This year, possibly more than ever before, there has been greater demand put on schools to ensure they’re maintaining effective communication with parents and guardians. The school’s website and mobile app is an essential part of this.
School Jotter 3 is the biggest upgrade we’ve made to our school website and app software in recent years, making it easier than ever to keep parents engaged.
Sean Gilligan, Founder & CEO of Webanywhere said: “School Jotter 3 is the most advanced solution we’ve created and has been built combining the expertise of our development team, with feedback from customers. We’ve already had a number of pre-orders from schools who are excited to use such an intuitive platform, and we’re delighted to be rolling School Jotter 3 out to school’s all over the country, starting this month.”

Arthur Howie, Product Lead for School Jotter added: “The feedback we’ve received from customers has been invaluable in helping us to create School Jotter 3, which will be suited to schools of all types. Whether you’re an individual school or a multi-academy trust, we can create a beautifully designed website and mobile app, which is a breeze to update and maintain.”
One of the first customers to see School Jotter 3, Lindsey Caplan from Irlam Primary School, said: “Everything I’d have liked to see streamlined on our school website has been built into School Jotter 3. Building and editing pages has really improved, with far fewer clicks. I can really see this update saving us time, and making it much easier for other people in the school to become involved in managing our website.”
If your school is interested in using School Jotter 3 for your website and mobile app needs, find out more here, or speak directly to one of our education consultants by calling 0113 3200 750.

In recent months educational technology (EdTech) has seen a rise in use and popularity, and not just due to Covid-19. But, what is educational technology? Simply put it’s the use of technology in teaching, via a mix of software, educational theory and computer hardware, in order to enable learning and increase performance.
Education has come on leaps and bounds since the digital age and we are now discovering, and implementing, new ways to learn assisted by technology. Long gone are the days of solely learning by rote or copy, and the era or more methodical learning with technology is on the horizon. Educational technology can range from the simplistic such as interactive online courses for students, to robots able to take lecture notes – the scope of EdTech is wide and far reaching.

What Is The Role Of Education Technology?

At its core the role of EdTech is to improve education via technology, however it has many roles depending on who is applying it and who the audience is. For example, it can play a vital role in helping students with additional needs to show their true potential, unhindered by their needs or disadvantages. In a recent report Candida Dearing, SENCO at City of London Academy, explained the role of EdTech when it comes to students with Dyslexia:
“By using the technology, pupils can show people what they can do, as opposed to what they can’t do. If you have someone who has illegible handwriting or un-decode-able spelling errors etc., all you’re going to see are the errors and not the good work that’s behind them. So using the technology means that you get a truer sense of their underlying ability in the subject”.
In this way EdTech can level the playing field of education by making it easily understandable and accessible to all abilities. In a show of support for the role of EdTech the Department of Education recently pledged £100m to provide devices and internet access for vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the UK, as well as ensuring every school has free access to tech support. This commitment and investment from the Department of Education shows just how important the role of EdTech is, and will become over the next few years. 

Why Is Education Technology So Important?

EdTech is important to help students learn new skills, interact with their peers in new ways and to discover new technology to help them build a solid knowledge database. But the importance goes much further than the students; it is extremely important for educators and students’ families too. Parents and guardians are able to have access to their child’s educational records and thus the ability to help with targeted education in the home for areas in which the student may be struggling. Education can be digested anywhere and at any time, meaning learning isn’t just bound by the walls of a school or the presence of a teacher. It means that education can be at a students fingertips whenever and wherever.
A study by the University of Cincinnati found that advancements in technology within classrooms had been beneficial to teachers, with 92% of respondents stating EdTech has had a major impact on how students learn and interact with each other. Research by Harris Interactive & Online Universities.com also found that 86% of teachers think that the use of EdTech is essential, with 92% stating they would like to see the use increased.
With such support and high praise from educators across the globe it’s easy to see why the EdTech industry is very much the talk of the town right now. The educational, time and cost benefits that can be gained from implementing even the smallest of technological changes within the classroom are vast. These benefits can be seen on a multitude of educational forums and social sites since the start of more home based learning due to Covid-19, with many teachers sharing new ways to make distance learning fun and showcasing their results. 
The future of learning is technology based and we would be remiss not to embrace this exciting industry and learn with it. The educational possibilities that properly implemented EdTech makes available in classrooms across the globe is inspiring, especially when both educators and students alike are driving those possibilities.
What are your thoughts on technology use in the classroom?

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting guidance from the Department for Education, has continued to effect the way our schools are able to run now and will do so moving forwards.
When it comes to working with our school customers, we want to help you stay on top of what’s happening in as many ways as possible, so as well as ensuring you have regular contact from our team direct, whether that’s by email or phone call, we’ve also continued to create some great and informative new episodes of the School Jotter Podcast. Here’s an overview of some of the latest episodes, available on Google Podcasts and on Spotify.

New Coronavirus Act 2020

Sean talks with Sharon and Lawrence about the new Coronavirus Act 2020 and about how schools need to ensure education continues.

Parents Evenings

Sean talks to Arthur and Lawrence about how schools can handle parents evenings in the current social climate.

Remote Education in Local Lockdowns

We examine different approaches to remote education during recent local lockdowns. We explore the use of video, learning platforms and the use of off-line work packages.
There are many more episodes of the School Jotter Podcast available, if you’d like to find out more about any of the topics covered or you’d like to suggest a topic yourself, please do contact us.

Online learning has become increasingly vital to the education sector since the onset of COVID-19, but what lessons can we take from this shift away from the classroom? Like so many other effects of Coronavirus on our society, few could have foreseen the reliance on laptops, virtual learning and study portals from schools, colleges and universities. 
With this enormous shift towards students learning at home, have we taken a step closer to eLearning platforms earning their qualifications as the flexible new future of education? 
It seems certain that the changes we are experiencing in learning environments will have a lasting impact on academia, with the positives of the shift towards online education resources becoming clear ⁠— as well as assessments about what still needs to change to drive effectiveness.
Let’s take a look at how much higher education courses may focus on eLearning and remote learning in the future, especially in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Innovation and Online Learning Systems

In recent years, many schools and universities have successfully moved towards an increased use of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and Virtual Learning Environment (VLEs). As these platforms have continued to grow and become increasingly common, their evolution provided a fantastic grounding for learning during lockdown. 
These digital channels provided a ready-made solution for schools, colleges and universities who needed to reach students online and communicate over long distances. It’s hard to disagree with the idea that without the technological advances available in the education sector, navigating this incredibly difficult situation may have been almost impossible. 
From education software all the way through to apps for schools, it’s heartening that there are so many practical and innovative approaches being taken to aid teaching and learning. 

Changes to Exams and Qualifications

The sudden and intense escalation of lockdown following the arrival of COVID-19 in the UK led to immediate challenges for teachers and lecturers. One of the most pressing issues was around how to solve the dilemma of exams for students who would ordinarily have been sitting for their written assessments this spring. So how has this unforeseen difficulty been approached?

Examinations in Higher Learning 

One way around this dilemma that’s been taken up by institutions including the University of York is sharing exam questions via their VLE and emailing them directly to students. A fixed time frame was given to students to complete the work, which they then completed using a word processor or other software, before submitting their work online to be marked.

Qualifications in Schools and Colleges 

In contrast, exam boards for GCSEs, A Levels and AS Levels reached out to schools, colleges and other exam centres, asking them to submit a ‘centre assessment grade’ for students in each of their subjects. Essentially, that meant asking for predictions of the grades they would likely have achieved, based on evidence such as classwork, non-exam assessments and mock exams results.
Both of these approaches reveal fascinating possibilities for the future, showing signs of how the education sector can adapt quickly — with technology often leading the way. It will be fascinating to see how the education sector builds on these new ways of working, as well as observing what other noteworthy innovations arise.

Boosting Students’ Access to Digital Texts

One way publishers have been able to help learners during the pandemic is by giving university libraries increased access to online texts. This is a boost to both students and lecturers, helping to ensure everyone has the necessary resources to ease the disruption to their studies. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see expanded access to digital books and journals continue for some time to come.
The library at King’s College London shows one example of this process in action. Although their website makes clear this is a temporary solution, a telling paragraph advises students that any feedback received about the extra availability of resources is ‘useful and can feed into future decisions’. This shows how shifting approaches brought on by necessity could lead to outcomes with the potential for great positive change.

Ensuring Equality to Address the ‘Digital Divide’

An important consideration as we move towards increased levels of online learning is making sure everyone can access the tools and resources they need. Universal access to fast broadband is an idea that has gained increased traction during lockdown, with plans put in place between BT and the Department of Education to temporarily provide free broadband access to disadvantaged young people, so they can study online.
A further issue to consider is the possibility of making equipment like laptops available, helping to make sure everyone is able to access online learning resources and no-one is left behind. The UK government has already put plans in place for distributing equipment to vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils, which is a truly encouraging step.

There are clear signs that the future of education is increasingly virtual, and it’s essential that we continue to build at scale to create a level playing field for students of all backgrounds. 
How do you see the future of teaching changing in the current circumstances? Do you have any examples of inspiring successes that involve using technology to benefit students? Get in touch with us on Twitter or LinkedIn to share your stories.

In these unprecedented times, families around the UK are scrambling to ensure their children have the necessary resources to continue learning at home. But almost two months into the lockdown and many parents have discovered that this is much easier said than done. 
With so many distractions at hand, from TV to games consoles, keeping children engaged in learning during the lockdown is proving difficult for many families.It’s important to understand that this is a very tough time for children too; being away from friends and having routines thrown out the window, all while being told they need to stay indoors for the foreseeable future. 
Whilst it’s important to ensure that your child remains engaged in learning throughout these difficult times, it’s just as important to look after their mental health. Often, these two things come hand-in-hand, which is why we’ve put together this helpful guide.

Maintain Routines

One of the most effective ways to keep your children engaged in learning is by keeping their routines as close to normal as possible. This means if they usually go to bed at 9pm on a school night, then make sure they continue to go to bed at a similar time. Maybe your child used to have football practice on a Tuesday evening; why not trade this for a weekly family kickabout in the garden? 
This should also be applied to the school day routine; for example by setting start and end times for the day, as well as break and lunch times. If you want to take this a step further, try to replicate the lesson schedule, too. So, if your child is used to having a history lesson at 1pm on a Tuesday, find some topical resources and aim to follow the same structure.

Regular Exercise

The benefits of regular exercise are well-proven; from better mental health to an improved immune system. The NHS recommends that young people between the ages of 5 and 18 should spend at least 60 minutes exercising each week, with adults recommended to exercise for at least 150 minutes per week. Depending on how old and active your children are this length of time can vary, but 60 minutes should be a bare minimum during the lockdown period.
Taking regular breaks can also help with this. If your child is used to running around the playground with friends at school, then why not encourage them to go out in the garden every couple of hours for some play time? Alternatively, you could make a trip to the local park, walk down to the shops, or even go on a short bike ride.

Don’t Just Stick To Textbooks

While it’s good to ensure that your child sticks to the school syllabus, encouraging them to only use textbooks is bound to result in boredom. Incorporate fun ways to learn into their day; for example, by taking part in one of the many online celebrity lessons, playing some fun online STEM games, or even putting together your own daily/weekly quiz (with prizes, of course). 
In addition, you could also teach your children other skills. This can be particularly helpful if your kids normally go to after-school clubs or a childminder’s. For younger children, this could be an arts and crafts evening, garden sports activities or even fun cooking lessons. For older children, you could teach them more complex cooking skills, how to manage finances or even tasking them with a more in-depth research-and-presentation piece on a subject they’re interested in.

Gamification

Another way to keep your child engaged during the lockdown is to gamify their learning activities. In summary, gamification is the process of adding gaming elements to non-gaming situations, such as learning. There are various ways that you can do this; one of the easiest being playing online learning games. 
You could also gamify learning by giving your children rewards when they reach a certain milestone, by introducing an element of friendly competition with daily/weekly quizzes, or by setting group assignments where your kids are rewarded for working together.

Find What Works

It’s important to recognise that different things work for different people. One of your children may be an auditory learner, whereas another may be a visual or kinesthetic learner. If this is the case, your learning plans will need to be personalised for each child based on their learning styles. This will not only ensure they can truly reap the benefits of their learning, but will also make it easier for you to plan the lessons. 
You may already know what type of learner your child is, but if not simply have a conversation with them about how they prefer to learn. Or if they don’t know, you can use one of the many free online learning style questionnaires. Try to monitor how your child responds to different tasks to get a better idea of their learning style.
Do you have any more tips to share with us on how to keep your kids healthy and engaged in learning during the lockdown? Why not get in touch with us on Twitter or LinkedIn?

Homeschooling has suddenly become the new normal for many parents and guardians during the COVID-19 pandemic. This alone would mark enough of a seismic shift for millions of us, but we’ve also been working out how to homeschool while getting to grips with unprecedented changes to our working lives.
How can we make the best of this extraordinary situation, ease the pressure of teaching at home and give the children in our care the tools they need to thrive? We’ve collected together some fantastic free resources that can take the headache out of homeschooling, providing you with some peace of mind in these difficult times.

The Best Online Tools for Learning

During this period of Coronavirus homeschooling, parents and guardians have been reassured they’re not expected to directly replace teachers — instead, our role is to guide youngsters through the teaching materials provided by schools. However, it’s still a relief to know there are many online homeschooling resources available to help us dream up ideas for study topics and tasks. 
As providers of a range of educational tools for schools and further education, here at Webanywhere, we’re keen to help however we can. We’ve put together a selection of e-learning options designed to be used by teachers, but in these exceptional times, they can be really useful to parents and guardians too. 

Finding Educational Materials for Your Child

There are so many options out there that it can be tough to narrow down which educational materials are the best fit for your child’s age — and which are actually worthwhile. We’ve been able to take some of the hard work out of the equation, signposting you to some fantastic online destinations to bolster your children’s learning. 
Broken down into useful tools for students in Key Stage 1 and 2 (ages 5-11) and Key Stage 3 and 4 (ages 11-16), they are further divided up to cover key subjects including English, Maths and  Science. There are also enjoyable and educational links to content that can bolster learning for topics such as Art, Music and French. Some of the online tools we’ve highlighted include:

BBC Bitesize

Some parents may remember this long-running service from their own school days! BBC Bitesize offers a range of educational tools for learners of all ages, from primary school to secondary education and beyond. It’s also been updated with lots of info on Coronavirus homeschooling.

Tate Kids

Perfect for budding artists, Tate Kids is full of fascinating facts, fun quizzes and ideas for getting crafty at home. With lots of interactive elements and educational content, this is a great resource for keeping young minds busy and engaged.

The Children’s Poetry Archive

Full to the brim of inspiring verse, the Children’s Poetry Archive can be searched by theme and age range to find rhymes to suit all tastes. The website provides access to a wide range of poems that are read out loud by their authors, helping to bring them to life for children of all ages.

The Natural History Museum

The spectacular Natural History Museum has a special section on its website dedicated to learning resources for kids. From a directory of facts about dinosaurs to a child-friendly guide to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, this is a great pick for aspiring scientists and historians.

Using Apps to Aid Learning

You can also take advantage of digital devices to aid learning, with many fantastic educational apps available for mobile devices. Several of these can be downloaded directly to your smartphone or tablet and used as an educational aid at home, adding a little more variety to youngsters’ learning time.
Among the apps you might find useful are the language-learning platform Duolingo, the resource-packed Khan Academy, and flashcard-based learning tool Quizlet. Don’t forget to discuss online safety with youngsters in your care and set up parental controls on mobile devices as appropriate, as well as keeping an eye on the apps and websites they are using.

How to Build a Structured Routine

Guidance published by the government advises that children of primary school age will take comfort from predictable routines, which can significantly aid their learning process. Schools will provide advice for how to structure your children’s days but don’t forget other important elements of a daily routine like regular bedtimes, making time to be active and scheduled breaks.
If you’re able to work from home, aim to manage the day in a way that suits the structure of your working hours. Your employer may even be able to allow some flexibility to help you manage the twin demands of your day-to-day work with homeschooling in the Coronavirus pandemic.
Do you have any more tips to share with us about great homeschooling resources? Get in touch with us on Twitter or LinkedIn to share any amazing online tools that can make life easier for parents and guardians who are homeschooling.

It’s the start of a new term, yet Summer 2020 is like no term any teacher has ever experienced. The ongoing global pandemic has changed everything we know about teaching and it’s difficult to be fully prepared in times like these. However, as teachers and school leaders, we need to continue educating the children in our care; it’s just a case of using the tools we have available to find new ways to deliver the curriculum and support students and parents to engage with this new way of learning. With this in mind, here is some advice on how to continue to find success through distance learning.

Stay In Contact

Parents have been thrown into a new and potentially stressful situation here. Overnight, they became their child’s teacher, and for many that’s been a real challenge. Even those parents who have relished the opportunity to get more involved in their child’s education may need a little support or advice as the weeks pass. Contact parents to check how students are getting along, and to support parents with any issues they may have. Don’t just make this a one-off conversation; keep in regular contact and make the conversation about more than just school work. 

Provide Rich Content

Yes, school’s out for summer (potentially), but that doesn’t mean learning has to slow down or stop altogether. Make sure you provide rich content for children to work on at home, to supplement any more practical activities they may be doing with parents. The internet is a vast library of audio visual and interactive content and providing links to useful resources ensures children continue following the curriculum and increasing their knowledge. 

Make It Fun

Let’s not forget that children will be finding this period of their lives stressful as well. They’ve been thrown out of their usual routine, they’re missing their friends, they can’t get outside to play, and they may be worried about family members or the future – and then you expect them to do school work as well! Getting children to engage might be difficult, especially when there are so many other activities calling for their attention. Using an online tool like School Jotter Learn means you can include interactive games and fun videos in your learning materials, meaning children are more likely to engage and learn.

Measure Attainment

In the classroom you have a range of systems for measuring every aspect of a child’s development, from numeracy and literacy skills to how well they can hold a pencil or throw a ball. It’s much more difficult measuring attainment remotely, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the effort. After all, it’s important to be able to show kids (and parents) how much they have improved, and knowing their ability level when school finally reopens will make integration that bit easier. Make sure online lessons include quizzes and “homework” that needs submitting – you can do this in School Jotter Learn – and offer children extra help wherever it’s needed.

Keep It Consistent

It may be tempting to push six weeks’ content out at once and leave kids to get on with it at their own pace, but this is not a good idea for many reasons. Firstly, seeing so much work at once could prove to be demoralising, demotivating or stressful for many children, who may feel overwhelmed or that they need to complete it all at once. In fact, some students will want to race ahead and finish work as quickly as they can, which will leave them with nothing to do for the remainder of the half term. A far better idea is to set work weekly or even daily; however you choose to schedule it, make sure it’s regular and consistent. Routine is important for us all, and children will find it easier to engage with home learning when there is a structured system in place. Again, School Jotter Learn can help you organise your online lessons so they are delivered to children in a consistent way. 
To summarise, here are the key points to ensure distance learning works and online lessons are a success.
Stay in contact: check in with parents regularly, chat about both school work and home life, and offer support where it’s needed.
Provide rich content: follow the curriculum as closely as you can and supplement more formal learning with audio visual content and practical activities kids can do at home.
Make it fun: use interactive games and videos to keep kids interested and engaged. 
Measure attainment: use quizzes or set activities to be sent back to you so you can see how much improvement is being made – and offer additional help when needed.
Keep it consistent: set work regularly; create a “timetable” and stick to it.
Good luck and enjoy the new term – however unusual it may be! And if you need any support or advice on how you can deliver successful remote learning to your students, please don’t hesitate to contact us here– we are here to help. 

Multi Academy Trusts is an academy trust that operates more than one academy school. They differ from state schools as the academy can decide what the money funded by the government can be spent on. Communicating with parents is essential for teachers to be successful.
It is so important to have a teacher, parent connection for positive results during the child’s school life. Research shows that parental involvement can free teachers to focus more on the task of teaching children. There has to be a balance though. The parent has to communicate not just the bad but the good.
For example, schools who communicate with parents about bad performance can discourage parent involvement by making parents feel they cannot help their children. However, substantial evidence exists showing that parent involvement benefits students, including raising their academic achievement. There are other advantages too such as increasing motivation for learning, improved behavior, more regular attendance, and a more positive attitude about homework and school in general.
With multi-academy trusts (MATs) there are ways they can improve communications to help to achieve the best results possible. As society changes so does the ways of communication:

• School Jotter, in the UK, School Jotter is revolutionising the way school websites are built. Thanks to this app, students and parents can access vital information they may need. There is no excuse for “the dog chewed up my homework” anymore!

• Alexa, MATs can use Alexa to remind them that there is homework due on a certain day. The school can set reminders and you can put notifications on to alert you what they’re wanting to communicate with you about.
• Facebook, we may as well make use out of social media. Schools could create groups and talk on the ‘live’ if there any important or necessary information that needs to be handed out. For example, in an English class, if the students have been set homework which is rather tricky, the teacher can talk them through. Or if the weather causes the school to close for the day they can alert through parents Facebook.
• Sound Branch, this may be more efficient for schools as sometimes people can be skeptical about Facebook. Sound Branch will allow parents to put in voice notes in a closed group which they can send information too. This can be seen as more professional as it is suited for everyone. The notification will pop up on your phone in text and then you can press the play button to hear it out loud.

Keeping them up to date about behaviour and how well the student is doing academically on parents evening are essential. Communicate and seeing which way the parent prefers to be contacted then it feels like a more personal level. When the parent feels comfortable they will respect you more themselves and want their child to respect the teacher.
Also having the option for the parent to get in touch with a particular teacher can be beneficial. Keeping parents updates on how well they are doing with their homework.
Keeping it traditional as well with letters is still effective but there are faster ways of communication that can be more cost efficient and better for the environment.
You can find out here what Webanywhere (under education) do to help improve your school, teacher, parent and student communication.

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.

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.”