoral case file.

PASSport is not an answer to every question about a pupil. Its value lies in answering one urgent question well, preserving the difference between schedule and observation, and making the next responsibility clear.

With and without

Where the work gets lighter.

The point is faster period checks and fewer timetable look-ups when pastoral teams coordinate support for pupils on non-standard timetables.

  • Quicker period checks
  • One view for target cohorts
  • Less cross-referencing

Prepare a target list

Without PASSport
Open or print individual timetables and manually align them against the school day.
With PASSport
Load the approved export and save a filtered pastoral cohort in one visual view.

Check the current period

Without PASSport
Search pupil records or cross-reference several timetable screens during a live pastoral task.
With PASSport
Open the current-period view and see the expected lesson and room for the authorised cohort.

Hand over across the day

Without PASSport
Recreate or annotate lists so another colleague understands the relevant timetable context.
With PASSport
Share the same controlled view and filters without circulating another informal spreadsheet.

Measure it properly. Any published time-saving figure will come from the same task measured before and during a school pilot.

Security · UK GDPR

School data deserves more than a padlock icon.

Security and data protection are part of the product boundary. Certification, school approval and live use remain separate decisions.

Collect less

Define the minimum fields needed for each job, validate imports and avoid copying wider MIS records into the product without a clear purpose.

Control access

Use role-based permissions, least-privilege defaults and auditable administrative actions for data that should not be visible to every member of staff.

Protect and delete

Treat encryption in transit and at rest, tested backups, retention controls and reliable deletion as baseline technical requirements.

Make procurement evidence available

Prepare a clear data map, processing agreement, subprocessor list, retention schedule, technical-measures summary and practical DPIA support before contracting.

School-facing boundary: the school will still need an appropriate lawful basis, privacy information, access policy, retention decisions and—where the risk requires it—a DPIA. The supplier’s job is to make those decisions informed, documented and technically enforceable.