Portesbery School: Replacing Complexity with Clarity

How a Special Needs School simplified absence reporting, reduced admin, and gained real-time visibility with a solution that’s still proving its worth.

Transforming Absence Management in a Demanding Environment

Portesbery School supports children and young people with Severe Learning Difficulties and additional needs. But managing staff absence was made harder by a clunky, outdated system.

Since implementing Honeydew’s Day-1 Absence Reporting in 2017, the school has seen major improvements in visibility, ease of use, and proactive management, powered by real-time data and responsive support.

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Screenshot of Engage logging absence immediately to ensure safe staffing levels in healthcare settings.

HR Representative, Portesbery School

“The assistance and the support were great. It was great then to start with and has continued to be great all the way through.”

HR Representative, Portesbery School

“We looked at other systems that were available and obviously Honeydew appealed to us the most at the time and we stayed since - and it has proved its worth.”

HR Representative, Portesbery School

“The responsiveness and support of the Honeydew Team are amazing, second to none. I have not experienced that with any other company.”

The Challenge 

Key Absence Management Challenges

Before moving to Honeydew, Portesbery School was managing absence with a system that simply wasn’t built for their needs. It was time-consuming, hard to navigate, and offered little in the way of insight or support for decision-making. Staff were spending too much time on admin and not enough on what really mattered.

The biggest challenges they faced included:

  • Manual data collection and tracking
  • A complex system that created extra admin
  • No visibility into trends or trigger points
  • Delays in responding to absences
  • Lack of consistent reporting

The Solution

The Solution: Simpler Absence Reporting & Real-Time Visibility

Portesbery School selected Honeydew after thorough research and found the onboarding process seamless and well-supported from the start.

What the implementation included:

  • A dedicated 24/7 absence reporting line
  • Real-time data in the Engage platform
  • Trigger prompts for Occupational Health referrals
  • Custom settings aligned to school policy
  • Tailored communication and training materials
  • Manager onboarding and training sessions

The Results

Results: Streamlined, Supported, and Still Going Strong

With Honeydew’s Day-1 Absence Reporting service in place, Portesbery School has gained the tools and support needed to stay on top of staff absence without the admin overload. Managers are no longer chasing paperwork - they’re working with real-time data, clear reports, and a responsive system that fits their school’s needs. And when help is needed, the Honeydew team is just a call away.

Since switching to Honeydew, Portesbery has benefited from

  • A user-friendly, fit-for-purpose absence system
  • Real-time alerts and reporting for managers
  • Improved absence policy compliance
  • More time to focus on supporting pupils
  • A trusted, responsive account management team

Could this be your story too?

If you’re weighed down by admin-heavy systems and struggling to manage absence proactively, we can help. Let’s simplify, support and streamline - together.

See the solution in action - book a demo

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