College Leads the Way

College Leads the Way

Kingswood College is one of the first schools in the area to introduce a 'digital spy' into classrooms so parents can see what their children are getting up to.
The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) manages courses, timetables, homework and tracks pupils' progress.
It comes as part of a government plan to have every secondary pupil's attendance, behaviour and performance on-line within the next two years, with primary pupil's details posted by 2012.
THe move would enable parents to monitor their child's progress daily, putting an end to relying on school reports.
Kingswood College, Scarisbrick, launched the system on Wednesday, as Principal Eric Borowski explained: ''To drive the school forward into the 21st Century.''
Mr Borowski dismissed natinal concerns the on-line updates would devalue the impact of the annual school reports, or parents' evenings.
He said: ''Staff and parents can access the information 24/7 using a secure on-line system.
It is the way forward. It also fits in with our personalised learning approach, children are treated as individuals and staff can cater for different abilities within a classroom.
Staff have been geeting to grips with the system since September and we will constantly monitor it. Parents can be contacted directly via e-mail and we are also looking into text messaging to communicate.''
Kingswood College is helping other schools which have not yet developed VLEs and will work with parents to ensure its success.
Mum Lynne McVeigh, whose chldren William, two, and Chloe, 10, attend Kingswood, welcomed the system.
''It's fantastic how far Kingswood has come in a year. '' she said. ''It's essential for the children to have access to virtual learning