The role of online reporting in parent-school communication
In a recent event initiated by Becta, parents, teachers and bloggers came together to experience the benefits of online reporting in a real-life classroom environment. The venue was Oakington Manor School in North London – a school that’s leading the way by not only making technology an integral part of pupils’ learning, but also making it central to the way parents can communicate with the school.
Oakington Manor’s state-of-the-art ICT suite, equipped with interactive white boards and the latest 3D learning technology, was the setting for an interactive ‘Show and Tell’. Head of ICT, Ophelia Vanderpuye, demonstrated the online reporting technology that is revolutionising the way parents communicate with the school and stay on top of their children’s learning.
The ‘Show and Tell’ began with a demonstration of the school’s impressive learning technology which enables children to see and learn about the workings of the human body in 3D. As one parent exclaimed, “I wanted to reach out and touch it!”
The discussion then moved on to the real focus of the event – online reporting. Oakington Manor’s comprehensive information-packed learning platform is a one-stop-shop for parents to stay in touch and up to date on school news and activities and, more importantly, their children’s learning.
From interactive forums where parents can give their opinion and debate on issues relevant to their children’s learning, to a dedicated section where parents can ‘Meet the Teachers’, the online reporting platform provides accessible information to parents all from one central online hub.
A tour of the dedicated ‘Parents’ Room’ on the online platform gave parents and bloggers the opportunity to see first-hand the online tools available that enable parents to communicate directly with the school and with other parents. These tools included discussion forums, the ability to vote on topical issues like school uniform and homework, and easy one click access to important school information.
The discussion around homework and whether children were getting too much or too little at Oakington Manor School certainly sparked a stimulating debate amongst the parents, which no doubt will be continued online.
For most parents, their memories of school reports involve a hard copy report once a term, and occasional parents’ evenings. This event demonstrated how much this approach to reporting has developed and, most importantly, showed how easy online reporting makes it for parents to stay up to date with their child’s experiences and progress in school.
By enabling parents to become more closely involved in their child’s education and teachers to update parents with in-school activity, technology is making end of term reports and parents’ evenings more useful too.
As Simon Shaw, Head of Institutional Management at Becta, points out “Parents now have the opportunity to find information about their child’s progress online, so when they do receive a report on paper or come into school to discuss with teachers face to face how their child is progressing and how they as parents can support their child’s learning, there are no surprises”.
About Oakington Manor Primary school
Oakington Manor is a large three-form entry primary school with 717 pupils aged between 3 and 11 years. The school is located near Wembley Stadium, in the London Borough of Brent.
Almost all of the pupils are from a wide range of minority ethnic groups, and two thirds are from homes in which English is a second language. One third of the pupils have learning difficulties and disabilities.
During its 2007 Ofsted inspection, Oakington Manor was rated as Outstanding in seven areas, including pupil achievement, teaching and learning and leadership and management.
The school has its own radio station, video conferencing system and a collaborative learning platform. In spring 2009, the school launched the 'ICT 4 Home' project, which provided 95 Year 4 pupils with access to their own Asus minibooks for home learning.
The school has recently invested in a full redevelopment of the ICT suite and library, providing a new state-of-the-art Learning Resource Centre. The main outstanding feature of this building is the use of 3D technology, which will form a major part of cross-curricular ICT teaching strategy.
Find out more about Oakington Manor – visit the school website, or catch up with the school and its followers on Twitter.