MANAGING ICT


With many secondary schools now reporting to


parents online, Phil Neal takes a look at the trends we have seen so far and also comments on the possible applications of texting technology


have online reporting technology in place. The objective for these changes was to help raise pupil achievement by encouraging parents to become more involved with their child’s education. Anyone that works in education knows how crucial


S


it is to have parents working with their children and supporting their learning. Countless research findings have informed us of the benefits of parents encouraging their children at home. And according to the soon to be defunct Becta, 89 per cent of parents believe that technology could help them become more involved in their child’s education. Termly or half-termly reports are simply not sufficient anymore. Many schools have already reported real benefits


from online communication. Some schools have seen results rise while others have seen an improvement in behaviour by keeping parents up-to-date with their child’s performance. Peter Kensington, assistant head at South Dartmoor Community College in Devon, said that a number of


CHOOLS HAVE started to embrace parental engagement in a big way after the last government put a big push behind the campaign to report online to parents. The start of this term marked the deadline for all secondary schools to


Parental reporting


pupils have “undoubtedly improved their performance thanks to closer parental involvement”. Craig Allen, from Devon County Council, which


is implementing these online systems in its schools, added: “Providing up-to-date attendance information to parents has had the desired effect of bringing down truancy. Schools have found that once parents can see and check-up on their child’s whereabouts, it is easier for them to work with their sons and daughters at home to ensure they attend school and arrive on time.” Access to information on a child’s performance,


behaviour and attendance gives parents a deeper understanding of their children’s school life and enables


them to lend support when necessary. This information is generally readily available in a school’s management information system and so, with the correct technology and a bit of work, it has been a relatively straightforward process to get the data online and improve the flow of information to parents. But it is not always the information that teachers see


as important that draws parents in. One head recently spoke about the feedback that he had received from parents. He said: “What was surprising was the sort of information they wanted. We placed the highest priority on assessment and behaviour information, but for parents, the more basic information was just as important; knowing what their child ate at school or


accessing the school diary so they could plan their time around school events.” Although online reporting does provide a two-way


dialogue between schools and parents, the fact remains that it requires some motivation on the parents’ part. If parents are busy, uninterested or have a child who performs averagely most of the time, they may not feel the need to keep going back to a website for updates. Some schools have used texting technology to help


with this issue, as communicating directly via text can often prompt parents to go online to look for more in-depth information. However, texting is often used to pass on information


that is important, but is generally of a one-off nature – and it is mainly used to deliver bad news. This may be notification of a delayed return from a school trip, the fact that the school is closed, or that a child has not turned up as expected. While these messages are important, they do very little to engage a parent in their child’s education. More savvy schools have started to turn this thinking


on its head and also send good news home to parents. A change in circumstances perhaps, such as a child that suddenly starts getting a lot of achievement points, or a child that has come in the top 10 in a test. This type of information allows parents to discuss


events with their children while they are still relevant and fresh. This may be to congratulate the child on their attainment, ask questions regarding a change in performance, or make enquiries about incidences of good or poor behaviour. It offers schools the ability to contact those parents


– the hard-to-reach group – who may not access information online or indeed regularly visit the school, for whatever reason. Texting tools should be able to re-use information as


part of the workflow being performed. Systems can be set up to send information out automatically at the end of a particular work process, so you could set it up to send parents information when the timetable has been created or the end-of-year reports are published so an additional administration task is not created. A parent who knows what is happening in school


can support their son or daughter more effectively. Anyone who has worked in a school knows the incredible effect that a little bit of encouragement from home can have on some children. Technology can help us achieve this even for those parents that are a little less able or willing than others.


SecEd


• Phil Neal is managing director of SIMS for Capita Children’s Services.


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SecEd • October 21 2010


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