Wonde Schools Data Integration ​
Research date: 10 March 2026 | Status: Exploring | GitHub: Issue #406
Executive Summary ​
Wonde is the UK's largest school MIS integration platform (~22,000 schools, 35+ MIS systems, ISO 27001). It provides a single REST API to access student data, including SEN status, needs, attendance, exclusions, and behaviour, from any connected school's Management Information System.
Why it matters for SpektraBot: Wonde could transform SpektraBot from a static legal guidance tool into a data-informed SEND intelligence platform. Live school data enables features like SEN register dashboards, exclusion risk scoring, and attendance gap alerts, features that SENCOs and Heads of Inclusion would pay for.
The opportunity: MATs (Multi-Academy Trusts) can approve Wonde access centrally, meaning one sales deal unlocks 5–30 schools. Combined with SpektraBot's existing SEND legal guidance, Wonde-powered analytics creates a compelling "SEND Intelligence + Guidance" bundle at £1–3K/school/year.
The cost: Free sandbox for development. Production pricing is ~£0.25–£0.80/pupil/year (not publicly listed, verify with Wonde). At 200 schools, that's roughly £12K/year, a manageable 3–8% of revenue at scale. CIC discounts reportedly available.
Decision: Register a free developer account now. Build a sandbox PoC. Approach Wonde sales about CIC pricing. Integrate when we have a clear school/MAT customer pipeline.
What We'd Build ​
Priority Features (SENCO Pain Points) ​
| # | Feature | Data Required | Value Proposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EHCP Review Deadline Tracker | sen_status, sen_date_ranges | Auto-reminders before statutory deadlines, reduces legal risk |
| 2 | SEN Attendance Gap Alerts | attendance_summary, sen_status | Flag SEND pupils with >10% lower attendance than peers |
| 3 | Exclusion Risk Scoring | exclusions, behaviours, sen_needs, PP/FSM flags | Predict at-risk pupils from SEMH + low attendance + vulnerability overlap |
| 4 | Live SEN Register Dashboard | All SEN fields | Real-time cohort view by need type, year group, with national benchmarks |
| 5 | MAT SEND Benchmarking | Cross-school aggregation | Compare schools across the trust, the strongest strategic wedge for trust-wide deals |
Segment Fit ​
| Segment | Wonde Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| MATs (£1–3K/school) | Excellent | Central approval, 5–30 schools per deal, benchmarking is a killer feature |
| Individual schools (£1–3K) | Good | School approves directly, SEN data flows immediately |
| Professionals (£50–200/mo) | Good | Richer context when advising on specific schools |
| LAs (£8–50K) | Moderate | School-by-school approval friction, consider Groupcall for this route |
| Families (free) | Indirect | School context improves guidance quality but families don't control access |
What Data Is Available ​
SEND-Specific Fields (Verified in API Docs) ​
Student record (extended details):
| Field | What It Tells Us |
|---|---|
sen_status | None / SEN Support / EHCP |
sen_needs | Need categories (ASD, SEMH, SpLD, etc.) |
sen_date_ranges | Historical SEN status changes |
free_school_meals / free_school_meals_6 | FSM / Ever6 (Pupil Premium proxy) |
premium_pupil_indicator | Pupil Premium flag |
in_lea_care / ever_in_care | Looked-after child status |
child_protection_plan / child_in_need | Safeguarding flags |
paramedical_support | E.g. "Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy" |
ethnicity, first_language, EAL status | Demographics |
Related objects: exclusions (with appeal data), behaviour incidents, interventions, medical conditions, attendance summaries, parent/guardian contacts.
Full Field Reference ​
Click to expand, all verified student fields
Extended Details Object
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
sen_status | string (nullable) | SEN register status, "N" (None), "K" (SEN Support), "E" (EHCP) |
free_school_meals | boolean | Currently receiving FSM |
free_school_meals_6 | boolean | Received FSM in last 6 years (Ever6) |
premium_pupil_indicator | boolean | Pupil Premium indicator |
premium_pupil_eligible | boolean | Eligible for Pupil Premium |
in_lea_care | boolean | Currently in LA care (LAC/CLA) |
ever_in_care | boolean | Has ever been in care |
child_protection_plan | boolean | Active child protection plan |
child_in_need | boolean | Child in need status |
paramedical_support | string | E.g. "Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy" |
first_language | string | Language code (e.g. "ENG") |
english_as_additional_language | boolean | EAL flag |
english_as_additional_language_status | string | "Fluent", "Developing Competence", "New to English", etc. |
ethnicity / ethnicity_code | string | E.g. "White - English" / "WENG" |
nationality | string | E.g. "English" |
religion | string | Religious affiliation |
birth_place | string | Place of birth |
custody_alert | boolean | Custody alert flag |
custody_details | string | Custody arrangement details |
dietary_needs | string | Dietary requirements |
service_children_indicator | boolean | Armed forces child |
enrolment_status | string | Registration status |
enrolment_start_date / enrolment_end_date | date | Enrolment period |
gifted_and_talented_status | boolean | G&T flag |
boarding_status | string | Boarding arrangements |
home_language | string | Home language |
Student Relationships
| Relationship | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
sen_needs | many | SEN need categories (primary/secondary needs) |
sen_date_ranges | many | Historical SEN status periods |
in_care_date_ranges | many | Historical LAC/CLA periods |
fsm_date_ranges | many | Historical FSM eligibility periods |
child_protection_plan_date_ranges | many | Historical CP plan periods |
exclusions | many | Exclusion records with type, reason, dates, appeals |
behaviours | many | Behaviour incidents with type, action, status |
medical_conditions | many | Medical conditions with notes |
medical_events | many | Medical events |
medical_notes | many | Medical notes |
interventions | many | Intervention programmes with type, name, completion |
attendance_summary | one | Aggregated attendance data |
contacts | many | Parent/guardian contact details |
siblings | many | Sibling relationships |
doctors | many | GP details |
user_defined_fields | many | Custom MIS fields |
results | many | Assessment results |
Exclusions Object
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type / type_code | string | "Permanent" / "PERM", "Fixed Term", etc. |
reason / reason_code | string | "Bullying" / "BU", etc. |
start_date / end_date | date | Exclusion period |
sessions / days | decimal | Duration |
academic_year / term | string | When it occurred |
comments | string | Details |
discipline_committee_date | date | Governor panel date |
discipline_committee_result | string | Panel outcome |
appeal_received | boolean | Whether appealed |
appeal_result | string | Appeal outcome |
appeal_reinstatement_date | date | Reinstatement date |
Behaviour Object
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type | string | E.g. "Homework Issue" |
location | string | Where it occurred |
subject | string | Related subject |
class | string | Class context |
status | string | E.g. "Resolved" |
action | string | E.g. "Lunchtime Detention" |
Intervention Object
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type | string | Intervention category |
name | string | Intervention name |
comment | string | Details |
completed | boolean | Whether completed |
start_at | date | Start date |
What's NOT Available ​
- EHCP document content (only status metadata)
- Provision maps, costed provision, funding bands
- Annual review notes, tribunal data, SENCO case notes
- LA-level statutory reporting
MIS Coverage Caveat ​
Field richness depends on the school's MIS. SIMS, Arbor, and Bromcom expose the fullest SEN data. ScholarPack and smaller platforms may only provide sen_status and basic needs.
How Wonde Connects ​
- School installs Wonde Agent (on MIS server) or connects via cloud-to-cloud OAuth (Arbor, Bromcom Cloud)
- Nightly full sync + delta updates every 15 minutes
- School approves each app individually via Wonde portal, data managers review exactly what data is requested
- Webhooks for real-time event notifications (student changes, attendance marks)
- Writebacks for attendance, achievements, behaviour, but NOT for SEN fields (read-only)
Authentication: Bearer token or basic auth. Per-school access tokens. UK domain: api.wonde.com.
SDKs: PHP, Ruby, .NET. No official Node.js/TypeScript SDK, we'd build our own.
Pricing ​
Wonde has no public pricing page. Indicative costs from research:
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Developer sandbox | Free | Test with mock data |
| Onboarding | ~£750 one-off | Security review |
| Per-pupil (read-only) | ~£0.25–£0.80/yr | Varies by scope |
| Minimum commitment | ~£1,500/yr | Reportedly waivable for CICs |
Margin impact at school pricing (£1–3K/school):
| Scale | Wonde Cost | Revenue | Margin Hit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 schools (pilot) | ~£800–£2,000 | £10–30K | 3–8% |
| 50 schools | ~£4–8K | £50–150K | 3–8% |
| 200 schools | ~£12–20K | £200–600K | 3–5% |
The MAT Advantage ​
The key insight from our research: MATs can approve Wonde access centrally.
A Trust IT lead or DPO uses the Wonde Trust Admin dashboard to bulk-invite all academies. In practice, 70–80% of schools click "Approve" on day one. This means:
- One sale = 5–30 schools (vs. selling to each school individually)
- SEND benchmarking across the trust is a feature only possible with multi-school data
- IT procurement is centralised, one DPA, one data audit, one approval
For the LA segment, this model is harder (academies are independent of LA data governance). Consider Groupcall for LA customers, they have an existing "Groupcall for Local Authorities" product that many LAs already use.
Competitive Landscape ​
| Platform | UK Schools | SEN Data | LA Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wonde | ~22,000 | Good | Low | Market leader, best developer experience |
| Groupcall Xporter | ~20,000 | Basic | High | Has LA-specific product |
| Assembly (Arbor) | ~12,000 | Low | Medium | Free for Arbor schools |
| Direct MIS APIs | Per-MIS | Varies | None | Free but need multiple integrations |
EdTech Companies Using Wonde for SEND ​
| Company | Product | What They Do |
|---|---|---|
| Edukey | Provision Map | SEN provision tracking and cost analysis |
| Edukey | Class Charts | Behaviour analytics with SEND cohort views |
| B Squared | Connecting Steps | SEND assessment platform |
| CPOMS/MyConcern | Safeguarding | SEN flags for Designated Safeguarding Leads |
| GL Assessment | PASS / CAT4 | Assessment with SEND sub-group analysis |
| Evidence for Learning | E4L | Evidence capture for SEND pupils |
Integration Roadmap ​
Phase 1: Explore (Now: Free) ​
- [ ] Register developer account at wonde.com/developers
- [ ] Access sandbox, map SEN fields to our data model
- [ ] Build TypeScript API client (no official Node.js SDK exists)
- [ ] Contact Wonde sales: CIC pricing, SEN field matrix by MIS, "Groups" product
Phase 2: Pilot (When We Have School/MAT Customers) ​
- [ ] Negotiate CIC pricing
- [ ] Connect 5–10 pilot schools via a willing MAT
- [ ] Build ingestion pipeline (Wonde REST API → PostgreSQL)
- [ ] Ship SEN Register Dashboard + Attendance Gap Alerts
- [ ] Validate data quality across MIS platforms
Phase 3: Scale (If Pilot Proves Value) ​
- [ ] MAT-wide rollout with benchmarking features
- [ ] Webhook integration for real-time updates
- [ ] Investigate Groupcall for LA-specific customers
- [ ] List on Wonde's Connected Apps marketplace (600+ apps, distribution to 22K schools)
GDPR & Data Protection ​
| Role | Entity |
|---|---|
| Data Controller | Individual school |
| Data Processor | Wonde |
| Sub-processor | SpektraBot |
- SEN data is special category data, requires explicit lawful basis
- Schools approve exactly which data fields to share
- Wonde provides DPA templates for app developers
- Our DPIA would need updating to cover school-level SEN data
Verification Notes ​
All URLs verified via HTTP on 10 March 2026. Research conducted via Parliament of Owls, 22 responses across 11 models (two research rounds). Key claims that could NOT be independently verified:
- Specific per-pupil pricing, no public pricing page exists
- "Groups" LA product, URL returns 404
ehcp_status,sen_hours,sen_provisionas distinct API fields, not visible in public docs- Specific coverage numbers vary by model (18K–27K UK schools)
- Named LAs using Wonde Groups, unverified
Verified URLs: wonde.com/uk | docs.wonde.com | developers | privacy | security | PHP SDK