School Effectiveness Criterion #6

I feel that I have provided in previous posts enough on the still emerging detail of School Effectiveness Criterion #5.  I am moving on in this post to SE Criterion #6.

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" #6  My Child’s School Gives Me The Opportunity To Be Part Of My

                            Child’s Learning (Aligns with SDP elements #s12, 13, 14)

Tom knew that an effective school works hard to make the parents true partners in the child’s education.  Each school needed to take much care in how it reported to parents.  The parents were to be informed immediately their student child demonstrated serious blocks to learning.  There were to be no cases of parents finding out weeks after the problems first surfaced with the resultant distress that this can cause. There was also a need to sample survey at least from time to time as part of the school development planning the level of satisfaction of parents with the reports they received on student learning; the general  communication from the school and the channels available to the parents for contacting the school.

Tom noted that creating a partnership with parents was a two way process with parents having open lines of communication with the school and the school providing a set of information on the school website as follows:

·    *  The details of school policies pertaining to the subjects/learning areas of the ANC and the related processes for reporting on the learning of the student offspring : this would include the compulsory NAPLAN testing outcomes and information that parent interviews would be arranged during the year.

·      * Details of the student wellbeing policies.

·      * Details of the lines of communication open to parents.

·      * Details of administrative matters such as term dates, school events, occupational health and safety procedures, school emergency evacuation procedures; medical care; record keeping and confidentiality.

·      * A broad description of the School Development Plan.

·      * The details of policies explaining how teachers keep up to date and the strict criteria for staff recruitment.

·      * The regular newsletters.

It was now appropriate for Tom to turn his thinking to the staff members of the effective school."


May the Force be with you.


GD