In with the new – why schools need this app

Schools are under constant pressure to perform – to get students through SATS, to meet Ofsted’s expectations – and to keep parents happy.

With so many balls to juggle, we’re sure the last thing you want to hear about is something else new – whether it’s changes to the curriculum or new software … it all takes up time you don’t have.

But getting a new app like mySchoolApp can actually save you time (and money – we know how important that is!) – and we promise it will be easy to pick up.

Schools, parents – and yes, even Ofsted – are coming to terms with the fact that apps are the way to go when it comes to improving parental engagement – and with so many parents spending so much of their time using phones to organise their schedules, it’s the natural evolution for school-parent communication.

“But we have a perfectly good website” we hear you say. Of course you do, but it can be hard to look at a website on a smartphone, and it can use up a lot of mobile data too – not good for the phone bill at the end of the month.

But it is possible to have a great website and offers apps as well; even that esteemed body the BBC, which has a fabulous responsive website, still offers apps for weather, news, sports and so on. That’s because the good folk at the ‘Beeb’ recognise that apps deliver information in a more user-friendly fashion, which encourages people to come back to them again and again.

Just think about how much time is spent producing letters, chasing up replies, and collecting letters that have been scrunched up at the bottom of book bags. Then consider how easy it would be to type a message, click once, and know that your message had got to all the right parents – whether it’s a date change for a school netball fixture or information about a non-uniform day for the whole school.

Apps are ideal for last-minute news and updates. What do you do if a class is out on a school trip that comes back late – and it’s after school time? Have a thought for the poor teacher who has to come back to a crowd of grumpy parents who have been waiting out in the rain for an hour. An app like mySchoolApp can deliver the update to all the relevant parents in an instant and for free.

An app can save so much time – no more updating the website with all news and events, no more printing out letters and chasing replies, one-click messaging for urgent updates – and improve communication between the school and parents. This is one new thing we think you’re going to love…

Another common concern we constantly hear is: “we haven’t got the time”. We hear you, all schools are busy, and it really isn’t in our interest to burden you with yet ‘another thing to do!’ So, how do we suggest getting around this? We believe a little alternative thinking may help – is it time to reconsider how you do things?

Did you know, it’s not necessary to publish news and calendar events on the school website? (Department of Education). So, treating the school website / school app relationship differently – could address the ‘time’ issue immediately. Using only the app to publish news and events means no more updating the school website – saving valuable time!

Also, If you’re currently producing a printed school newsletter you will no longer need to do so – saving the school even more time and money on printing costs. See our ‘retire the newsletter’ blog post here.

If you’ve seen the light, then click here to take a free trial of mySchoolApp today.