Education Review Office

Education Review Office

Context

The Education Review Office (ERO) evaluates and reports on the education and care of students in schools and early childhood services.

ERO uses the Internet to enable public access to published reports on education providers. Ready access to information is important as ERO's findings inform choices made by parents, teachers, school managers, and trustees. This occurs at the individual school and early childhood level, and through Government policy at the national level.

The Education Review Office E-government Initiatives

• Website review
• Internal system review

Summary

Ready Access: ERO provides ready access to information and services on its website. ERO's metadata is effective for helping people to find the agency's information through the government portal.

Alignment: ERO's alignment with the Strategy is reasonable. The Internet is used effectively to provide access to information about ERO and the reports that ERO produces. There is limited potential to provide integrated information or enable direct participation in government.

Internet and Communications Technology

ERO is reviewing its website and changes will be designed to ensure that the new website complies with the Government Web Guidelines. Possible improvements to the website could also include increased interaction with participants.

As part of the website review, ERO is currently considering the interface between its back office systems and the website.

Although ERO has nine regional offices, most reviewers - who operate remotely - use a Virtual Private Network dial up connection. Password access is used for authentication. Some staff occasionally contribute to an education sector shared workspace.

Ready Access to Information and Services

Metadata

ERO's 25 metadata records reflect the agency's role. Records include 8 services and 16 documents. A particularly useful service available is the ability to find reports on local schools and education providers.

Records are generally described at an appropriate level, i.e. they are not too general or too specific. Overall, ERO's metadata is well written, effective, and appropriate for ERO's purpose.

Website Assessment

Websites assessed during May 2004 included: www.ero.govt.nz

Overall, ERO's website is of an average standard. The site's strengths are in accessibility and information delivery.

Most of the information and services ERO is required to provide can be readily accessed on its website, apart from policy content.

Key quality issues noted during the assessment included:

• Good range, depth and presentation of information content.
• Usability and site navigation could be improved for easier use.
• There is no general website search function available, but people can search for individual reports.
• Missing accessibility features, such as navigation skipping, access keys and style sheet problems may impede some physically impaired people's access.
• Most required email addresses are missing or were not answered during the assessment.
• Many broken links prevent people from accessing some content.
• Certain documents are in PDF or Word only, excluding people who are unable or unwilling to read these formats.
• Missing website policies mean people are unsure about feedback, privacy, copyright and complaints.
• Contact details could be more specific to enable responsive handling of enquiries.
• More links to other related content would be useful.

Alignment With E-government Goals

Convenience and Satisfaction

ERO's use of the Internet to provide access to information and reports aligns well with the
E-government Strategy.

The Ministry of Education uses online ERO reports to extrapolate data needed for analysis.

Integration and Efficiency

Many external websites are linked to the ERO website, especially schools that provide links to their specific ERO report. This has caused problems because over time the external links are not updated by the schools and early childhood centres.

Participation

The published reports facilitate participation by providing information so that people are able to make informed decisions about education providers.