Proactive release of information
Releasing information to your school's community, especially before being asked to, can do many positive things for your board.
It's an essential part of community engagement because it promotes openness, transparency, trust, and confidence.
When people feel informed, they're more likely to engage in a positive and constructive way, which makes decision-making easier for everyone.
Being upfront also helps reduce misunderstandings and shows your board is accountable and approachable.
In this article we'll unpack what proactive release is, take a deeper look at its benefits, and how it can support your board.
What is proactive release?
According to the Ombudsman, a proactive release is when agencies publish official information (usually online) without being asked for it.
Your board can identify what information it could release proactively and factor this into your board's communications plan.
It's a good idea to make this information accessible to everyone, including people who use assistive technologies to read or access information online.
What are the benefits of proactive release?
These are just some of the most common benefits.
Your board may discover some that aren't on this list:
- More community engagement and participation in board decision-making.
- Increased community understanding of board decisions.
- Strengthens the accountability of your board around its decisions.
- Ensures the information reaches a wider audience.
- Helps your board have more consistent messaging.
- Greater flexibility to decide when and how your board releases information.
- Your board can write and frame the release, giving your audience a simple, clear message.
- Allows your board to become a reliable and authoritative source of school information.
- Eases the pressure of responding to individual information requests made to your board by:
- Reducing the need for some requests altogether by directing requesters to information that has already been published.
- Managing expectations about when the information will become available, helping requesters narrow down what they ask for.
What information should your school board release proactively?
Some information, such as your board's strategic plan, annual implementation plan, annual report, and statement of variance are already required to be published on your school's website in a form that is easily understandable to your school community.
Some of your board policies and procedures are also required to be available to your school community, such as your Reducing Student Distress and Use of Physical Restraint Policy, and Child Protection Policy.
Most of the information shared with the Ministry of Education about your school is also available to your school community via the Education Counts website.
However, because this takes time to process, it is several years behind the school's current position, so your board should consider proactively releasing this information once it has been collated.
This could include:
- A breakdown of your school population by year group, gender, and ethnicity (provided you have more than six individuals in each category).
- Student attendance data.
- Student achievement data by subject area, year group, gender, and ethnicity (provided readers are not able to identify individual students).
Any Education Review Office (ERO) reports should also be communicated to your community and published on your school's website.
In order to keep your community informed, you should also publish your board agenda, minutes, and board papers as soon as they are available.
Communicate any feedback on strategic issues your board is considering, such as new and reviewed bylaws and the health curriculum.
Note: There may also be occasions when your board can proactively release information that has been requested under the Official Information Act 1982open_in_new because it may be of use or interest to other people.
Releasing this information must be considered carefully to ensure you do not publish anything inappropriate to release to anyone other than the requester (under the Privacy Act 2020open_in_new).
The Office of the Ombudsmanopen_in_new and the Privacy Commissioneropen_in_new have some good advice and resources to help guide your board.
What information requires caution before release?
Always approach personal and commercially sensitive information with caution.
The Ombudsman has a detailed guideopen_in_new you can download for more information.
Proactive release is different from managing a request for information under the Official Information Act 1982open_in_new or Privacy Act 2020open_in_new.
You can read more about this in our article Responding to information requests.
We recommend that your board has a straightforward process for checking and signing off information before it is proactively released.
Please contact us for advice if you are unsure what information can be released or withheld.
Because English isn't everyone's first language, and some people use assistive technologies, you should ensure information is easy to understand.
When should your board release information?
There is no "right time" to release information, but a good rule of thumb is "as soon as reasonably practicable".
This is particularly important when there is a high level of interest from your school community.
For example, they might want to read survey results or the public minutes of a board meeting.
"Release information at a time when people can make best use of it. If the timing of release appears cynical, this is more likely to undermine public trust and confidence than promote it."
– Ombudsman New Zealand
Your board should regularly review published information to check if it's up-to-date and accurate, or if it should be removed or archived.
Social media is a way to proactively share important updates in real time. Use clear, engaging posts with links to more detailed information.
Questions your board could ask
- Have we considered proactively releasing more information than we currently do?
- How do we let the community know when we publish on our website? For example, a post on the school's Facebook page.
- Do we understand our privacy obligations relating to the information we release?
- Is the information we release accessible to everyone?
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access this topic's templates, resources, and references.
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Links from us
Office of the Ombudsman
Privacy Commissioner
Legislation