Schools Using imabi Inspire: Discover How Our Platform Has Helped Barking Abbey School
At imabi, one of our main aims is to safeguard the next generation by tackling inappropriate behaviours and giving students a voice.
In this blog, we’re exploring how Barking Abbey School is doing just that, with the help of imabi Inspire — our platform dedicated to young people in education settings.
Keep reading to find out more:
Why Are UK Schools Using imabi Inspire?
With technology becoming increasingly more advanced, schools across the UK are turning to digital solutions to help safeguard their pupils.
Specifically, many are utilising our innovative platform, imabi Inspire, with more than 20,000 students currently benefiting from it.
A first of its kind, one of the settings that has introduced our safeguarding platform is Barking Abbey School, which praised its “huge impact” on the school’s culture.
Barking Abbey School and imabi Inspire
Barking Abbey is a secondary school and specialist sports and humanities college, located in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
They welcomed the technology in 2022 as part of their mission to give their students a voice.
Centred on helping schools gain a better understanding of their culture, imabi Inspire is designed to make students feel safer and better represented.
An ‘all in one place’ safeguarding resource, the platform offers:
Named or anonymous reporting to flag inappropriate behaviours;
The chance to provide feedback via surveys;
Targeted guidance from trusted sources;
A portal for essential school information.
Demonstrating its ability to align with existing platforms, Barking Abbey School were able to integrate it seamlessly into their anti-bullying ambassadors initiative, who were used to launch it and help spread the app’s use amongst their peers.
Within the first two months of the launch, the platform saw more than 30 reports from students — providing a vital window into incidents and scenarios teachers were previously unaware of.
Barking Abbey School: What Do the Students Say?
Recognising its potential, the platform soon became a resource that Barking Abbey School students fully embraced.
It empowered them with access to a pool of essential functions and resources, which Kayden, a student and anti-bullying ambassador at the school, described as “a very big help to those who feel unsafe”.
He said: “I feel like being safe is a privilege and if someone was to take that away from me, it would be a very big problem.
“imabi is very easy to use, and even if you don’t really know that much about technology, I think it’s a very good concept and I’m happy my school has introduced it for me and my peers.”
Tahrima, also a student and anti-bullying ambassador, said: “imabi was introduced when I was in the middle of year eight, and I think, in my world, that was basically the school telling the students that they are taking our safety seriously.
“I think that was a really big thing and having imabi available proves this to me.”
Schools Using imabi Inspire: What Happens After an Incident is Reported?
Our innovative platform allows educators to receive reports of unwanted behaviour easily and quickly, while also improving triage and recording practices.
This helps schools identify problematic behaviours and implement tactics to resolve or reduce the issue.
The platform also eliminates the need to have multiple communication channels and systems to get key messages and alerts to students, with the option to push real-time notifications, guides, and documents to student communities.
Stephanie Gibson, Senior Deputy Headteacher at Barking Abbey, said: “As a school, we are always looking at how we can improve our safeguarding practices.
“We did try a worry box email which is quite common in schools, but it just wasn’t being used. In November 2022, we launched imabi Inspire and it’s had a huge impact already.
“I think it’s really important that young people feel empowered to actually stand up when they don't think something is right or fair. I would 100% recommend this app, it’s so easy to download and set up.”
What Our CEO and Founder, Mark Balaam, Had to Say
Barking Abbey is just one of many schools using imabi Inspire.
Across 2023, we saw more than 800 reports of inappropriate behaviours across our user base — with one incident at a different school seeing the removal of a teacher (who is subsequently being investigated by police) thanks to reports received from pupils via the app.
Mark Balaam said: “We’re already seeing the profound impact our platform is having on safeguarding school children in the UK.
“Barking Abbey is a standout example of where it’s been fully integrated and is making a real difference. It's incredibly rewarding watching the students' relationship with the app evolve.
“It’s also been great to hear feedback from teachers too, as ultimately, this is a tool for key decision makers to create the safest educational environment possible for their students.
“The platform is exclusively tailored to each school, with an admin portal allowing you to create and manage your own customised content, so we really look to be an extension of the team and offer the best possible solutions.”
For more information about safeguarding in schools, and how our imabi Inspire platform can help, please contact a member of our team.
Alternatively, why not read our previous blog to discover how our app can support university students?
