Pictured above: Malcolm Cook
A West Midlands educational firm, which has developed ways of
assessing children's attitudes to learning, has been sold to the
Granada Learning Group for an undisclosed sum.
Wolverhampton-based W3 Insights is the market leader in
psychometric pupil attitude measurement for schools.
The deal was advised in the region by Malcolm Cook and Elinor
Mathieson, corporate finance partner and director in the Birmingham
office of accountants and business advisers PKF and by James Hayes
of FBC Manby Bowdler.
Granada said the deal would enhance their existing assessment
and school self-evaluation programmes and give teachers additional
tools to unlock their pupils' learning potential.
Launched in 2002, W3 Insights' core business is electronic
assessment, training, advice and consultancy.
"It is a fantastically go-ahead and innovative company - just
the sort of business we need more of in the West Midlands," said Mr
Cook.
"It has received critical acclaim from government, academia and
educational professions working at all levels as its measurements
provide vital information that can help reduce the negative impact
of disaffection and low self-esteem on a child's attainment.
"I am sure that under Granada's wing it will go from strength to
strength."
All W3 Insights' staff will continue working from the company's
offices on Wolverhampton Science Park, and both Dr Glen Williams,
chief executive, and Bob Whittome, chief operations officer, will
remain in post to drive the business forward.
The company's success has been built around its award-winning
assessment tool, Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS).
Utilising an underlying national sample of more than 250,000
pupils, it has been developed over the last eight years in
collaboration with four UK universities and 30 local authorities to
measure specific aspects of children's attitudes towards themselves
as learners and their school.
PASS allows schools to benchmark pupils against nine core areas,
including self-regard, attitude to attendance and perceived
learning capability.
There is an additional Early Years version which looks at issues
such as a child's feelings about school, relationships with
teachers and desire to learn and achieve.
Results from the surveys aid the early identification of
'at-risk' pupils so that effective programmes can be put in place
to help them do better.
W3 Insights offers a range of bespoke services which focus on
impact evaluation, organisational improvement, change management,
'at risk' profiling and human tracking and performance monitoring
systems.
Dr Williams said: "We are delighted to be part of the Granada
Learning Group and we look forward to working closely together to
support schools in the drive to raise achievement.
"Our attitude measures have been extensively used to improve
attainment and enable schools to address many of their key
priorities whilst reducing the bureaucracy of additional data
gathering; saving both money and time."
Adrian Eaglestone, managing director of Granada Learning Group,
said: "We are very excited about our acquisition of W3 Insights and
the benefits it will bring to schools.
"It will help teachers gain a deeper insight into their pupils'
attitudes to learning and identify issues that might hinder a
child's progress in school.
"W3 Insights has an excellent reputation in the education sector
and deservedly so.
Not only are their measurements trusted, due to robust and
rigorous testing, but the calibre of their staff is second to
none."
Granada Learning Group already offers a Cognitive Abilities Test
(CAT), which is used to assess children's reasoning
capabilities.
For more information about PKF, please visit their website here:
www.pkf.co.uk