Nexus International School Malaysia

Why did the school choose BlueSky?

As a member of the Taylor’s Education Group, Nexus International School Malaysia has close links with other schools in the organisation and a shared approach. All schools in the Taylor’s Education Group have a membership with BlueSky Education. 

Kay McCabe, Director of Learning and Innovation explains: “Our sister school, Garden International School in Kuala Lumpur, has successfully used BlueSky for a number of years, so the Taylor’s central team decided to roll out BlueSky to support a whole group approach to professional learning. The long-term aim is to use BlueSky to collaborate at a group level to share best practice and have strong, consistent processes.” 

“The idea of having everything connected was very important to us,” says Kay. “We are very invested in professional learning for our staff, but before BlueSky there were a lot of materials and documents sitting in different places and our appraisal system was in a whole separate system. 

“We couldn’t see people’s goals across the whole school; we couldn’t connect the dots and get the big picture of what was going on with appraisal and professional development. 

“I felt that BlueSky would be really useful to help us gain that oversight and make connections with school priorities. The potential for collaboration with other schools, particularly our sister school Nexus International School Singapore, and enabling our staff to build connections outside the school could be hugely beneficial for their professional learning and development.” 

How is BlueSky supporting the school?

Nexus International School Malaysia has been using BlueSky since 2022 to support appraisal and professional learning processes. The team has taken advantage of BlueSky’s adaptability to gradually introduce new features and functionality to staff over time.

“Some of our staff have used BlueSky before and know what they’re doing,” says Kay. “But for others, using a software platform for these processes is totally new and we have to support that transition. I want this approach to be sustainable so it’s been helpful to be able to introduce features slowly so that staff can get accustomed to the new process.”

Kay has also uploaded bespoke frameworks for different job roles to BlueSky, so staff can complete a self-review at the start of the appraisal cycle. “We have distinct rubrics for teaching staff, middle leaders and senior leaders. The first step of every academic year is for teachers to evaluate themselves against the relevant rubric, which provides the basis for identifying areas of teaching and learning they would like to improve.”

“Staff have meetings with their line manager throughout the school year to sustain their professional development. We record all CPD in BlueSky so members of staff and their line manager can discuss progress and set future goals in those meetings.”

“Every member of staff has a teaching and learning goal, which they work on throughout the year, supported by learning communities within our staff teams, and we use The Great Teaching Toolkit frameworks, which we have built in BlueSky to support staff development.

“In the past, it was difficult to see whether everyone’s teaching goals were having an impact on teaching and learning in the classroom. Now that everyone’s goals are in BlueSky, the academic executive team can review and check if they are relevant to our school priorities, and if they are SMART, whether they are related to teaching and learning, personal development, leadership or one of the working groups.”

Easily integrated Professional Learning

“All professional learning is recorded on BlueSky throughout the year,” says Kay. “Our CPD team uses the CPD features to manage applications for professional learning, such as FOBISIA training and courses. With BlueSky, we can easily identify whether the course is linked to the individual’s goals, and then once it is approved, they are automatically notified. It makes the process really clear and efficient and ensures alignment with staff and school-wide goals.”

“What is beneficial is that staff can easily find professional learning content that supports their area of interest and need.”

What is the impact?

Ensuring focus on priorities

Kay says there is no doubt that BlueSky has significantly improved the schools’ processes. “It has really streamlined our CPD practice, while also helping us to ensure fairness and equality in terms of access to professional learning.”

“We have a good budget for CPD, but we still need to ensure it goes to the right places. Having the ability to easily compile an overview of professional learning across the school helps us to plan more strategically. At the end of last year, for the first time, I was able to generate a report with BlueSky and analyse where we spent money on CPD. It means we can check we are spending on CPD that supports our priorities.”

Continuous record of professional development

“I think it is great that individuals can take their BlueSky profile with them. A number of our staff had used the platform in previous schools, so they were able to connect their previous records with our school account. It encourages you to continue that journey of professional development throughout your career.”

“Being able to customise BlueSky to our unique process and use the same language that we use at the school has helped the transition. We want this to be a system that we’re using all the time – it shouldn’t be something that only happens at the beginning or end of the year; it needs to be an ongoing process of development throughout the year, every year that staff are with Nexus and even after you leave the school.”

“Professional learning is at the heart of everything in a school, because the more your teachers invest in learning, the better the outcomes for young people ultimately.”

Positive feedback with Opal review

“We’ve also started to use the Opal Review 360 feedback feature for the senior leadership team this year, which we have found really great. Middle leaders are starting to use it now, and we really love that we can use a bespoke rubric for the 360 reviews, and it can be tailored to different roles.”

“It has been an interesting shift – our previous 360 review approach could sometimes deliver feedback that was difficult for individuals to take. Because the feedback is delivered by a facilitator, rather than direct, it can be framed as something that is positive and developmental for the individual, so it’s more helpful.”

“The 360 feedback practice has also helped with line manager relationships because it gives them a much more rounded view of people they are managing, and that enables broader conversations.”

What’s next?

Kay plans to continue expanding the use of BlueSky to support practices that were previously paper-based.

“We’re going to continue to transition our processes into BlueSky and make that part of everyone’s learning goals. We are introducing new bespoke forms, such as a CPD evaluation for learning reflections, and department reviews, which connects individual’s development goals to departmental action plans.”

“We’re also looking at how we can use BlueSky to support a new approach to professional assurance which will use mentors or buddies, so we’re currently considering how to train and support staff in that practice.”

“I was talking to other members of FOBISIA about how they manage appraisal and professional development in their schools. Hearing from people that use BlueSky, how they use it in different ways, and those that don’t use it – I don’t think there is a better alternative out there.”

Further reading