The Parent Portal will be rolled out to all Canberra public schools by the end of term 2, 2024. Photo: ACT Public Schools.
Say goodbye to pulling old permission slips covered in mushed banana from school bags – a new online alternative is being rolled out in public schools across the ACT.
The Parent Portal was trialled at nine Belconnen schools during term 4, 2023, with a more than 90 per cent uptake from families.
Education Minister Yvette Berry described the time saved by parents and carers – particularly those with several children – as “priceless”.
“Understanding what’s happening inside the school day with their child’s schedule, school classes, breaks, everything – parents now know, it’s no longer a mystery,” she said.
“If you’re a parent in a school, not having all those notes lost in the bottom of a bag or even knowing when there’s an excursion longer than a day [and finding out] the night before, that’s going to be a game changer.
“Also for schools, not having that mad rush at the end … to pay [for an excursion] or get a child ready for class or have an assignment put in … it’s making a huge difference.”
The system will be rolled out across terms 1 and 2 from preschool to college to allow families to let their school know if their child is sick, book parent-teacher interviews, receive past and current academic reports, receive their school’s newsletter, receive messages from their child’s teacher, get daily notices of school activities, update contact details and make payments.
ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Association executive officer Veronica Elliott described the portal as a “one-stop shop”.
“For families with multiple children, that’s great because that information is often stored in different places on school websites, so this [portal] takes a lot of stress out of having to navigate different pages,” she said.
“One of the best advantages parents are finding is being able to pay for excursions or camps or voluntary contributions online really quickly. They can also set up their own payment plans in there, which is really helpful.”
If you prefer communicating through email or hard copies or find technology challenging to navigate or access, those options will still be available, but it’s expected the Parent Portal will become the key online communication tool used by all ACT public schools.
Parents and carers with children across multiple schools won’t need to sign up to the system twice; instead, they can add each student to their portal once their school has access.
All ACT public schools are expected to have access to the Parent Portal by the end of term 2.
Twenty schools in North Canberra and Gungahlin will be first off the bat during term 1.
The portal will also be rolled out for parents with children at Jervis Bay School, in flexible education, and who are part of the ACT Instrumental Music Program.
Information will be provided to families as the portal comes online at each individual school.
Further details can also be found online.
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