Schoolcomms Insights

1 Sep 2023 Time to read: 2min

Our Lady Immaculate Primary School – An OFSM Case Study

28 Aug 2023 Time to read: 2min

Woodland Grange Primary School

Woodland Grange were looking for a system that reduced the amount of cash coming into school and was a quick and easy way of messaging parents. The school looked at several different companies offering similar systems, but Schoolcomms seemed to be the most user-friendly to them.

5 Aug 2023 Time to read: 2min

Keresforth Primary School

The school started with just the goal of giving parents the choice of being able to pay online or by card for convenience and attain the facility of sending text messages. However, further down the line, the school decided to become a cashless school and even start using a club management solution. The school considered a couple of systems, but Schoolcomms was recommended by the SIMS team who supported the school when they went live. Keresforth Primary looked at different providers but decided that Schoolcomms offered excellent value for money and parents would not need to get used to a new/second system.

8 May 2023

Breaking Down Barriers: National School Breakfast Programme

10 Apr 2023 Time to read: 5min

School Attendance Crisis: How to beat the ‘cultural shift’

GuidesSchoolcomms

23 Feb 2023 Time to read: 2min

The Ultimate Guide to School Meal Management

Download the Ultimate Guide to Improving Your School Meal Service. Your recipe for improving efficiency, cutting costs, and increasing meal uptake through all aspects of the school meal service.

16 Jan 2023 Time to read: 7min

5 Tips and Tricks for Your School’s Social Media

Building meaningful parental engagement requires a well-thought-out communications strategy, encompassing a range of channels with clear purposes for each. This means connecting with parents where they naturally will be, with appropriate messaging, and at the right times.

3 Jan 2023 Time to read: 6min

20 Questions Schools Should Ask Their Parent App Provider

Selecting a parent app is a big decision. You want to ensure that your investment meets the needs of your school as well as your parents, and can best facilitate your parental engagement strategy. Finding your way through the maze of different providers and what they offer can be overwhelming. To help guide you through the […]

23 Nov 2022 Time to read: 8min

6 Ideas to Support Staff Wellbeing in Schools

There is no secret to being able to effectively manage your own mental health and wellbeing, let alone that of your school staff. Maintaining positive mental health in schools is an ongoing process that requires constant investment. Everyone has their own individual needs and different levels of attention.

18 Nov 2022 Time to read: 7min

Increase your income with these school fundraising ideas

We’ve listened to the experiences of over 3,000 school staff and found that 19% of schools are planning to increase their fundraising activity in the coming year. Compare that to our previous research in 2020, which found this number to be 20%, and we can see that this is still a key focus for schools.

17 Nov 2022 Time to read: 5min

What Is Schoolcomms? How Can it Improve Parental Engagement?

8 Nov 2022 Time to read: 4min

The Ultimate Toolkit for Parental Engagement in Schools

It’s no secret that we’re strong advocates of parental engagement in schools and the impact it has on pupil progress. In fact, we’ve been helping schools to better engage with parents since 2003. And it’s easy to see why. Time and time again, studies have shown that parent power is key to improving pupil attainment. But with so […]

14 Oct 2022 Time to read: 6min

Attainment Gap: What Does it Mean and How Can You Close it?

This ‘gap’ in academic achievement for children of low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds is what many describe as the ‘attainment gap’, and it hasn’t shown signs of closing for 20 years. But what causes the attainment gap? And what would closing the gap mean for schools?

13 Oct 2022 Time to read: 6min

How Parent Apps Can be Great for School Business Managers

We know it’s not easy being a School Business Manager (SBM), especially right now. Now with the cost of living crisis, there’s more than just a strain on your time; some School Business Managers have taken on the added stress of organising fundraisers to support struggling families.

12 Oct 2022 Time to read: 8min

7 Ideas to Refresh Your School Newsletter

A school newsletter lies at the heart of effective communication between students, staff, and parents. The question is: how do you make the most of this invaluable communication tool?

7 Oct 2022 Time to read: 9min

Parental Engagement Questionnaire: the Dos and Don’ts

Looking to improve your parental engagement but not sure how? A parental engagement questionnaire is a great place to start. And with mountains of research supporting the link between parental involvement and student success, listening to parent opinion is key to improving learning outcomes. Despite this, according to ParentKind’s 2020 Annual Survey, only 50% of parents feel they’re able to have a say on decisions affecting their children’s education.

3 Oct 2022 Time to read: 7min

6 Ways a School App Benefits Parents

You are probably well aware of the many ways investing in a school app can make life easier for your school. But have you considered the advantages for parents? Getting parents on board with school apps is a critical step. If your school is planning on investing in a parent app, be sure to communicate the benefits to your parents. So, how will investing in a school app benefit the parents of your pupils?

30 Sep 2022 Time to read: 10min

Channels for Effective Communication with Parents in Schools

28 Sep 2022 Time to read: 8min

6 Ways to Improve Parental Involvement

Were you aware that meaningful parental engagement can equivalate to an additional 4 months of progression per year for children in school? It isn’t just down to teachers to ensure that children get the best education and support they can. Parents also play a key role in their children’s educational experience and, as such, it’s crucial that schools can involve them in the best ways possible.

27 Sep 2022 Time to read: 6min

School Budgeting Tips: How to Develop an Effective Budget for the New Financial Year

GuidesSchoolcomms

22 Sep 2022

The Ultimate Guide to Parental Engagement

From the importance of meaningful parental engagement, all the way through to how to pick the best software to aid your efforts, this is your parental engagement port of call.

12 Sep 2022 Time to read: 7min

5 Common Barriers to Communication Between Parents and Teachers

31 Aug 2022 Time to read: 8min

Parental Engagement: Strategies for Success

With parental engagement proven to have a positive effect on academic achievement, it’s clear that investing in long-term strategies is crucial. But with ever-shrinking budgets and heavy workloads to contend with, how can schools improve parental engagement? We've compiled a list of simple and affordable parental engagement strategies for improving parental involvement in their child's learning.

20 Jul 2022 Time to read: 2min

Callington Community College

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? We were desperately trying to find a more effective way of reaching parents with various forms of exam information. We found sending things home with students meant that more than 50% of parents would not be receiving important documents, which was very frustrating. We especially wanted to increase the parental engagement in our school.

21 Jun 2022 Time to read: 8min

Overcoming Barriers to Inclusive Education in Your School

71% of schools say that social inclusion causing limited access to the internet is their biggest barrier to adopting education technology (EdTech) solutions, according to our recent survey of 3,000 UK school staff. Although a daunting obstacle for schools to tackle, there is a lot that schools can do to support low-income and low-social-economic status (SES) families to promote social inclusion.

6 Jun 2022 Time to read: 7min

5 Ways to Cater for all Dietary Requirements in School Meals

24 May 2022 Time to read: 5min

School Meals: Allergy Menus in the Wake of Natasha’s Law

How has your school meal service responded to the requirements imposed by Natasha’s Law? While the purpose of Natasha’s Law is to enforce accurate labelling of potentially fatal allergens, it also represents a shift towards further inclusion and care for people living with food allergies.

NewsParentPay Group

14 Apr 2022 Time to read: 1min

ParentPay Help Comic Relief Collect Almost Half a Million Pounds for Red Nose Day 2022

WhitepapersParentPay

29 Mar 2022 Time to read: 1min

ParentPay 2022 Whitepaper

Read our whitepaper to get unrivalled insights into schools’ changing attitudes towards technology, income, and efficiency - from over 3,000 school staff.

InfographicsParentPay

29 Mar 2022 Time to read: 1min

ParentPay 2022 whitepaper infographic

In a recent survey, we listened to over 3,000 staff working in primary schools, secondary schools, nurseries, sixth forms, local authorities, multi-academy trusts, and catering organisations.

29 Mar 2022 Time to read: 4min

Bodnant Community School Video Success Story

Watch how Bodnant Community School found success with Schoolcomms. We sat down with Sian Canty, Admin Support, to discuss how Schoolcomms has helped streamline her school's processes to achieve more.

16 Jun 2021 Time to read: 2min

John Rankin Junior School Video Success Story

Watch how John Rankin Junior School found success with Schoolcomms. Amy Futcher, Admin Officer, tells us how Schoolcomms has impacted her school to improve parental engagement and admin processes.

9 Jun 2021 Time to read: 2min

Marlborough Primary School Video Success Story

Watch how Marlborough Primary School found success with Schoolcomms. We spoke to Dean Laybourne, School Business Manager, to hear how Schoolcomms has helped his school to achieve more.

7 May 2021 Time to read: 2min

Front Lawn Primary Academy

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? Our aims were to reduce our carbon footprint by minimising the use of paper, to simplify home-school communications, and to reduce the workload of the admin team whilst giving parents more control.

6 May 2021 Time to read: 2min

Todmorden Church of England Primary School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? To consolidate everything into one place. We also wanted to be able to monitor debts more easily, and become as cashless as possible, cutting down on paper. What made you decide to use Schoolcomms to reach these goals? Schoolcomms was recommended by another local primary school, I believe one of the first to start using it.

6 May 2021 Time to read: 2min

Westbury Park Primary School

We know that budgets are always tight for schools. What savings (both in time and money) do you feel have made investing in Schoolcomms worthwhile? The cost of Schoolcomms (which is by no means excessive) is vastly outweighed by the saving in time and resources and also, where payments are concerned, the risk of human error.

24 Mar 2021 Time to read: 8min

A Guide to Running School Activities During COVID-19

With the return to school, we can finally experience a small slice of normality again. And while catching up with academic work is crucial, it’s important that you still make time for school activities. Given many children have been experiencing mental health problems in lockdown, the return to school is welcome. However, there may be some lasting effects […]

9 Mar 2021 Time to read: 2min

Ponteland Community High School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? Our primary aim was to streamline our parent payment options. However, we quickly realised the benefits of being able to send regular pupil progress updates through a single system linked to our MIS.

24 Feb 2021 Time to read: 7min

Return to School: 8 Tips for Supporting Staff, Students and Parents

13 Jan 2021 Time to read: 2min

Crown Hills Community College

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? We were desperately trying to find a more effective way of reaching parents with various forms of exam information. We found sending things home with students meant that more than 50% of parents would not be receiving important documents, which was very frustrating. We especially wanted to increase the parental engagement in our school.

14 Dec 2020 Time to read: 3min

Montagu Private Equity to acquire Capita’s ESS business and invest in ParentPay Group

11 Oct 2020 Time to read: 2min

A Statement From Our Head of Security

We were genuinely saddened to hear of the recent incident experienced by WisePay. Unfortunately, data breaches and cyber-attacks are becoming more and more commonplace. No organisation is immune. We, of course, monitored the situation closely and continue to do so. We are genuinely hoping for the best possible outcome for WisePay while seeking any lessons […]

29 Sep 2020 Time to read: 5min

The New School Year: 6 Things to Add to Your Plans

Having made it through September, now is as good a time as any to review the progress of your back to school checklist following the start of the new school year. Planning for the new academic year amid a global pandemic has undoubtedly been anything but straightforward. Social distancing measures are sure to have dominated most back […]

8 Aug 2020 Time to read: 2min

Oathall Community College

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? Our online payments system was continually causing the school and parents issues so we decided to take the plunge and move to a new payments system. Why did Oathall Community College decide to use Schoolcomms to reach these goals? We had to find a system which would work well with our cashless catering system. We were advised by our till system provider (Sharps) that Schoolcomms was compatible with their system. Having looked at the systems available to us we felt that Schoolcomms would be the best solution.

21 Jun 2020 Time to read: 4min

Schoolcomms Dinners: Meal Management Made Easy

Schools have a lot on their plates when it comes to meal management. Success lies not only in the food but the service. Mealtimes provide a perfect opportunity for schools to promote healthy eating. Given almost 1 in 5 children are overweight or obese when they start primary school, rising to 1 in 3 when they start […]

14 Jun 2020 Time to read: 5min

Budgeting Tips All Multi-Academy Trusts Should Know

According to a report published by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), schools that have converted to academies since 2010 have seen some of the biggest reductions to teacher spending – but why is this? and what does this mean for Multi-Academy Trusts? Could it be the result of substantial cuts to funding? Or rather, a change in […]

30 Mar 2020 Time to read: 4min

School Closures: 5 Tips for Staying Connected During COVID-19

11 Mar 2020 Time to read: 2min

Brookside Primary School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? We wanted to: reduce the amount of cash and cheques in school; improve admin processes; give parents and carers the opportunity to pay for trips, dinner money, and after-school clubs whenever they like from wherever they are; prevent cash being lost in school; enable online permissions for trips; and establish an efficient way of managing our pre/aftercare clubs.

12 Feb 2020 Time to read: 2min

Down High School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? We were hoping to be able to: link up to SIMS – so the integration wasn’t cumbersome; streamline communication with parents; find an online payment method for parents; and find a way of communicating urgent news – e.g. school closures.

7 Feb 2020 Time to read: 2min

Whetstone Field Primary School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? We wanted to find an easy-to-use system for both parents and the school office staff. We also wanted to make the school cashless, meaning easier tracking of funds received and less time spent counting and banking money.

16 Jul 2019 Time to read: 2min

Marlborough Primary School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you started looking for a parent app? Initially we were interested in several areas when we first started looking at a parent app in the hope it would improve the service we could offer our parents and carers. These included: increasing safeguarding with a booking system for our breakfast and after-school clubs; reducing the amount of cash administration in the school; and a messaging system to improve communication.

16 Jul 2019 Time to read: 2min

Launde Primary School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school? We are a large primary school that takes a large amount of cash each week. so we were hoping to reduce the need for continuous banking. We also hoped to reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks to free up staff for other duties. For our busy parents and carers, we were looking for a system which would improve efficiency and the service we offer them.