School reports on paper will soon be reports of the past if Governement plans are delivered. Schools often lag behind the corporate sector and it seems that the use of the internet for online reporting to parents is soon to be a reality :
But for school reports to be online there are a few stumbling blocks that a school or school reporting system would need to overcome :
- Report Security is of paramount importance – after all these reports will be of a highly personal nature and so it is important that the school ensures they are confidential and secure.
- Report Authentication – how does a school validate the parent who claims online to be the parent of the child whom the school report concerns.
- School report system cost – with the current financial system it is difficult to see how schools can afford a new school report system.
- Teacher training – many schools are swamped with new ICT systems coming online and time needs to be provided to ensure that staff are confident users of the new school reports system.