Getting Started with Scout!
What is Scout?
Scout is the Department of Education's data and analysis platform developed to provide better information about our schools, easily accessed in one central place. It is accessed online, with a range of reports that provide visual representations of relevant information to teachers and school leaders.
You can learn more from the Scout overview.
Why use Scout?
Scout does the heavy lifting of data collection and analysis, presenting different data sources all in one place so you can have more information at your fingertips. These key insights can help you to make better decisions in your role supporting students in our schools.
Teachers can use Scout to review and monitor their students’ assessment results, student growth and performance trends, as well as data about the school community. This knowledge can help teachers to identify student strengths and areas for improvement, and better structure and plan their classes.
In addition to student performance reports, Scout provides directors, principals and school leadership teams with access to a wide range of school operations information, from asset management to school attendance, to assist with strategic planning and reporting processes.
How do I get started?
Step 1 – Complete Scout Introduction (NRG03295) - a short overview of Scout and data privacy. This presentation takes most users less than fifteen minutes.
Step 2 – Use Scout!
Access will be automatically granted in 1-2 days after completing the introduction and you will be able to explore the reports in Scout. Add Scout as an essential in your portal home page or bookmark the Scout webpage.
Take a look now!
Demonstration reports have been created to provide a quick look at what is available in Scout. These reports have no identifiable student or staff information, so they are perfect for sharing, training and testing purposes.
All department staff can get a feel for the reports and apps in Scout instantly via the Scout Demo.
Want to learn more?
Most users find they are able to dive straight into Scout, since the reports are intuitive and interactive. Each report has a detailed guide explaining each part of the report and what it represents. Look for the report explanation link across the top of each report page.
For those who prefer to have more guidance and support while they become familiar with Scout we have options available at the training and capability building webpage:
Exploring Scout
This online learning module can be completed at your own pace with detailed information about Scout. The course includes basic orientation of the layouts, features and functions of the Scout platform through to some example scenarios to show new users how to use and apply the information inside the reports.
Understanding Scout
These webinars are open to all schools and staff and are ideal for those who prefer a live learning environment. These sessions will include similar content to the online module condensed into a one-hour presentation.