School reports dropped to reduce workload

SCHOOL report cards and parents’ evenings are being ditched by teachers to cut down on paperwork.

One third of Scottish councils have axed the age-old and frequently feared institutions for email and short, informal meetings with parents.

The development is revealed in new research from Education Scotland. It found most teachers regard “big end-of-session reports” as a major contribution to school bureaucracy.

A report stated: “Inspectors noted that reporting to parents has been a specific cause of workload in schools.

“This issue was mentioned frequently in discussions with representatives of teachers’ professional associations and local negotiating committees for teachers about working time agreements.”

It added: “To address this issue, around a third of local authorities have introduced new, less bureaucratic approaches to reporting to parents. Their aim is to reduce unnecessary workload, while still ensuring parents get the information they need.”

The report details “emerging best practice” to cut down on workload, including more frequent, shorter reports to parents, making more effort to speak to parents at meetings, involvement of children and young people in the reporting process and increased use of emails and social media.

Seamus Searson, General Secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association said: “It’s about schools being smarter about what parents need. Often they want a shorter report.”

An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: “A number of schools are reporting using various e-comms and social media.”