Along with the school report, the parents' evening has been their major opportunity to hear just what their offspring have been up to. Yet now it seems the days of this educational institution are numbered, thanks to a new Internet service which lets families keep track of their children's academic progress and disciplinary record on a daily basis.
Parents can then act instantly by e-mailing the school.
Under the new web-linked systems, currently used by some 50 schools in England, parents can log on to a school website from home and gain free access to all the information held on their child using a personal password or secret PIN number. PPMS are currently being installed in Greenwood Academy, Irvine, Ayrshire, and Philip Gailbraith, the head teacher, hopes to have the complete system up and running by September. One allows us to record class tests and examinations on a computer program calculates average grades and pupil targets. The other records pupil attendance every period of the day and monitors behaviour by allowing teachers to punch in information using different codes. Both systems have proved highly effective as an aid to teachers, but we are now looking at making the information available to parents.