FEATURE FOCUS: SOFTWARE IN SCHOOLS
technical support – parents will be equally invested in the new software. People forget passwords from time to time, and minor irritations like this shouldn’t be deflected to the school to deal with. The ideal provider will offer direct support to parents via a helpline to ensure they can access the software and stay connected, giving valuable time back to staff and enabling them to focus on what matters most.
Can the provider help achieve the best ROI?
With budgets under increasing pressure across the public sector, all expenditure is under increased scrutiny. A responsible partner will help to maximise any investment in a new communications solution by sharing best practices to using the software effectively. Devoting time to the school and offering advice from implementation phase and right through the usage lifecycle helps schools to engage as many parents and staff as possible. Training should also be provided to ensure everyone is getting the most value out of the software as possible and using it to its best potential.
communicate across every channel? The prevalence of slick, intuitive apps and social media interfaces has changed the way we all communicate, both in private and working lives, meaning schools can’t rely on just texts and emails in 2023. In fact, a fifth (20%) of schools say that increasing the number of channels they use would help them to reach more parents as people consume information from new sources. This presents a challenge, however, as messages need to be replicated across both traditional means of communication, such as text and on the school website, and more modern channels, like social media. When staff are tasked with repeating the same task across multiple channels, the unproductive time often ends in frustration and fatigue.
The solution is software that posts messages through every channel simultaneously, including email, SMS, in-app messages, social media and the school website, which simplifies the whole process and saves a significant amount of manual admin time.
Examining communication feature sets Alongside the ability to post messages via a number of different channels, schools should be on the lookout for additional features. For example, does the software offer a multimedia newsfeed where they can share photos and videos of events or news from the school? Another useful feature is smart messaging, which automatically directs messages to where parents are most likely to read them. When looking at what various software solutions offer, school leaders need to ask whether there is an online noticeboard, language translations and functionality to brand the app with the school’s colours. These are all features that will genuinely help schools to manage the often-complex relationship with parents by removing the barriers to communication.
Support is a valuable resource, not an extra
Whenever new software is deployed, the users June 2023
www.education-today.co.uk 33
are going to need some help navigating its new features and making the best use of the technology, and school staff are no exception. If the customer support line requires them to raise a ticket and then wait 48 hours for a response, then it’s unlikely to inspire them with confidence. In this scenario, the support agent usually then sifts through information to find the answer among a wide portfolio of products, with little first-hand knowledge of how they work. Instead, schools will get more benefit from getting instant access to real people who know the product inside-out and will help them with their problems. School staff are too busy to spend time waiting for an answer, when there are more important jobs that require their attention, and software providers should pay heed to this.
Parents need support too It’s not only the school that might need some
In addition, communications software ought to be reducing some of the expenses on other activities. One way it achieves this is through digitisation. By converting paper forms into digital versions and making use of communication channels that don’t have any hidden costs, schools can reduce spending on unnecessary items, and make it easier to store information without typing everything back into the computer, for example. The process of switching a software solution can seem daunting initially, but by considering the factors that really drive engagement levels for parents, such as being able to communicate across multiple channels, schools can be sure that they are making the right choice. As a result, schools are in a better position to improve the outcomes of their students in their journey through education.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
