More Than Eight out of Ten Parents* in Favour of Online School Reporting

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Posted on Thursday, 10 January 2008 00:00

Pearson Fronter, one of the UK’s leading providers of management information systems (MIS) for schools, today released the results of an online survey of almost 2000 British adults, showing that more than eight out of ten (82 percent) parents with children 17 and under are in favour of online school reporting of progress and behaviour.

Of those 47 percent said that it would help them to feel more involved in their child’s education and giving them a greater understanding of their educational development. The survey, carried out by YouGov Plc polled 1,988 adults online in January, 2008 with figures weighted to be representative of all GB adults.

According to the survey, 51 percent of parents of children 17 and under still rely upon their child to deliver school reports to them with only 17 percent receiving half termly reports and 33 percent receiving reports once a year or less. Of the parents who would be keen to be able to check their child’s progress online, just eight percent felt that they were already fully involved in their child’s education.

“It’s clear from looking at the results of this survey that parents feel left out in the cold when it comes to keeping abreast of their child’s progress through school and it’s little wonder when many parents only receive a formal report once a year,” said Roger Plant, Education Systems Director, Pearson Fronter. “It’s obvious that there is a real desire from parents to be more involved and using the Internet to get real-time reports is going to be a vital part of that involvement. The widespread nature of the Internet and forthcoming government initiatives mean that it will not be long before all parents will benefit from fast and secure access to up to the minute assessments.”

Pearson Fronter is a leading provider of school management systems at both primary and secondary levels. Its flagship product, e1, is a fully hosted, Internet-based system that allows pupils, teachers, parents and government departments to quickly and securely access a range of information including progress, behavioural and attendance reports. Requiring nothing more than the ability to access the Internet, teachers are also able to upload marking and assessment figures whilst at home or at school, providing greater flexibility in the way they work.