Phonic learning is the method used in schools across the UK to teach children how to read. It involves sounding out words and vowels and “blending” them to demonstrate how different groupings of letters sound together.
Developed in 1570 by John Hart, it became popular for use in education in the 20th century. It’s a tried and true technique, but how could it be made even more effective in the modern age of technology?
Using audio recordings can be a massive help when teaching. It gives teachers a handy tool to assist them in engaging with pupils, and can also be used at home by parents to continue their learning outside of school. There’s multiple methods of doing this, for example videos and music, but you could also use applications like Sound Branch to streamline learning.

Sound Branch is an audio-based social media app which allows its users to record 10 second long voice notes to share with others. With something like phonetics, it’s a great tool; teachers can record themselves saying words and noises and use that to help aid a child’s phonic education.
For example, consonant digraphs (two consonants which together make one sound) can be taught with ease on Sound Branch. Teachers can record themselves saying letter groupings like “ch” and “sh” and demonstrate using them in full words like “chat” and “shop”. Teachers could then let their students use the app to try and form full sentences using what they’ve learned.
It’s important to make sure kids are continuing their learning at home, and Sound Branch can be used anywhere. Parents can keep track of their kids’ progress, and teachers can leave them voice notes so they’re up-to-date and know how to help their children outside of school.
So, if you’re looking for an easy tool to use to teach your kids or pupils how to read, write and ability to identify sounds, have a look at Sound Branch.

Social media is becoming an essential tool in education and can help with planning lessons, building the school community and staying connected with parents. Many schools want to be more engaging on social media, but struggle to find the time to post the right content around their busy school schedules. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other platform, here’s a few tips and tricks to show you how to get the most out of your school’s social media and make posts more engaging.

Automatically schedule your posts

If you’re struggling to find time to post on social media, there are a number of websites you can use to schedule your posts. Handy tools such as Postcron, Buffer and TweetDeck allow you to schedule your posts to upload automatically at a later date, meaning that your social media can stay active even if you are too busy to post.

Quality over quantity

Although it is important to post often, it is much better to focus on the content itself rather than the amount you post. Make sure your posts capture the attention of your audience and keep them engaged, and keep it consistent.

Post at the right time

You need to find the right time to post to make sure that as many people as possible see your content, as this will increase your likes, comments and overall engagement. If the majority of your followers are parents, you are probably better to schedule your posts to the evening rather than during the busy school run, for example.

Use visuals to capture attention

Try to include images or videos alongside text to get your message across more clearly. You could use stock images or design graphics for your school, or perhaps include a ‘meme’ or an inspirational image quote. Our brains are able to process visuals 60,000 times faster than text – so make sure to include them in your posts!

Ask a question

One of the best ways to engage with your followers is to ask them questions, as this keeps them engaged and keeps the conversation going. Take some time to think about the most effective questions you could ask, and mention your followers with an @ when you are asking them questions directly.

Hashtag trending topics

Have a look at which topics are trending in your area, nationally or globally. You can use Twitter or Google Trends. When relevant, tag these along with your comments and post, as this will increase engagement with your followers and spark conversation.

We are now in a completely different society from when I was growing up. Children are now best friends with their phone rather than the children next door. There is more pressure than ever before, popularity is rated by how many likes, views, and retweets you receive from social media. Yet they could be the timidest student in the classroom. How tracking location of someone has become a social norm and meeting up with your friends has turned into drinking coffee whilst sat on phones.
I, like plenty of others mums have an Instagram, Facebook and Twitter account. I know many mothers who use it just to keep updated with their children’s lives. It’s easier to see what they’re posting than wait for a text to let you know they are safe. However, I’m pretty ignorant about other social media apps, particularly the ones aimed at school-aged children… So let’s investigate.

Houseparty –

This one seems to be the ‘coolest’ of the Apps for teens. First impressions you would think people are throwing house parties and inviting people, but it’s not. The Houseparty app is for live video chatting. Like Skype, Facetime and Messenger aren’t enough! You can have up to eight people in a room and have several “parties” going at once. Teens are going crazy for it: the app launched last February and now has more than 2.5 million daily active users. The age limit is 13 years old, but like so many other apps and social networks, they don’t ask a user’s age at signup so they aren’t even trying to exclude the kids. All you need is a smartphone to join and use the service. However, parents biggest fear is pressure in pornography. On ‘protectyoungeyes.com’ the site explains that ‘there aren’t many serious risks with Houseparty in terms of accidental exposure to inappropriate content just from casual use. We were not able to find any hidden browser views and when clicking into their Privacy Policy, it kicks you out to Safari.’

Ask.fm –

I have personally heard a few horror stories about this particular App. The most frightening stories for parents to hear is a 12-year-old girl who committed suicide due to Ask.fm. It is an anonymous question and answer platform website used regularly by lots of young people around the world. It allows anyone to post anonymous comments and questions to a person’s profile and is increasingly being used as a means to communicate abusive, bullying and sexualised content. The questions can be shared via other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. There are a staggering 215 million users and a staggering 10,000 questions asked on the app every minute. 50% of users are under 18.

Kik Messenger –

Kik has around 300 million registered users and is used by 40% of the teenagers in the US. It sends and receives photos, messages, and sketches over the internet connection of a user’s registered account. Kik’s special feature is the fact that it preserves the person’s anonymity, as users register using a name and username without registering a telephone number. It is very similar to WhatsApp, the main functions are:

• One to one chatting
• Sending messages, videos, and GIFs
• Group chat with up to 49 users
• Anonymous chat (the scary part as a parents point of view)

What are the risks? Cyberbullying, experiencing or sharing inappropriate content and chatting with strangers which is very easy to do on the Kik app.

Snapchat –

158 million users worldwide. This App allows you to view ‘snaps’ of your friends and celebrities with a 10-second video or picture clip. You can use various filters to enhance your appearance from touch-ups to cat and dog tongues! Once viewed the videos then disappear. The main users of Snapchat appear to be between 13-17 years of age. Parents may be oblivious to this but there is a social pressure to do sexting as a teenager. Research shows one in seven teens report they are sexting and the easiest app to do it is snapchat as you can be notified if someone takes a ‘screenshot’ of the photo or they can even now ‘screen record‘ chats and videos.

Whisper –

Whisper is an anonymous social networking app. Users post confessions, either facts or fiction by superimposing text on a picture. Whispers unique selling point is that it is completely anonymous. This is the worrying part for me as I think why do they need to upload something anonymously? Are they embarrassed, and if they are embarrassed then why?

Instagram –

Oh Instagram, where more teenagers are aspiring to be an Instagram influencer as their dream job over becoming a doctor. Instagram has become one of the most influential but depressing social media sites ever made. The most beautiful, tanned and slim men and women post pictures promoting something and get paid thousands. Yet there no doubt the photos have been edited. However, the influencers who make it big on Instagram tends to be the ones affected with mental health as it is so easy to post your view on them. It is a powerful app and now it is becoming illegal to not use the hashtag #ad as too people such as the Kardashians were promoting products that they might not even believe are good but getting paid so they did not care.

More than 55% of children have been abused or bullied online. Ditchthelabel.org, an international anti-bullying charity, estimates that around 5.43 million young people in the UK have been the victims of cyberbullying, with 1.26 million people suffering extreme cyberbullying on a daily basis. There has been a rise in mental health diagnosis since social media evolved due to all the negativity and constant comparisons and of course many other reasons. Social media definitely has its positives and negatives.
Staying safe on the internet can be easy, just do not feel pressured. Always remember what you see is not always what you get. People will post the best angles and always remember no one posts their failures.
My main tip for looking after yourself is you can always say NO.

• If someone gets angry at you for not doing something they want whether it is not posting a selfie, feeling pressured into sending things you don’t wish to send then say no. They will feel more like a fool than you and they do not always care.
• Talk to your children, I know they will hate it and go ‘oh mum/dad I know’ but don’t give up because you will blame yourself if anything bad happens. Be selfish.
• Always talk to someone if you’re worried about someone on social media, at least then they can offer you advice and you are not alone.
• Before you post something, think ‘would grandma like to see this’. That enough to put me off anyways!
• You are not alone. There can be people who get ten likes on a photo who have tons of friends. Yet people who receive hundreds/thousands of likes who struggle to make friends outside of the internet.

School Jotter is the UK’s #1 school website platform already used by over 4,000 schools. Its new anti-bullying button lets students anonymously report safety threats with a single touch. Contact us to learn more about creating your school website and mobile app using School Jotter.

Your school website provides the first impression to potential pupils, and it’s also a requirement to make sure it’s complying with Ofsted standards.
Ofsted will often review a school’s website as part of their inspection, so it’s essential to ensure it’s up to date, easy to use and appealing to visitors.
To help you reach the high standards inspectors look for, here’s a handy checklist of things to do to make sure your school website is the best it can be.

Your school’s name, contact details and ethos

Communication is key, and easy contact between parents and the school is something Ofsted will look for. Make sure your website’s got:

• Your school’s name presented clearly
• The ethos, aims and values of your school
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• Name and contact details of your headteacher
• Name and address of the chair of the governing body
• Name and contact details of the member of staff who deals with queries from parents and members of the public
• Name and contact details of your special educational needs coordinator

Your school’s admission process

It sounds obvious, but you need to tell people how to apply for your school in a simple and concise way. There’s no point confusing potential parents and pupils; it’ll just turn them away from your school. Be sure to include:

• Your selection criteria
• Your school’s admissions number
• Details on arrangements for disabled students
• How parents can apply
• Details of your oversubscription criteria

Behaviour and suspension/exclusion policies

Ofsted wants to see that your school can both teach and discipline students. Include:

• Your school’s behaviour and bullying policies. Also make sure they comply with section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006
• Details of your school’s exclusion policy

Equality and accessibility objectives

A school should be an environment in which everyone should feel welcome and like they can succeed. Make sure you’re laying out a clear plan on how you’re making students of all ethnicities, sexualities, genders and backgrounds welcome.

• How your school is fighting discrimination
• Your school’s equality objectives
• How your school complies with the public sector equality duty
• How disabled students are involved and helped in the curriculum
• How your school provides physical access to disabled students

Performance tables

You have to advertise your school and tell people why they should send their children there. There’s no better way to do that than showing the quality of education parents can expect.

• Key stage 1+2 results – average standards of reading, writing and maths as well as the percentage of students who have achieved higher scores
• Key stage 4 results – percentage of students who have achieved a grade of C or above in English and Maths. Also, include the percentage of students who have gone onto higher education, training or employment
• Link to national performance tables

Content management apps such as School Jotter can be a great tool to help make sure your website is up to date and complying with Ofsted standards. School Jotter can help you create and manage your website in a streamlined way, so you’ll easily be able to make a website that’s both appealing and easy to use for parents, pupils and other members of the public, but also will get you a good score from Ofsted.
For a more extensive checklist on extra things you can do to improve your school website, have a look at this.

Voice messaging app Sound Branch is not only set to get people talking again but is also hoping to improve methods of communication between teachers and parents in special educational needs schools.
Sound Branch is a speech to text transcription app that allows the user to record voice notes on any device at any time. The voice notes are recorded in 10 second clips and are called ‘seeds’. Once recorded and automatically transcribed into text, other users can reply and branch off each seed – starting up the conversation.
Using Sound Branch as a method of communicating, not only saves time but improves conversation and engagement, as a message can often be interpreted more clearly when it is heard through spoken word rather than written text. This idea of conversing in a more engaging and empathetic way is why Sound Branch could help to improve communication between teachers and parents of children in special educational needs schools.

For instance, one school in the UK has a large number of children who travel to school each day by taxi to accommodate their needs and wheelchair access. Each day, the teachers need to let each parent know that their child has arrived at school safely, as well as communicating any other issues.
Currently, the majority of teacher to parent communication is carried out through a handbook that gets sent home for parents to read at the end of each school day. This method is not only time consuming for both teachers and parents, but also lacks any room for empathetic connections between both parties.
Sam Dixon, Head of Education for WebAnywhere, recently visited the school and said: “The headteacher was looking for a system which would electronically record their notes, as they have to type up the communication onto their system as well as recording it in the book.”
“I introduced the headteacher to Sound Branch and showed her how to send a message home to a parent. She loved the idea of voice to text communication – so I’ve set them up with their own account and she’s going to get a small group of parents to trial it,” he added. “The aim is that it’s going to save them a lot of time and she’ll get more engagement with the parents through using it, rather than sending home a handbook.”
The headteacher of the school said that her concern with their current method of communicating through the handbook was around data protection and confidentiality issues. “With GDPR being such a big issue, I’m a bit uncomfortable with that diary going in a pupil’s bag at the end of the day and in a taxi with lots of other people,” she said. “Who could pick it up out of the bag? Who’s going to read it?”
“Although we have lots of telephone conversations with parents, I wanted to have an electronic home-school diary that could be shared with parents – but it had to be secure and had to be free,” she said. “Then Sam came along and showed us Sound Branch. I liked it because the written word can sometimes be misinterpreted, but with voice messaging, you can sound reassuring with parents. It also potentially could be time saving for us.”
She added: “I also liked the fact that Sound Branch recorded the conversations in text so that you could go back and look at your conversation history. I think we’ll get a range of responses so we’re going to pilot it first.”

Schools need funding. It’s a fact which transcends politics; when you’re dealing with our children’s futures and the security of the next generation, you need to make sure they have all the resources they need to succeed.
That’s why fundraising is so essential to the quality and upkeep of schools. With inadequate government funding, it often comes down to the parents to prop up their local schools, and even a small donation can go a long way.
However, it’s not as simple as just asking people to give you money. Schools need to make sure that when raising funds, you’re being accessible and understanding.
So take a look at your website. Is it easy to navigate? Is it welcoming and easy on the eyes? Does it have all the information a visitor might need to be presented in a digestible way?
Creating relationships with your pupils’ parents is important, and in the modern age of the internet, a school website is often the first thing a mum or dad will see. Make sure you’re giving a great first impression.

Make sure your website operates cross-platform

The best websites have a design which works across multiple platforms. If parents are using their phones or tablets, they need to be able to navigate around your website just as well as if they’re on the computer. If your goal is to raise money, after all, you have to take into account that people – especially parents – are busy and always on the go, so might not have a laptop on hand.
There’s nothing worse than a website which is poorly formatted for a smaller screen. It’s instantly off putting and aggravating to visitors if they don’t have immediate access to a computer screen.

Use content management systems like School Jotter

School Jotter is an ideal app for schools trying to improve their website. Used by over 3000 schools nationwide, School Jotter can help you create a unique website customised with features that suit your needs. Have you ever seen a website that has left you impressed with its design, and makes you want to keep clicking? That should be the aim for any school website to entice students and potential donors.
School Jotter isn’t just for website creation, either. You can make school surveys, polls, quizzes and even content to help improve your pupils’ spelling.

Organise fundraising events

Fundraising isn’t just about parents sending you money through a website. To truly engage with parents you want to go above and beyond, and with applications like School Jotter you can organise events online. The app for phone can send notifications, too, so it’s a lot more convenient than sending out newsletters every month or trusting the kids to tell their parents!
Want to host a fundraising event at the school? Put it on your website and it’ll automatically update to the School Jotter app, so your pupils will never miss a beat. Some schools try to get creative with their fundraisers, and it’s something parents appreciate. Go the extra mile in your events: maybe a Britain’s Got Talent-themed talent competition, a Halloween costume contest, or even a cook-off. The more you appeal to your pupils and their parents, the more successful your fundraisers will be.
So, make sure you’re not neglecting your school’s online presence. In a world where we spend on average 24 hours a week online, schools have to adapt with and take advantage of the vast changes to how we communicate with each other. Used well, you can increase admissions and donations to better the education of the next generation.

The internet is a great way to chat with friends, stay connected and learn new things. But the online world can also be dangerous, and it’s important to know how to stay safe. We’ve put together a quick and easy guide full of top tips that will keep you safe when using the internet.

1 – Protect your identity

Never give out any personal information when using the internet, such as your address, your phone number or what school you go to. If you use social media, avoid posting photos that could reveal to someone where you live.

2 – Think carefully before posting

Once something is online, it’s no longer private and could potentially be shared with anyone. Before you post, think to yourself: should this be shared or kept private? Would I want parents or teachers to see it? If the answer is no, don’t post it.

3 – Keep passwords strong and check privacy settings

Use strong passwords with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols to make them harder for others to guess. Get in the habit of changing your passwords regularly, and never share them with anyone else. You should also check your privacy settings to see who can view what you post on social media.

4 – Have respect for others

You should treat others with respect online the same way that you would in real life. Be mindful about how your posts and comments might make others feel if you share them online. Never post anything which might cause harm or offense to the person on the other end.

5 – Be mindful of who you chat to

If someone you don’t know tries to add you as a friend, the sensible option is to delete the request. Always remember that people might not be who they say they are online, so be careful who you chat with and never share your personal details.

6 – Don’t meet people you don’t know in person

You should never arrange to meet up with somebody that you’ve met online in real life. Even if you get on with them online, they might not be who they say they are. If someone online is asking to meet you, tell a trusted adult.

7 – Have a healthy balance

If you find yourself spending too much time online, take regular breaks away from your computer or phone. You don’t want to miss out on experiences with your family and friends in the real world!

The humble mobile app has transformed numerous aspects of daily life.
Our social media apps give us the freedom to chat with people all over the world in seconds. Our banking apps let us manage our finances at any time, any place. And gaming apps keep us entertained on buses, trains and in waiting rooms.
But school mobile apps have even more to offer: they provide schools with streamlined ways to stay on schedule, communicate with parents and educate pupils via interactive tools. Any designed to help pupils learn may be downloaded on a parent or teacher’s smartphone as an educational aid.
Many school mobile apps are available today, so how do you know which are the best?
We’ve picked the top 8 below.

#1. School Jotter – School Web Design and Mobile App

School Jotter’s CMS is a complete solution for schools, empowering you with the means to update your website, add content, advertise vacancies, manage CVs, communicate with staff through text messages and more.
The School Jotter mobile app is an excellent complement to the CMS, providing parents with various features and information. They can:

• keep up to date with the latest school events
• view calendars
• read newsletters
• check out galleries
• view maps
• see what homework has been set
• complete forms on the school website
• take part in surveys
• book appointments for parents’ evenings
• send free instant messages

This helps parents stay informed of their children’s school’s latest events, keep in touch with teachers and much more.

#2. Duolingo

Educating primary-school children on a second language can be a real challenge, but Duolingo helps to make it simpler.
It has been called the ‘best language-learning app’ by The Wall Street Journal and is (perhaps best of all) free! Duolingo is designed to help users learn multiple languages, including:

• English
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Italian
• Dutch
• Russian

Duolingo makes learning new languages fun and interactive, utilising quizzes and bite-size lessons. This school mobile app is available on Google Play and iTunes.

#3. My Study Life

Staying on top of homework, exams and special occasions at school is difficult for young children, but My Study Life aims to change that.
This isn’t just a calendar app — you can use it to:

• see when work is due
• view when exams will take place
• set reminders for classes and unfinished work
• create timetables to reduce the risk of missed deadlines

My Study Life is a helpful app for schools, helping staff and pupils alike stay focused on tasks without confusing dates or classes. It’s available on Google Play and iTunes.

#4. Khan Academy

This free app is well worth looking into, providing access to a huge catalogue of videos and other learning resources across many subject areas.
You can use Khan Academy to:

• watch over 10,000 videos and explanations on maths, economics, history, science and more
• make education more interactive with over 40,000 questions
• try exercises and read articles on countless topics

Khan Academy gives teachers and children a vast catalogue of information, serving as an educational aid when studying a huge range of subjects. Achievements can be unlocked for a touch of gamification too, helping to engage pupils.
It’s available for download from iTunes only.

#5. Quizlet

Quizlet is a learning app based around flashcards, with multiple functions. This can be used by pupils as an aid to learning and practicing for tests through all years of primary school, as well as for teachers brushing up on subjects.
Quizlet offers the following features:

• prepare for tests and exams with the Learn section
• check your memory using Write
• share flashcards with other users
• implement custom audio and images to reinforce learning

Quizlet is free for the first seven days of usage, and multiple paid versions are available with additional functions. You can download it from iTunes and Google Play.

#6. WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha refers to itself as a real-life counterpart to the powerful computers seen on Star Trek, offering information on a massive variety of subjects using cutting-edge algorithms to create answers / reports.
Apple’s Siri is used in some aspects of WolframAlpha. This app can help with:

• elementary maths
• algebra
• astronomy
• geology
• animals
• plants
• dinosaurs
• climate
• calendars
• weather
• geography
• oceans
• historical figures
• linguistics

And much more!
WolframAlpha is an impressive school mobile app that to benefit teachers in the classroom and pupils at home. It’s not free, but its low cost and real potential makes it a worthy investment.
You can find it on Google Play and iTunes.

#7. Math Motion: Cupcake!

Many children struggle to learn maths, even at the most basic levels. Not only is the work itself difficult, but just the prospect of studying maths can be incredibly intimidating.
Math Motion: Cupcake! is a colourful, fun mobile app designed to help pupils develop their maths skills by running a cupcake business. It educates through such tasks as:

• fulfilling orders
• working out the cost of every cupcake
• paying loans back

Math Motion: Cupcake! shows how important maths is in everyday life in a practical, more engaging way. This app is available on iTunes only, for a modest price.

#8. Star Walk

Space is a fascinating subject to study at any age, but particularly in primary school. Today’s children have access to countless exciting resources on space, stars and astronomy, and Star Walk is a great way to help them learn.
Using Star Walk, you can explore the sky in real time, identifying planets and constellations using just a smartphone. It allows you to:

• locate and discover facts about celestial bodies
• study an astronomical calendar to find when eclipses, meteor showers, full moons and more will occur
• use the Time Machine feature to look at sky maps of the past and future
• explore the night sky with Night mode, making the app more comfortable to use

Many more features and functions are included, making Star Walk an indispensable aid to educating children on astronomy. It requires no internet connection.
You can download Star Walk from iTunes and Google Play for a small cost.

Each of these school mobile apps can help teachers, pupils and parents in a specific way, whether that’s building a reliable schedule, exploring historical events or even learning another language.
They’re simple to use and compatible with an extensive range of devices. Prices are generally kept low too, to suit schools on diverse budgets.
Have you used any of these apps, or do you have others to recommend? Let us know below!

Webanywhere, a leading school website design, mobile app and software provider, today announced its participation in Bett 2019, one of the leading annual trade shows in the United Kingdom marketing information technology in education. This four day event will be held on 23-26 January 2019 at the ExCel Convention Centre in London, UK.
Webanywhere will have some of their e-learning and website professionals at the conference. Their attendance at Bett underscores their dedication to helping primary and secondary schools, as well as Multi Academy Trusts, to improve both teaching and learning.

Exhibiting this year at booth G249, Webanywhere will present its expanding portfolio of school websites, mobile apps and education modules. They will also demonstrate their latest product, School Bookings which enable parents to easily schedule appointments with schools online for events like parents’ evenings.
Webanywhere representatives will be available at the booth for enquiries and in-booth demos throughout the event. An appointment can be made in advance by visiting this page. Webanywhere will be giving away a drone video to a lucky school too.
Nearly 35,000 attendees from the global education community will be in attendance, making Bett a prime networking opportunity for education professionals looking to connect with like-minded peers.

Parents’ evenings are a common fixture in schools across the UK. These offer a valuable opportunity to discuss points (both good and bad) and ultimately build a stronger connection between the school and family unit.
Research shows a tangible link between parents’ evening attendance and test scores, highlighting just how important these events are in fostering progression in the classroom.
However, teachers and school administrators know only too well that organising a parents’ evening can be a real challenge — especially if you depend on outmoded processes.
A cutting-edge system designed to streamline the entire process is essential, but what can you expect from the best?

User-friendly accessibility is vital

Planning a parents’ evening can be much easier with the right software, but accessibility is crucial: any staff who struggle to use the system will feel frustrated and be more likely to make time-wasting mistakes.
The best parents’ evening system is well-designed and user-friendly, as welcoming to the novice as the seasoned, tech-savvy pro. Teachers and administrators of all levels should feel confident using the system to make bookings.
Parents, too, must be able to access the system to schedule appointments without becoming baffled. The aim of a good parents’ evening system is to minimise confusion and maximise convenience — and if someone has to pick up the phone to bypass the system, it’s a complete waste of time (and money) altogether.

Give parents flexibility to reschedule appointments

Plans change. Availability varies.
Parents may schedule an appointment with a teacher at a specific time, but be unable to actually make it due to commitments. Perhaps they can’t get away from work in time or have to see their doctor.
Whatever the issue, the best parents’ evening system will offer impressive flexibility, empowering parents with the freedom they need to reschedule appointments at any time.
Simply being able to hop onto the booking system to alter the time is a major convenience for busy parents, consuming far less time than having to call the school directly. Teachers and administrators can review the changes and be fully aware without depending on a receptionist to relay a parent’s message.
As a result, appointments are less likely to be missed and teachers will face less wasted time. A good system helps staff know exactly how much free time they have between appointments, enabling them to prepare for the next conversation or catch up on some marking.

The best parents’ evening system suits all schools

A good, reliable system will suit all schools: primary and secondary schools alike should be able to plan their parents’ evenings with equal ease.
Investing in software and tools is a big commitment for schools. We all know budgets are tight and every penny has to be accounted for. Paying for a parents’ evening system that fails to offer the simplicity and high performance you expect will leave you out of pocket for no good reason.
Busy staff simply don’t have the time to waste trying to wrangle a poorly-made, incomprehensible piece of software. The right system is easy to set-up and start using with minimal delay, in every school.

Communicate with parents quickly and easily

Communication is a vital element of any successful parent-teacher relationship. Both want the best for the child, and coming face-to-face at parents’ evening enables them to engage in an informal, honest way.
However, there are times when quick messages have to be sent to the parent, and the best system facilitates this with ease. For example, a teacher may want to confirm that the parent will be attending the appointment or check who to expect.
Sending messages through the system should be simpler and faster than drafting an email or picking up the phone. This allows teachers to enjoy hassle-free planning from their desk while they mark books or plan lessons; the right system streamlines this process, causing the least possible disruption to their day-to-day work.

Keep all bookings in one place

Your parents’ evening system keeps all information on appointments centralised, cutting down on confusion caused by scribbled notes and unclear emails. Messages passed from parent to receptionist to teacher may be delayed or miscommunicated, ultimately causing time-wasting mistakes on the evening itself.
A comprehensive booking and appointments system presents teachers with all the information they need to prepare for the parents’ evening. Parents can go into the calendar and book their own appointments, choosing those available slots best-suited to their own schedule; as a result, there’s less risk of troublesome double bookings.
Teachers and administrators can simply check the app at any time to clarify their schedule too, rather than having to track a hard copy down.

Gather data with reliable security

The ideal parents’ evening system empowers schools with strong reporting tools. You should be able to track parent attendance to identify those parents who failed to show, and monitor which teachers are fully-booked.
Full GDPR compliance is a must too, for everyone’s safety. Gathering data and recording people’s details demands a high level of effective security, providing peace of mind for all parents and teachers involved.
Administrators can organise and plan the parents’ evening without having to ask teachers about their appointments. All they need to help the event run smoothly is access to the app: once all slots have been taken, a complete rundown of the evening will be available.

Webanywhere’s Parents’ Evening System is the ideal solution for all schools, offering teachers and parents a simple, user-friendly way to manage bookings. The system has been designed to maximise convenience at every stage of parents-evening planning, and is a terrific complement to School Jotter’s other apps.
Want to know more about how our Parents’ Evening System can help your school organise key events? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert team!