Introduction of VLE

Southport Visiter - Friday 11th January 2008

Parents in Southport will soon be able to use the internet to spy on how well their children are performing at school, what lessons they are taking and when.
Greenbank High and Kingswood College are among the first schools in our area which are already implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) system to manage courses, timetables, homework and track learners' 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 pupils' details posted by 2012.
The move would enable parents to monitor their child's progress daily, putting an end to the days of relying on youngsters bringing home school reports at the end of term.
Principal Eric Borowski dismissed national concerns that the online updates would devalue the impact of the annual school report and stressed it would not replace the reports or parents' evenings.
He said: '' Staff and parents can access the information 24/7 using a secure on line system.
Staff have been getting to grips with the system since September and we will constantly monitor it. Parents can be contacted directly via e-mal and we are also looking into text messaging to communicate instantly.''
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 children William, two, and Chloe, 10, attend Kingswood, welcomed the system. She said it was an effective way for parents to be involved in their children's education.
''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.''
This government initiative applies to all primary and secondary schools, but not to colleges.

Posted 11/01/08