Head of Department guide

1. What you're evaluating

Educator is a spaced-repetition platform for GCSE and KS3 subjects. The core loop is simple: students answer short-recall and multiple-choice questions on their phone or laptop, the algorithm surfaces each card at the optimal interval before they forget it, and mastery accumulates over weeks rather than in a single cramming session.

The value proposition for a Head of Department is threefold. Students do more revision — not because you set more homework, but because a 3-minute daily session is genuinely frictionless. You see exactly which topics each class is weak on, ranked and colour-coded, without waiting for a test. And you mark nothing: completion, accuracy, and mastery data update in real time on your dashboard.

2. Before the pilot

A pilot is 4 weeks, full app access, unlimited students, no credit card required. Before you start, confirm three things.

Is your subject live?

Food, History, Geography, Combined Science, Religious Studies, D&T, Business Studies, and Computer Science are live. PE Theory and Drama are in Beta (content is complete but may still be updated based on classroom feedback — suitable for informal pilots). Sociology and Psychology are Coming soon.

Is your exam board supported?

AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas/WJEC, and CCEA are covered across most live subjects. When you create a class you select a board — only cards relevant to that board are served. If your school runs a board not listed, email hello@educator-labs.com before starting.

GCSE only, or GCSE + KS3?

KS3 is bundled free with every matching GCSE licence. If you have Year 7–9 groups who would benefit from structured revision habits — particularly in History, Geography, or Science — include them. The KS3 card set is aligned to the national curriculum, not a specific board, and builds the prior knowledge students need arriving in Year 10.

3. Setting up and running the pilot

1. 1

   Confirm your subject is live

   Check the Educator homepage for subject tiles marked "Live". Food, History, Geography, Combined Science, Religious Studies, D&T, Business Studies, and Computer Science are live at GCSE and KS3. PE Theory and Drama are in Beta. Sociology and Psychology are Coming soon — don't pilot those yet.

2. 2

   Verify exam board support

   Each subject page lists supported boards. AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas/WJEC, and CCEA are covered across most subjects. If your school uses a less common board, confirm coverage before sending class codes to students.

3. 3

   Decide GCSE only or GCSE + KS3

   KS3 is always bundled free with the matching GCSE licence. If you teach Year 7–9 alongside your GCSE groups, include them — the data you gather on KS3 mastery informs your GCSE transition planning.

4. 4

   Create your school and first class

   Sign up at educator-labs.com as a Teacher and create your school. Then create a class: pick subject, exam board, class name, and year group. You get a 6-character code to share with students. Foundation/Higher tier can be set from class settings after creation.

5. 5

   Brief students in class (5 minutes)

   Show the sign-up flow on the board. Students enter the class code when they register — that links them to your class immediately. Tell them: one session per day, 3–5 minutes, builds a streak. That framing is all they need.

6. 6

   Week 2: check the dashboard and set homework

   Open your class page and review the 'Class accuracy by topic' section. Topics in red (<50% accuracy) or with no reviews need attention — either more classroom time or a targeted homework. Set your first homework assignment: pick a topic and a due date. Students see it on their dashboard; you see completions in real time.

7. 7

   Week 4: pull data for your SLT report

   Export or screenshot the class summary: session counts, accuracy by topic, mastery delta (Proficient + Mastered proportion at week 1 vs week 4), and streak distribution. This is your pilot evidence pack.

4. Reading the data

Four metrics give you a complete picture of pilot health. All four are visible from the class summary on your dashboard. As HoD, you also have access to the school-wide /school dashboard showing cross-class engagement, per-class comparison, department-wide struggling cards, and mastery trend — no need to drill into each class individually.

Session count per student

Your primary engagement proxy. A student doing 5+ sessions per week is getting meaningful spaced practice. Under 3 per week suggests they haven't yet built the habit — a class conversation usually fixes it.

Average accuracy per topic

Sorted lowest to highest, this is your intervention priority list. Topics under 60% accuracy are the ones students are guessing on — they need classroom coverage, not just more practice.

Mastery delta (before/after)

Compare the proportion of cards at Proficient or Mastered at the start vs end of the pilot. A meaningful pilot should shift this by 15–25 percentage points across 4 weeks. That delta is your headline number for SLT.

Streak distribution

How many students have a streak of 7+ days? 14+? This is your consistency proxy. A class average streak of 10+ days after a 4-week pilot indicates the habit has formed and the revision will compound toward the exam.

5. Making the case to SLT

Educator sits comfortably within a school's intervention budget. These are the talking points that land with senior leaders.

6. Pricing tiers

All tiers are per-school per-year. Unlimited students and classes within each licensed subject. KS3 is always bundled free with the matching GCSE.

7. Getting support