We already have a web site. Why should we invest in SchoolDocs as well?

SchoolDocs provides you with a web site, but it is specifically for your policy and procedure document set, and is maintained on your behalf by SchoolDocs. This doesn't replace your school web site - and of course you can easily provide a link to your SchoolDocs site from your school web site - it will look like this: http://yourschool.schooldocs.co.nz.

Why should we give up our existing policy and procedure set?

Policies and procedures are a necessary part of school life. However, they are not the reason a school exists. SchoolDocs believes that principals and Boards need to be supported to focus on leading learning. SchoolDocs provides content expertise, delivery expertise, and the ability for schools to collaborate painlessly to develop best practice.

What about our school's special character?

SchoolDocs incorporates "surface-level" school-specific features such as colours and logos, and also deeper features such as your school charter, curriculum plan, and other special characteristics, such as Catholicism.

What if we want to add something that isn't in the SchoolDocs document set?

For a small fee you can have extra material. If you propose a document that is likely to appeal to many schools, SchoolDocs may incorporate it into the generic set, in which case there is no customisation charge to your school.

What about members of our community who don't have Internet access?

We suggest that you make a computer available in the office for parents to access. In the case of online reviews, you can print a supply of review forms for parents to complete manually, then the office staff can upload these paper reviews into the online system.

Can we exit after a period of time, and what are we left with?

Your investment is safe. If you decide to exit the service, SchoolDocs will supply a Word version of the policy and procedure document set for you to maintain and manage.

How can we request changes?

Parents, staff, and board members can send feedback at any time to the principal, by simply clicking the Send Feedback button in a topic and entering their comments into a pre-addressed email to the principal. Depending on the nature of this feedback, the principal may then choose to forward the feedback to SchoolDocs. In addition, the online policy review function enables all schools to gather feedback on the documents listed on the review schedule. SchoolDocs sends advisory emails to remind all schools that it is time to review a particular document. Depending on the specific document, review comments can then be solicited from the Board, staff, and parents/caregivers.

What happens to the review comments?

All review comments on the content of a particular policy go to SchoolDocs for consideration. The SchoolDocs team will then involve the appropriate experts to decide what, if any, action needs to be taken to improve the existing policy. Any new version of the policy will then be circulated to member schools, so that you can make the decision whether to accept the new version for your school.

What if we disagree with the SchoolDocs policy recommendation?

You don't have to accept the generic policy - for a small fee you can have your own custom version of the policy. If you propose another version that is likely to appeal to many schools, SchoolDocs may adopt it as an alternative generic policy, in which case there is no customisation charge to your school.

What happens to review comments about how a particular policy is implemented in our school?

SchoolDocs collects this information as part of the online policy review, mainly to help you meet your statutory requirement to consult with your community. Your school can access your school's implementation review comments, and take the appropriate action based on the feedback you receive. SchoolDocs will not do anything with your implementation feedback, apart from treat it as strictly confidential to your principal and Board.

What if the computers are down?

SchoolDocs publishes a list of documents that schools should keep in hard copy in case of system failure, and reminds schools to keep the hard copies up-to-date (as part of the advisory service).

Do we need any special software?

The SchoolDocs service simply requires an internet browser and internet access. From time to time we experience issues with a particular school's internet security permissions, however SchoolDocs will work with you to resolve any problems of this sort.

Are there any hidden costs?

SchoolDocs charges a yearly subscription, plus a fee for each page of customisation that is outside the standard tailoring that we provide for all schools. If you are unsure about whether your requirements are tailoring or customisation, please contact the SchoolDocs Business Development Manager.

What's the typical process of engagement?

Click here for an overview of the typical steps involved.

How do we adopt our new set of SchoolDocs policies and procedures?

The transition from a school’s existing set of policies and procedures to the SchoolDocs set is a process that occurs over a period of time. It starts before subscribing to SchoolDocs, when principals and Boards of Trustees first engage with the Demo Site (containing our core set of policies and procedures) and maybe one or two of our reference school sites. On subscribing, the principal completes the tailoring questionnaire which provides SchoolDocs with the detail required to tailor the site to your school. At this point the principal is engaging with the content and using some information from their existing set of policies and procedures.

When SchoolDocs has prepared your school’s site, the principal is asked to review the special content before it goes live to the community. There are various other ways of engaging more fully with the content, for example, the Health and Safety committee could review the Heath and Safety content and the various committees of the Board of Trustees could engage with their particular section of the set. At some point the Board of Trustees may formally resolve to adopt their new set of policies and procedures, working on the basis that over the next three years content will all be reviewed and/or audited.

How do we sign up?

Ask your SchoolDocs Business Development Manager to get in touch and give you a chance to have a closer look at SchoolDocs. If you decide to subscribe, we'll send you a Service Agreement for signing. Once you have returned your signed Service Agreement and completed the Tailoring Questionnaire (which gathers your school-specific information), SchoolDocs will create your school's site, then email you when it is ready for you to review. It is usual for the school to have further change requests at this stage, because this is the first time you get to see your site. Once you are happy that the site reflects your requirements, you can advertise the site, and its username and password, to your school community. SchoolDocs will add your details to the advisory list and you're in business with SchoolDocs!

Why do we use SchoolDocs for our policies and procedures?

Your school has chosen to subscribe to SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review your school's policies and procedures. By working collaboratively, each SchoolDocs school can afford regularly reviewed and maintained policies and procedures in an online searchable set - without individuals at the school spending countless hours researching, writing, formatting, and circulating documents.

This means that the Board and principal’s main focus can be directed to leading learning and improving school achievement.

Where did the policies and procedures come from?

At sign up, SchoolDocs provided the school with a comprehensive core set of policies that are well researched and follow the Ministry of Education National Administration Guidelines. This core set replaced the school's core policies and procedures. Information specific to your school was gathered through a tailoring questionnaire and used to modify the core (see below).

What about the details that are specific to our school?

Your school provided specific information through a detailed questionnaire, to enable SchoolDocs to tailor the website for the school. Some of the policies and procedures, or parts of them, apply specifically to your school. For example, Reporting to Parents, the school Charter, Behaviour Management, and many others, were provided to SchoolDocs by your school and uploaded to your SchoolDocs site.

How do we know the policies are up to date?

SchoolDocs monitors the policies and creates or updates them in response to changes in legislation, significant events, Ministry guidelines, reviews or feedback requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Your board of trustees has the opportunity to view new or changing policies. Sometimes this involves a change in practice at the school, or a change to the new content to make it work for your school.

Is there a formal review process?

Based on NZ law, ERO compliance requirements, and best practice, schools must review certain policies at regular intervals. These policies are listed in the review schedule, along with who the stakeholders are for each policy. Our stakeholders review both the wording of the policy, and the school's implementation of it. You can see more about this in the demonstration on the SchoolDocs website. The SchoolDocs community is growing steadily with over 100 schools now using the service. Policy reviews are receiving more and more feedback comments, and our collaborative philosophy ensures that schools receive the benefit when a diverse range of people consider the content.

What if we see something wrong on our site?

Any person reading the content can click the Send Feedback button (at the top right of every page) if they wish to comment on the text. This feedback goes to the principal, who can respond appropriately. If the feedback should result in a change to the wording, the principal should forward it to admin@schooldocs.co.nz.

I've heard about the Dashboard - what is it and who can see it?

The Dashboard is accessed by visiting www.schooldocs.co.nz and logging in using the principal's login. It provides the principal, admin staff, and the Board with links to the Demo site, the tailoring questionnaire, implementation review ratings and comments and past advisories. It also contains instructions for use at review time - so admin staff can tell stakeholders what they need to do to participate in the review.

New Board members should ask the principal how to access the Dashboard.

I've heard about Advisories - who gets them and what do they involve?

SchoolDocs maintains regular contact with the school by sending Advisory emails throughout the year. These contain reviews, reminders, upcoming changes, and other information that relates to school policies and procedures. Advisories are sent to the principal and up to two other school contacts as specified in the tailoring questionnaire. The principal can choose to forward the advisory on to others as appropriate.

Past Advisories are also available on the Dashboard.

If you have questions about who receives Advisories at your school, or you want to change the recipients, email admin@schooldocs.co.nz.

What can I do if I have trouble accessing the site?

Use your SchoolDocs community user name and password to access your site. The passwords are case-sensitive so make sure you don't have your Caps Lock key on. If you are still having problems, contact us on 03 977 8639 or email admin@schooldocs.co.nz.

How can I find out more about how to use SchoolDocs?

You can find out more about SchoolDocs by exploring this website and viewing the demos and presentation. You can also contact us!