How/ Should I share the data with parents?

STEER Tracking is an educational tool, which teachers are trained to use to inform their interactions with students. It would be very difficult to directly share students’ data with their parents for the following reasons: ∙ 

• Firstly, teachers have had professional training to analyse student data. It would not be possible for schools to train parents to the same level to be able analyse the data in the same way. The expectation is that schools will use student data to inform their conversations with parents. ∙ 
• Secondly, individual students’ data sits within a wider data sample. It would not be appropriate to share wider cohort data with individual parents. ∙ 
• Thirdly, the data forms a narrative of each student’s social and emotional development; it does not profile your child. The data is a professional tool to guide pastoral responses in school, rather than a summative record to share with parents. Students see their own data at the appropriate age (Y11) ∙
• Fourthly, students’ data is fluctuating all the time; a fluctuation does not mean there is a problem. It is an early indicator to school professionals that they need to look more carefully at an individual and adjust their response. We would not want a fluctuation to be taken out of context and to alarm parents unnecessarily. ∙
• Finally, if teachers did share data with parents, it would need to be within a lengthy dialogue for the parent to understand how to read the data. This would be a very significant investment on teachers’ time, and simply not possible to do within their work load.