A performance review isn’t just an admin task—it’s a structured way to set direction, align expectations, and capture a full picture of a colleague’s growth. The system makes it simple: everything from scheduling the meeting to recording targets, CPD needs, and evidence is built into one streamlined process.
Tip: To run a review, you must first be set up as a reviewer with reviewees assigned to you. If that’s not yet done, check out this guide.
Quick Steps
- Navigate to the Performance Management Dashboard
- Click on the Start section
- Schedule the review, or click Meet now to skip this step
- Feed in whole school targets or set new personal targets
- Add any CPD Needs
- Submit the review for feedback, or skip this step and activate
Starting the Review Process
Need More Detailed Help?
Scheduling the Review
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Navigate to the Performance Management Dashboard and click the Start section.
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You’ll see a list of reviewees who either already have a review scheduled or need one.
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If you can’t see a staff member here, they may not be assigned to you—check the Setting Reviewers and Assigning Reviewees guide.
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To schedule for a future date, click Schedule. To begin right away, click Meet Now.
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Once scheduled, the review will appear under Scheduled, ready to prepare.
Preparing the Review
From the dashboard:
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Expand the Start stage.
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Click Prepare alongside the review under Scheduled.
If you don’t see Prepare, you’ll need to schedule the review first. Please see the steps further up in this guide for more information on this.
Once Prepare is clicked, inside the review, you’ll work through five key sections:
1. Targets
This is the core of the review: setting clear, measurable goals.
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Click New Target to create one from scratch.
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Or click Existing Target to choose from previously created personal or team targets. When clicked, the system will search for all targets related to your reviewee in any way. These may be personal targets or targets assigned to a team the reviewee is in.
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To add one to the review. tick the box next to it and select Add Selected Targets.
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To remove a target, click the bin icon and choose whether to delete it completely or just remove it from this review.
For step-by-step target-setting, see the Creating New Targets guide.
2. CPD Needs
Document the professional development your reviewee requires for the coming year.
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Click New CPD Need.
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Select a Category (e.g. Teaching & Learning, Leadership).
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Add detail in the free-text box.
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Assign to a team and year, then click Add.
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Repeat as needed.
If a category you need doesn’t exist, your headteacher can add new ones via system Preferences.
3. Development Feedback
One of the most valuable parts of a performance review is being able to factor in the full range of lesson observations and developmental feedback a colleague has received. Reviews shouldn’t rely on a single snapshot — they should reflect typicality, showing how someone performs across the year.
The Development Feedback tab brings all that evidence together in one place:
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Every piece of feedback recorded for your reviewee is visible here.
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Use the filters to quickly narrow by date range or feedback template.
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A clear monthly breakdown shows how often feedback has been logged, helping you check whether development conversations are happening regularly.
You don’t need to weigh up every record in detail, but having this complete picture gives context:
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Consistency – Are strengths being recognised repeatedly?
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Progression – Do earlier development points show improvement later on?
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Support – Are there patterns that suggest further CPD is needed?
Factoring this into your review ensures it is fair, evidence-based, and balanced, rather than relying solely on one-off impressions.
4. Standards
This section integrates the reviewee’s self-assessment against Professional Standards. It’s a powerful tool to spot trends, track confidence, and highlight areas for improvement.
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Use filters to refine by template or timeframe.
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Expand a completed template to view detailed analysis, including trend graphs.
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Visualise in two ways:
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Trend View – shows change over time, helping you understand the story behind improvements, dips, or steady performance.
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Latest Standards – shows the most current grades and comments.
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Hover over bars for grade details, or over speech bubbles to read comments.
If your SLT requires specific standards to be completed, these appear at the top. If missing, please raise this with the reviewee.
5. Other Evidence
Use this tab to add supporting written notes or upload documents—anything that provides additional context or proof of progress.
Important: Click Save once you’ve finished entering evidence.
Activating the Review (Submitting or Skipping Feedback)
Once the meeting has taken place:
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Choose whether to submit for feedback or skip feedback and activate immediately.
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Submitting locks the review until the reviewee marks it as accurate/inaccurate (see the Responding to your Performance Review guide).
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Skipping feedback activates the review straight away, so both you and the reviewee can continue adding to it.
Note: Your headteacher may disable the option to skip feedback.
If skipping feedback:
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Tick Skip feedback to Activate the Review.
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Click Activate Review Cycle.
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Confirm by selecting Agree Review.
Once feedback has been completed or skipped, the review moves into the Active stage.
For updating reviews throughout the year, see the Updating a review throughout the year guide.
The Performance Review module does more than log a meeting—it captures goals, CPD needs, feedback, evidence, and standards all in one place. It helps you track progress and ensure reviews translate into real professional growth.