The DfEE has created one of the most parent-friendly sites online. We investigate

Parents.dfee.gov.uk is the centre for parents on the main DfEE (Department for Education and Employment) website. The centre has two main sections: in-school and out-of-school, and additional features, including Events, Resources (Internet) and School League Tables. You’ll also find a magazine for parents and a delight picture-book called Discover, a learning tool for children.

After you have visited the educational parts of the site (and discovered how much work children have to do), you’ll know what subjects are likely to come up in exams. Then you might want to revisit Discover for fast, colourful facts on the subjects concerned. Discover is truly the fun part of the site, and you’ll appreciate its attractions more in the context of the rest of the site, which is as dry as dust.

The In School button takes you to the National Curriculum, and details about examinations and coursework assessment. Fun and games aside, these are two really useful areas. Other key attractions are:

• the structure of school administration, which includes discipline and a list of school holidays.

• selection in schools (the 1998 School Standards & Framework Act is quoted – an 11-plus exam is allowed in some areas, Banding is imposed in other areas to ensure an even spread of pupils at all levels of ability – the opposite of selection)

• social issues like drugs and travel to school.

There are lots of quotes from documents listing the legal requirements imposed by Parliament on everything from ‘Exclusions’ to ‘Uniforms’ to the ‘Education of Sick Children’. Rights and responsibilities are also listed, so when dealing with issues like Exclusion, you can find out where you stand and who to complain to.

The guide is a good entry to the complicated subject of what is taught in schools, especially at the convoluted GCSE end. Different levels of expectation determine which exam should be sat. One exam doesn’t fit all.

On one visit to the Key Stage 3 button, I found a very useful document called Which Way Now? It advises students on their choices for GCSE subjects, but it proved impossible to track the booklet down, except through the homepage search facility, and the url. It’s well worth the hunt.

The Assessment area lists all examinations, dates, syllabuses and examining boards with links to their homepages. You will need to know which examining board is appropriate, since the syllabuses differ.

The Out of School section has a lot of government bumf in between the more down to earth stuff. There’s a lot on choosing a school, and what to do if the school you choose turns down your children.

The learning at home section is disappointing, with no real content of its own. It only offers a search facility for ‘Learning on the Internet’. But there’s a link to the excellent Discover, and access to the BBC’s Bitesize Revision site.

You’ll also find information on pre-school learning, careers and higher education and adult learning. The basic details of what is available in all of these sections are given in the menus and it’s possible to move on from there to more personalized searches. The Health and Welfare details from the In School section are also repeated.

On the homepage of Parents.dfee.gov.uk is a direct link to the DfEE homepage – which has a link at the top called Parents. This opens to a site called Parents’ Gateway, and it’s well worth a look for the news and topical features on education.

http://www.parents.dfee.gov.uk