Opinion Piece 2

More informed parents mean better support at home and more engaged children. But what do schools need to think about before they put these pupils’ details online for parents to access?

Accuracy
Is the pupil information that schools have on their systems correct? The answer to this maybe yes but now is probably the best time to find out if a school’s information policies need tightening.

And it is probably the moment to have a chat with teachers to ensure they know the information on their management information system will soon be shared with parents and pupils. The content will become more informative as a result and knowing this should stifle the desire to add the more creative comments on pupils’ behaviour logs.

Support
Schools also need to think about support. As more information and learning materials go online, do they want to be responsible for the system when it goes down during the week (or worse, the weekend) when pupils or parents are checking results or uploading important materials for an assignment? Would the school IT person, the local authority or a separate supplier be best placed to deal with this?

Security is also a very important consideration to make sure children’s information remains secure.

The Have Nots
What about those parents without a computer at home or work (as often these are precisely the parents schools want to reach). The most sensible view I have heard on this matter from schools is that online should be used not to replace all other means of communications but should simply be another way of getting parents involved. This way you continue to reach everyone until access to the internet via a PC or mobile device is ubiquitous.

And for one school that I spoke to who has already implemented an online reporting system, the benefits are clear – it is helping them ‘teach’ parents to be more involved.

Phil Neal is Director of SIMS for Capita. To interview Phil on any of the issues raised in this piece or to ask him to write an article, contact Catherine Lane, Catherine Lane PR, Tel: 07092 864 764,
Email: catherine@catherinelane.com

Capita supply SIMS Learning Gateway, a single, secure web-based gateway into the data held in a school's SIMS management information system and other standard school applications. The system gives parents, staff, pupils and local authorities easy access to all the school information and news they need, wherever they happen be. Website: www.capitaes.co.uk