The My School website provides more information about all of Australia's nearly 10,000 schools than has ever been available to the parents before.
It provides a report card for each school with rich information about the number of students, the number of teachers, attendance rates, literacy and numeracy outcomes from NAPLAN and the background of students going to the school.
My School also includes a statement from the school itself allowing parents to see what is unique about the school and what its mission is.
While this level of information is unprecedented we need to continue to build on the website and provide even deeper and more comprehensive information.
Work is already underway to report on school income so parents will be able to see the resources that are going into both government and non-government schools and the difference this makes.
We know that parents don't just want to know how a school is performing but whether their child will enjoy the school experience and how the school will engage with them as parents.
If re-elected the Rudd Government will work with the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority to further empower parents by surveying their satisfaction with schools with the survey results to be disclosed on My School.
The survey could ask parents what they think the strengths of the school are, as part of a balanced scorecard or comprehensive survey of experiences and their satisfaction.
It could canvass the ethos of the school and those issues that matter to parents and students such as the level of respect, quality of relationships, culture of the school and whether the school gives students a fair go.
The survey could:
- look at the issues of bullying and school safety - whether or not parents felt their child was safe at school, how teachers responded to concerns raised by parents and behaviour management strategies;
- look at how the school works with the community - the range of extra-curricular activities, P&C activities, accessibility to school facilities after hours, administration, the availability of information to parents, opportunities for parent and teachers to communicate;
- look at how the school approaches teaching and learning - look at whether teachers are helpful and easy to talk to, whether parents understand and are involved in the here opportunities to innovate in classrooms and strategies to improve performance;
- look at how the school manages transitions - the availability of information for students about subject selection, post school options and career information, access to guidance officers, support for students transitioning to high school.
The My School website is already giving parents more information than they have ever had before and the Rudd Government is committed to building on this strong foundation and empowering parents to get involved in the education of their children.