A new Becta survey reveals that parents are more in touch with their mobile phone bills and bank balance than how well their children are doing at school.
According to the survey, eight out of ten parents surveyed do not feel they get enough updates on their child's progress and would welcome more regular feedback from schools. Over two-thirds of parents would also like schools to use technologies such as text messaging and the internet to communicate with them more frequently. Currently, only 8% of parents surveyed are kept informed using these methods.
Banks do better job than schools
With busy working lives, many parents are now asking that schools adopt a similar approach to banks and mobile phone companies who already update their customers via the internet and text messaging.
- 74% of parents said they monitored their bank balance by phone or online at least once a month.
- 67% of parents received information from their mobile phone provider once a month or more frequently.
- Only 15% of parents surveyed were told about their child's progress at school at least once a month.
- 85% said they were only updated four times a year or less.
Traditional school parents' evenings are still the most common way that parents are kept abreast of their children's progress, with four in five parents saying this is the method used by their children's schools.
Online reporting is the way forward
Fortunately more and more schools are developing their own learning platforms that, along with other benefits, offer online reporting. If your school is on the ball, you should have secure 24/7 access to information on your child’s progress, achievement, attendance, behaviour and special educational needs.
This is a much more convenient way to stay in touch with your school and a great way to get closer to, and support your child’s learning. Research shows that where schools enable parents to engage more with school activities and have meaningful conversations with their children about their school work, this leads to significant improvements in achievement.
The good news is that the technology required to deliver frequent updates via the internet or text is already available in schools. Today, Becta is urging parents to talk to their child's school to find out how technology is already being used and also to discuss ways it can help improve day-to-day communications between them and the school in the future.
The Government's e-strategy sets the expectation that from September 2008 all maintained schools will be expected to start the move towards online reporting with:
- all secondary schools providing parents with online reports by September 2010
- all primary schools meeting the requirement by September 2012.
Niel McLean, Becta's Executive Director, Institutional Workforce Directorate and spokesperson for Becta's Next Generation Learning Campaign which is driving the effective and innovative use of technology in learning said: "Engaging parents is key to a child's success at school. Yet it appears parents and schools are not talking as much, or as frequently, as parents would like."
Tanya Byron, clinical psychologist and TV parenting expert, said: "I think that parents are right to be asking to have greater and more regular access to information relating to their children's development at school. Using a variety of digital platforms, such as the internet and text, will enable schools and parents to have a greater collaborative relationship, which can only benefit each child."
Mr McLean added: "Parents want more updates about their child's progress at school. Using technology, there are many ways to increase the frequency and quality of contact parents have with schools. This can be done easily and cost effectively, without putting extra pressure on teachers."