It is now a requirement to include parental engagement in school curriculum planning. Research has shown that children's learning is improved when their parents or guardians discuss their education with them.
In 2009, Becta reported a study of 1000 children aged 7 to 14 and 1000
parents, showing that 82% of parents felt 'left in the dark' about their
child's education.
43% stated that they felt it difficult to extract information from their
child about their education, while 44% of children said that they did not
like talking to their parents about their day at school.
The WebAnywhere range of multimedia products and services have already been used by well over 2000 UK schools since 2003, in order to improve communication amongst staff, and between schools and parents / guardians through websites, emailed newsletters, podcasting and video braodcasting, and the sharing of online learning resources.
WebAnywhere have more recently been rolling out the next generation of
Web2.0 technology to allow more online collaboration between schools, parents
and pupils. Student Jotter is a system for e-portfolios
and Secure Social Networking and that makes use of technology
similar to that of Bebo, Facebook or MySpace.
However, only certified schools can register with the site and
all communication between pupils is closely monitored. Parental engagement
is also encouraged to help them become more actively involved in their child's
educational and social space, as well as feeling assured that their child's
online activity is as safe as possible.
SchoolAnywhere is our division that focuses on the Moodle Learning Platform. Also known as a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), an online learning platform allows teachers to upload and update website content, such as lesson plans at any time and from any location. It also facilitates distance learning as pupils can log on to complete or upload assisgnment, view or download lessons, and contribute to group activities. During homework or if a pupil is unable to attend school due to health problems for example, the parent or guardian can be at hand to get involved in their child's learning. Moodle is being adopted by the majority of UK schools and WebAnywhere is one of only three certified Moodle partners in the UK.
Learn more about our services for parental engagement in schools:
e-portfolios and Secure Social Networking - studentjotter.com
Moodle Learning Platform - schoolanywhere.co.uk