The QuickSmart program has recently gone through some updates regarding consent and assent, which are summarised below:

What Remains Unchanged:

• Parental Consent for Program Participation: Schools do not need parental consent for a child to participate in QuickSmart as it’s considered an instructional decision. However, parental consent is necessary when sharing data with the University of New England (UNE) for research.
• Standing Parental Consent: Schools can ask for parental consent for their child’s participation in QuickSmart research through a process outlined in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. This involves providing QuickSmart research information in the general consent forms sent to parents, who can opt-out if they choose. A customisable Information Sheet approved by the UNE Human Research Ethics Committee is available for this purpose.

What Has Changed:

• Student Assent Requirement (from 2024): Now, both students participating in QuickSmart and those in comparison groups must give their assent, confirming they agree to be part of the research. This is a new step to ensure students’ personal agreement is obtained, with a Student Assent Form provided for this purpose. Schools are responsible for getting students to complete these forms before the QuickSmart program begins and for keeping them for the project’s duration (2024-2026). These forms should NOT be sent to SiMERR/QuickSmart; they should be kept in a secure place in the school.

After obtaining both parental consent and student assent, schools should update the student profiles on the QuickSmart Portal to reflect this. The Information Sheets and Consent/Assent Forms can be downloaded from the “Research Consent Forms” section of the QuickSmart Portal. This new procedure applies to both the QuickSmart Numeracy and Literacy programs.

Please click here for more detailed information regarding this change.

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The QuickSmart in Schools project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New England (Approval No. HE23-191, Valid to 18/12/2026).