Regular reporting to parents has always been a major event in any school’s calendar. And as every teacher knows, the preparation, writing and collation of reports can be time-consuming and frustrating. When Schools’ minister Jim Knight announced at BETT in January that all parents will get regular electronic reports on their children’s progress, far beyond the traditional annual school report, there were doubtless some raised eyebrows and the scratching of heads as to how this was going to happen.
If his comments back in January didn’t put teachers on alert then Ed Balls’ statement in May certainly will have done. His desire is to have schools post students’ reports online, giving parents access as and when they need it, and in doing so, reduce the need for parents’ evenings.
There are some intriguing issues to unpick in Mr Balls’ vision. More importantly, however, is the key question of how schools can gear up to have their systems primed to handle thousands of communications with home every year.
Quite whether all teachers are in a position to go online in their reporting is another knotty question that needs discussing.
The present legislation dictates that by September 2008 all secondary schools were expected to provide information to parents covering achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and special needs, on a timely and frequent basis – this should be at least once per term.