Case Study
A centralised and unified approach
When Aberdeenshire Council first reached out to Sumdog, their schools were using a variety of maths resources, including Sumdog. At that time, there was no unified approach across Aberdeenshire schools, so the council were looking for an engaging and exciting tool that could work across the local area. There were also the two key issues of funding and security. The council wanted to have an accurate and central measure of spend on EdTech resources, and to ensure that teachers’ and pupils’ data was safe and secure as they were using these resources.
Prioritising data security
In May 2023, Aberdeenshire Council and Sumdog announced their special partnership to schools in the region. A key part of this partnership involved Sumdog and Aberdeenshire council working together on a data security strategy which would work for all schools. This included pseudonymising pupils’ personal data and providing extra support to teachers where needed.
"Demonstrating our commitment to the security of Aberdeenshire children’s data with the Cyber Essentials certification enabled the smooth completion of the necessary data processing agreement and process on Sumdog. The whole procedure was bolstered by the passion from both sides to continue improving maths engagement across Aberdeenshire."
Greta Harrison
Data Protection Officer at Sumdog
Building a supportive and ongoing relationship
Crucially, the partnership meant that all Aberdeenshire schools were able to benefit from centralised and discounted pricing, which was a huge positive for both the individual schools and the council as a whole. Schools also receive personalised support and training to aid the development of a unified approach across the region. Training sessions are based on questions and requests from teachers in order to ensure that implementation is as personalised and tailored as possible. They’re recorded and shared with all staff members, facilitating an open and ongoing relationship between Aberdeenshire schools and the Sumdog team.
Celebrating the partnership
To celebrate the new partnership, Sumdog hosted a special regional contest to unite all local schools. Pupils from every class in each school could compete with their peers across the region, leading to friendly competition and an increased sense of excitement around maths practice. At the end of the contest, the Sumdog team visited some of the local schools to congratulate pupils for their hard work – and they brought a familiar face with them…
About Aberdeenshire Council
Aberdeenshire Council includes 82 schools with teachers having used Sumdog since 2010.
The results:
Classes entered the contest
Maths questions answered during 1 week
Worked together across the region
"It’s been fantastic collaborating with Aberdeenshire Council to build a strong centralisedapproach to maths engagement across all of their schools, and we’re very proud to continuesupporting all Aberdeenshire teachers and pupils to make sure Sumdog works for them"
Zoë Sinclair
School Success Manager at Sumdog