Tes has launched Tes360, a platform designed to connect school and trust data in one system, marking a strategic shift for the education technology group.

The platform is intended to bring together information often spread across separate teams and software tools in schools and academy trusts. Tes360 is set to cover safeguarding, special educational needs and disabilities, recruitment, timetabling, staff retention, classroom management and human resources.

It combines Tes’s existing products while working alongside school or trust management information systems already in use. The aim is to give leaders and staff a clearer view of operations and pupil-related issues without requiring schools to replace their core systems.

Data fragmentation

The launch comes as schools and trusts face pressure on staffing, administration and oversight. In many organisations, data exists but sits in separate systems, slowing decisions by senior leaders, teachers and operational teams.

According to Tes, the issue is not a lack of software or information but a lack of connection between sources. That gap can delay action on issues ranging from pupil welfare to staffing and school improvement.

Tes has positioned Tes360 as a way to reduce manual work and improve visibility across an organisation. The system is designed to support earlier identification of risks, faster decision-making and greater consistency across schools and trusts.

Tes has long operated across several parts of the education market, providing software and services for timetabling, SEND provision, behaviour management, staff wellbeing, parents’ evenings, recruitment and professional development. It also publishes Tes Magazine, giving it a role in both school operations and education media.

Strategic shift

Tes described the launch as the result of years of development and investment. By centring its offering on a connected platform, it is linking products that schools may already use separately rather than selling them only as standalone tools.

The approach reflects a broader trend in education technology, where software suppliers are trying to address fragmentation created by multiple specialist systems. Schools often rely on a patchwork of products for attendance, safeguarding, HR, timetabling, parental communication and recruitment, with data shared manually or not at all.

For academy trusts operating across several schools, that fragmentation can make it harder to compare performance, identify emerging problems and spread working practices between sites. A single view across different functions has become more attractive as leaders are asked to do more with constrained budgets and limited staff time.

Tes360 is now available in all markets where Tes operates. The company serves schools internationally, though it has deep roots in the UK education sector and says its offering draws on more than a century of experience.

Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Tes, said: “Disconnected technology in education slows down decision-making for both school leaders and teachers. By connecting technology, opportunities for improvements and action are enabled, saving staff time and improving pupil outcomes. This launch represents years of development and investment so that schools and trusts can act earlier and reduce complexity. It’s not about adding more technology, but making what they already have work better together.”

The platform is intended to help schools act earlier, reduce administrative workload and improve oversight across teams by bringing together information from school operations and staff management in one connected view.