Why spreadsheets and paper class books become a trap for schools

Many schools started with student records in paper class books and simple spreadsheets. At some point, it stops being enough — more classes, more administration, and inspections require precise and up‑to‑date data. That’s when Excel and paper become a brake rather than help.

1. Multiple versions of the same spreadsheet = nobody knows what’s true

School leadership has one sheet, a counsellor has another, class teachers keep their own records. During an audit or inspection, a lot of time is spent just figuring out which data is correct. The moment someone forgets to update a change, inconsistencies appear.

• different Excel versions in emails and on USB drives,
• manual rewriting after every transfer or student leaving,
• uncertainty whether the data is truly current.

2. A paper class book is always in only one place

The class book sits in the staff room, in a safe, or sometimes with the class teacher. When leadership needs to quickly verify absences, grades or entries, they have to physically access the book. This is especially impractical when teaching happens across multiple locations or partly online.

During inspections, paper books must be browsed manually. Searching for specific information is slow and error‑prone.

3. GDPR and personal data protection

Paper class books contain sensitive student data. When they move between classrooms and offices, it’s hard to ensure nobody unauthorised can access them. With spreadsheets, there’s also a risk they get emailed outside the school or stored on an unencrypted drive.

A school information system lets you control access — school leadership has different permissions than class teachers, and different again for assistants. Access can be revoked anytime, and the system logs who worked with the data.

4. Relationships are not visible in a spreadsheet

Excel shows rows and columns, but it doesn’t handle relationships between classes, clubs, attendance and grading well. If you want, for example, to see students who attend a certain club and also have increased absences, you end up with complex filters and exports.

In an information system, each student has a single “card” showing class, attendance, clubs, payments and guardian contacts in one place.

5. Moving to a system doesn’t have to be a revolution overnight

A common concern is: “Switching will take more time than it saves.” It doesn’t have to. Data can be migrated in phases — students and classes first, then timetable, then clubs and payments. Some agendas can even run in parallel for a short time until staff get comfortable.

The key is having a partner who guides the school through the transition, helps with data preparation and configures the system to match the reality of your school.