Something we hear often in parent consultations: "I did not know where to see the grades, so I just went by what my child told me." But official channels for parents to look this up themselves already exist. There are two, and they do different things.

NEIS parent service — look at your child

This is the parent-facing service of the National Education Information System (NEIS), run by the Ministry of Education and provincial offices of education. It is available on desktop and as a mobile app.

The items you can look up are as follows.

• Grades — results of written assessments such as mid-term and final exams, and performance assessment results
• Attendance — records of lateness, absence and early leaving
• The school record
• Timetable and academic calendar, school meal menus
• Health records

What matters here is that you can see performance assessment results too. Middle and high school grades are produced by combining written and performance assessment weightings, so not knowing the performance marks means not knowing half the grade.

To use it you need to verify your identity and register your child. Do it once at the start of term and it is available immediately thereafter.

School Info — look at the school

School Info collects the information schools are legally required to disclose. What matters is that this is disclosure material, not marketing.

The items most useful when choosing a school are these.

• Students per class and staffing
• Curriculum organisation and delivery — which subjects are offered
• Where graduates go
• School violence incidents and how they were handled, and students discontinuing study
• Basic school information and the academic calendar

It is material you can look at instead of a school's name and its reputation when choosing a high school, or when a move means changing schools.

Checking before a meeting changes the meeting

Looking at these two before you go changes the quality of a parent consultation, because you can ask specific questions instead of "how is my child doing?".

• "This performance assessment area is low — which part was weak?"
• "There are a few late marks on attendance; could I ask what the circumstances were?"
• "This activity is recorded in the school record; I would like to know how the school viewed it."

They are easier questions for a teacher to answer too, and they make far better use of a short meeting.

A word on the relationship with your child

Being able to look does not mean it is fine to look every day. Middle and high school children in particular can experience it as surveillance.

What we suggest is setting an interval: after exams, mid-term, end of term — fixed points, and only then. And use what you find as material for conversation rather than grounds for interrogation. Not "why is this like this?" but "what could we do about this part?".

Where to find performance assessment weightings is set out in Middle School. Read together, the structure of a grade becomes visible at a glance.

In summary

NEIS parent service for your child, School Info for the school. Both are official and free. The basis for not having to rely on your child's account and on rumour is already in place. Just do not forget to set an interval for looking.