Chris Harvey

Hi Chris

The CM report was somewhat selective to say the least. Here are 10 key points to note:

1. OneSchool will provide for a single record per student but access is limited to the school where the student is enrolled. While there are future plans for student and parent access, this too is intended to be tighly limited.

2. The system is on the intranet, not the internet and the current release has been tested by mationally recognised security experts.

3. Photos are optional - schools do not have to include them and any publishing of student images beyond the school requires parental consent.

4. The Queenalnd Teachers Union, normally quick to criticise DETA for any perceived poor decisions, actually support this, as do the state P&C and Principal’s groups.

5. The original complaint came from a disgruntled parent who objected to very basic information being recorded about her child, even though the same information is already included on the existing student record system (name, year level, address, national test scores etc). Most of the passionate commentary that followed was fuelled by the same kind of child safety fear that plagued the handling of Denis Ferguson, but was based on a lot of misinformation and ignorance.

6. The so-called “extra curricular” activities to be recorded are those that are part of the school program (e.g. inter-school sport, lunchtime computer club, tournament of minds etc), not what the kids get up to on weekends or holidays.

7. No student will get “denied” an education for their parents refusing to supply information other than the basic stuff which is needed for enrolment already. That was a stupid comment by the Minister open to misrepresentation and the CM duly obliged.

8. The purpose for a “centralised” database (the actual data resides at the school, but the common business processes and schema mean the record can travel to subsequent schools0 is needed because at the moment, when a student arrives at a school, there is no information about them other than a transfer slip (if that). teachers are being told they have to customise learnign to the needs of individual students, but don;t have ready access to even the most basic data about a students’ academic performance, needs or interests.

9. The other major reason for this is that around 40% of students in Qld state schools will transfer from one school to another in their schooling (apart from the move from primary to high school) and supporting this kind of transient population requires an integrated info system, much in the same way as a national system underpins medicare to ensure financial coverage of patient health services can be properly supported.

10. the final reason for this is that currently there are 1300 state schools in Qld and each one has its own rather unique way of doing business, from an administration point of view. OneSchool is about more than an information system and a single student record. It is also about consistent (not uniform) business practices which is essential if the department is going to properly support schools, their students and parents.

Thanks for the extra information, I think the system sounds more reasonable after hearing the points you make!

Although I do believe the whole “parents refuse to give their consent to their child being profiled, they could also be denied access to public education” seems a bit overboard I see no problem with this idea. The points Ford brings are all very good but I wanted to add one really quickly.

Most universities, at least mines does, have a database which stores the information of all their students. The latest change in ours has been that now SS has been “removed” and changed into an ID PIN. But theyre still sensitive information there.

This is something that will always be out there. I mean most of our information is stored in one or another database out there. Be it the government, a private industry or something on those lines. I see no reason for the parents to get work up about this if they don;t realize that they themselves can also be targets of unscrupolous individuals out to get their identities. In my opinion I’d be all for the database because it can also be of a great help. Points 8-1- more or less sumarize why I’d also be in favor of it. What if a specific student is allergic to a specific medicine and in the moment of an emergency no one knows this? That question is just one example of why I’d vouch for having that database implemented. Or maybe I’m biased becasue I hold a blog on databases and have used them quite a bit…