Merlin's Parental Engagement Toolkit brings a host of information from the school management information system to display key data and statistics supporting the emerging need for schools to both inform and engage parents.
Now freely available to all schools throughout the South West the tools allow schools to share online reporting data including timetable, attendance, behaviour, assessment and learning progress in parent friendly screens. Data is updated dynamically via your school management information system saving schools precious time.
Parents access Merlin via secure password access to view data, student eportfolios and an array of school information including event calendars, policies, photograph albums, shared areas and even the head teachers blog! Parent accounts are automatically created and updated via your school management information system reducing the administrative burden.
The Parental Engagement Toolkit also includes Individual Learning Plans enabling students, teachers and parents to share learning goals, targets, progress and profiles. The use of ICT can enhance already well-established partnerships with parents. Parental engagement is a decisive factor in determining learner achievement, as parents benefit from being:
- More informed and involved in their child's learning and target setting
- Enabled to review and support their child's learning
- Able to access organisational information easily
- More aware of best practise and outstanding work
- Aware of homework tasks enabling them to support their child
- Engaged in consultation and policy decisions
Engaging Parents Online
Merlin can manage learning resources, homework, blogs, student areas, diaries, discussions and lesson plans, extending the walls of the classroom. Are you actively using Merlin with Staff and Pupils?
There are many ways to help parents keep in touch with their childs learning from class pages to eportfilios, have you used Merlin to engage with your parents?
Top tips for engaging with parents
Creating an eportflio is a great way of sharing work with teachers, parents and peers. Are pupils using Merlin to share their work with parents?
Adopting a learning platform requires commitment from the school leadership team. Have your senior leadership team committed to the implementation of Merlin?
Learning Platforms - Steps to Adoption
The use of ICT can enhance already well-established partnerships with parents and schools should consider the options for sharing information with parents and reflect on what can be made publically available to any audience, secure to your school community, or viewable by named individuals.
Online Reporting Guidance
In order to make use of the new online reporting tools within Merlin schools will need to be using SIF. SIF is International framework for information management. Schools will install a SIF agent directly on to their manangement information system (MIS). The SIF agent enables Merlin user accounts and group memberships to be generated automatically from the school MIS. The changes that are made in the school MIS will be reflected in the Merlin site. User accounts that have been created in this way will be able to access additional features in Merlin including access to online reporting data such as timetable, behaviour, attendance and assessment for students, teachers and parents.
Apply for SIF Agent now!
Preparing for Online Reporting
If you have already started to engage your parents online, there are some steps you can take now to prepare for online reporting.
Parents can logon with their child to find out what their children are learning in class, homework that has been set, links to useful sites and resources, photographs of events, and even the headteachers blog!
Create a class space
Parental Engagement is a decisive factor in determining learner achievement so why not point the way for parents to help with school work, homework, and extend learning beyond the classroom?
Parents as Partners
Most parents are keen to see the view examples of their children's learning but it is not always possible for them to get into the classroom; creating an e-protfolio can be a great way to share work with teachers parents and other Merlin users.
Adding to an e-portfolio
Most pupils have achievements they want to celebrate both within school and beyond. A showcase can be a powerful tool to help evidence those achievements, sharing photos, certificates, pupils work as well as comments which reflect on how you felt at the time.
Create and use a showcase
Sharing goals and targets can help pupils focus on what they want to achieve, work towards a specific skill or desired outcome, and help teachers and parents to understand what students are interested in and where they are heading.
Add and edit goals
How to add a learning targets
Manage targets
Getting Started with Online Reporting
Schools will need to ensure that thier MIS data is in a format that can be read and understood by a range of users, including pupil, parents and staff. Schools should take time to check thier MIS data to ensure that the process is smooth.
Preparing your MIS for online reporting
Merlin can provide both summative and formative reporting tools in addition to attendance, behaviour and timetable information, with the option to turn off certain elements. Have you consulted with parents to find out what information they want and in what format?
Parental Engagement Questionnaire
Schools make have a particular aspect of learning or behaviour management they want to address through working with parents and will need to consider which of the online tools will be most effective at supporting these aims.
Parental Engagement Development Template