Social Media – a what if…or even when?

On my way home yesterday i heard some what i assumed to be mothers talking about schools and what Oftsed reports they had had and whether they thought they were justified or not. One mother stated “I’m not sure the Oftsed report is worth anything because it doesn’t tell you what really happens only what they want you to know”.  Now i am not going to agree or disagree with that statement, however it did get me thinking……

In the shower this morning, i started to think more about those comments and related it to the customer ratings on ebay.

WHAT IF….Schools perhaps alongside Oftsed reports were rated by parents, governors and pupils in the same way that you rate a customer on ebay. The picture this would build in your head about that school would be amazing and the comments would be invaluable.

This could of course apply across a range of local and or central government services for example, schools (as mentioned above), social care providers and local businesses to name a few. It could also contribute to or even replace the CPA/CAA ratings.

Perhaps this is happening already in some areas and i am just unaware, but i feel it has huge opportunities for service improvement, service design and  delivery to have real and personal feedback included in an open and transparent way.