Why we delivered the bulk upload for outcome inductions first
Context
In February 2025, the Record Inductions as an Appropriate Body (RIAB) service launched with a manual upload function for claiming inductions and recording induction outcomes, meaning that users had to manually input records one by one. This aligned with the expected low volume of early submissions and supported the delivery timeline.
We committed to delivering a CSV bulk feature solution by June, when we knew appropriate body users would need to submit more updates to the service. We needed to explore what the scope of this bulk upload feature would be, as focusing on a smaller scope derisked delivering a bulk upload feature when it was needed at the end of the 2024/25 academic year.
Delivering two separate bulk uploads for recording induction outcomes and claims
Separate bulk upload templates for outcomes and claims are needed because the two user journeys capture different data points. To avoid users duplicating information already held within the service, two distinct bulk upload templates are required.
Outcomes:
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type: pass, fail and release
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induction end date
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number of terms completed
Claims:
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induction start date
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programme type (provider-led or school-led)
What we did
We first analysed previous trends in induction data, which highlighted that induction periods are associated with different points in the school calendar: inductions mostly start in September and end in the month of July - so, in our delivery timeline, AB users would need to interact with outcomes first.
We spoke to users to validate whether releasing the bulk feature in two separate phases (one for outcomes and one for claiming) would meet users’ needs, and to concept-test the design using a CSV file with mock data. We found that:
launching the outcomes and claims features in two phases would not negatively impact the user experience, as these activities are tied to different points in the school calendar and serve different purposes
most users record outcomes and claims separately, so there was no negative impact from delivering two separate features
Finally, we spoke to 3rd party providers to test our phased approach. They confirmed that it was feasible to meet users’ needs to export data from their services in the format we required by the time we planned to release the bulk upload for induction outcomes.
Next steps
We designed and delivered a bulk upload feature for induction outcomes on June 24th 2025, ahead of the end of the academic year for most schools. We will deliver a second bulk upload feature which enables Appropriate Body users to claim ECTs in August, before the beginning of the 2025/26 academic year.