Before the next software renewal, ask what staff actually use

The renewal email arrives and the subscription carries on. Meanwhile, one team uses the system daily, another keeps a spreadsheet and nobody is certain which features are included.

You do not need a dramatic national statistic to investigate that. The useful evidence is in your own school. This guide replaces an earlier unsupported school-specific percentage claim; the existing URL is retained for continuity.

Follow one task

Ask a colleague to show you a regular job from beginning to end. Where do they copy information, ask someone for help or export a file? Observe the actual process, including the workarounds.

A little-used feature is not automatically waste. It may serve an important annual task. Equally, frequent logins do not prove that a system saves time.

Make a small renewal record

• What job does this subscription support?
• Who uses it, and who owns the renewal?
• What is the total cost and notice period?
• Which features overlap with another service?
• Would training solve the problem more cheaply than replacement?

Speak to staff before deciding. Removing a tool without understanding its role can shift hidden work onto someone else.

Test the improvement

Our suggestion is one change with a before-and-after check: less re-entry, fewer handoffs or a task completed reliably. Keep the measure close to the work.

DfE workload resources provide wider context. Schoolgle's starting point is the same practical question: which task is awkward, and what would make it easier? Bring us that task and we will show you where the product fits.