Schools have been faced with many challenges over the last couple of years, not least how to cope with the restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic. One of the biggest cost issues for many educational establishments is the administration, of course. Communicating effectively with parents and guardians at all timestakes a lot of time and effort.
One of the key benefits of modern technology is that it is now enabling schools at many different levels to find new ways to stay in touch with parents, keeping them informed and up to date without the need to drain resources and use up the time of administrative staff.
One way this is being achieved in modern schools is through the use of dedicated school apps that parents and other stakeholders can download easily onto their mobile phones. These highly effective pieces of software have several advantages over traditional communication and have been largely responsible for reducing the administrative burden, and costs, for many schools.
The Cost Advantages of a School App
In the past, most school heads would have needed to organise their admin staff to disseminate a wide range of different information and communication with parents. Today, the dedicated school app solves a lot of problems:
- One-stop-shop for communication: Because the app is held on people’s mobile phones or tablets, they have immediate access to all the information they require. The app can be used for important messaging, keeping parents up to date and content can be tailored exactly to the school’s individual needs.
- They can feed into the school’s existing digital management systems: One of the key factors that make apps useful is that they can now be tied to their own system for seamless administration and record keeping.
- Improved communication with parents and guardians: Parents don’t have to wait for information to be sent out and can access it immediately. For instance, if there is a school event coming up, users can simply tap on the icon and then sign up to attend.
- Instant notifications: One of the values of school apps is the ability to send instant messages that appear immediately on the user’s phone. For example, if the school needs to close early for any reason, the majority of parents can be informed remotely through the app, whether they are at home or work.
- Sickness and absence reporting: School apps can be tailored to specific administrative needs. This includes reporting if a pupil is not able to attend because they are ill or have a hospital appointment. This saves time and money on noting the event down with less administrative burden.
- Access to important documentation: A school app can hold a large amount of information which means that parents can access it directly rather than taking up the time of administrative staff. This can include things like school policies, timetablesand the like as well as other information.
- Promoting school activities: The school app can also be used in helping to promote activities such as parent’s evenings, sports days and school nativity plays. You can even add payment options for other events such as outings.
Streamlining with a School App
The big cost-benefit of a school app is that it allows heads to put all their communication under one umbrella that effectively serves the needs of parents. In this way, it reduces the administrative cost for the school while at the same time adding a range of different options and easy access to information through one key portal.