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❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks details about the Department of Education's 'Connect' web portal, including staffing, costs, development process, and alternatives. The response provides information on staff involvement, costs, development timeline, and usage across public schools.

AnsweredQoN 2002Legislative Council

Asked

14 March 2019

Member

Hon Colin de Grussa

Portfolio

Education and Training

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the Department of Education's "Connect" web portal and other web-based applications for various electronic devices, and I ask: (a) are any of the development, testing, installation and support functions for these systems performed by staff of the Department of Education; (b) if yes to (a), please provide details on the following: (i) the number and level of staff and FTE from the Department of Education who are involved in providing the "Connect" system; (ii) the breakdown of staff and FTE numbers for each of the functions at (a); and (iii) the total cost of employment for all staff involved in the provision of the Connect System; (c) if yes to (a), on what date did the development of the system commence; (d) what alternative systems were investigated by the Department before the "Connect" system was implemented; (e) is the "Connect" system continuously evaluated against other systems and are parents, teachers or students asked to provide feedback on "Connect"; (f) what are the costs of these alternative systems identified in the response to (d); (g) were schools and parents consulted on the requirements of the system; (h) how many public schools in Western Australia: (i) use the "Connect" system; and (ii) use the "Connect" system in conjunction with another alternative system; (i) are public schools or parents charged a fee for the use of the "Connect" system; (j) if yes to (I), what is this fee; and (k) if no to (a), please provide the following details: (i) the name of the developer of the system; (ii) the cost of the development of the system to-date; and (iii) details on how the contract for development of the system was awarded and when?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

11 April 2019

Responded by

Minister for Education and Training

Response time

9 days

(a)        Yes. Staff participate in User Acceptance Testing and provide support for schools concerning the implementation and use of Connect.
(b)        (i) 3.5 FTE consisting of 2.5 FTE Public Service Level 7 officers and 1.0 FTE Public Service Level 6 officer
(ii)
PS Level
FTE
Number of Officers
Function
PS7
2.5
3
School leadership consultation, training and support.
User Acceptance Testing
PS6
1.0
1
Project and school support
User AcceptanceTesting
(iii) The 2018-19 salaries and superannuation costs for 3.5FTE is $427 206.
(c)        2011.
(d)       None.
(e)        Connect is regularly reviewed against other systems as well as global trends in online learning environments. Consultation with staff, students and parents is ongoing.
(f)        Not applicable.
(g)       Yes.
(h)       (i) During February 2019 Connect was accessed by users in 794 public schools.
(ii) Individual schools may determine which third-party systems they use. Schools are not currently required to report this information.
(i)        No.
(j)        Not applicable.
(k)       Not applicable.

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