Beyond the Template: How to Add Granular RAG Criteria to Your iAbacus Frameworks
Beyond the Template: How to Add Granular RAG Criteria to Your iAbacus Frameworks
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At iAbacus, we know that the best self-evaluation frameworks are the ones that truly reflect your school's unique context. While our ready-made templates for Ofsted, Estyn, and HGIOS?4 provide a robust starting point, the real power lies in adapting them to fit your specific improvement journey.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by adding your own RAG (Red, Amber, Green) ratable criteria. This simple process allows you to move beyond broad judgements and evaluate against the specific, evidence-based statements that matter most to you.
This guide, based on our latest how-to video, will walk you through how to add granular, RAG-ratable criteria to any iAbacus template, using the Ofsted framework as an example.
Why Add Custom RAG Criteria?
Why Add Custom RAG Criteria?
Standard inspection frameworks provide the 'what' - the high-level gradings and key judgements. But effective self-evaluation requires drilling down into the 'how' - the specific evidence and practices that underpin those judgements.
By adding your own RAG-rated statements, you can:
Align with specific evidence: Embed the exact indicators from inspection handbooks (like Ofsted's evidence statements) directly into your evaluation.
Incorporate Trust-wide goals: Ensure every school in your MAT is evaluating against a consistent set of bespoke criteria.
Reflect school-specific priorities: Integrate criteria developed by your own senior leadership team to track progress against your unique School Improvement Plan.
Create a richer picture: Build a detailed, evidence-based narrative of your strengths and areas for development, ready for one-click reporting.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Customising Your Abacus
A Step-by-Step Guide to Customising Your Abacus
In just a few minutes, you can transform a standard template into a bespoke tool for your school. Here’s how:
Open Your Abacus and Enter Customise Mode Start by opening the abacus you wish to enhance. In the top-right corner, click the ‘Customise’ button. This unlocks the structure of your abacus, allowing you to edit everything from the levels to the criteria.
Select the Area and Navigate to Options Click on the Area you want to modify (in our video example, we use 'Inclusion'). This will open the editing panel for that specific section. It's not the basic information we need, so click on the ‘Options’ tab.
Find the RAG Rated Statements Section Scroll down within the 'Options' tab until you find the heading: ‘Enter statements that are to be RAG rated on the review criteria screen’. This is where the magic happens.
Add Your Criteria Now, simply copy and paste your chosen statements into the text boxes. You can pull these from anywhere - an inspection handbook, a trust-wide document, or your school’s own planning documents. Use the ‘Add another statement’ button to create as many new criteria as you need.
Pro-Tip: For clarity, you can add a prefix to your statements (e.g., "SEND - " or "Disadvantaged - ") to group them thematically within a section.
Make Your Criteria Report-Ready This is a crucial final step. To ensure your new RAG ratings appear on your exports, you must tick the box that says: ‘Show these RAG rated statements on the PDF reports’.
Save and See the Results Click ‘Continue’ at the bottom to save your changes.
Now, when you go back into your abacus and make a judgement, you will see your newly added statements below the main gradings. You can rate each one Red, Amber, or Green, and even click the pen icon to add specific commentary, notes, or upload evidence files directly against each criterion.
When you export your PDF report, these detailed, RAG-rated statements will be displayed beautifully alongside your main judgement, providing a rich, evidence-informed picture of your evaluation.
Ready to Take Control of Your Framework?
Ready to Take Control of Your Framework?
This powerful feature gives you the flexibility to make iAbacus truly your own. It bridges the gap between high-level judgements and the granular evidence of daily practice, creating a more meaningful and impactful self-evaluation process.
If you need any support in customising your templates, our team is here to help.
Book a free, personalised demonstration to explore this in more detail.
Chat with us live on the website for immediate support.
Start a free trial to experience the power of iAbacus for yourself.
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