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February 2007 - GELDOF IN SCOTLAND to hail Falkirk's landmark anti-truancy deal
Falkirk has become the first education authority in the UK to commit in one decision to the long-term installation of Groupcall's market-leading truancy management and parental contact system in all of its nurseries, primary, secondary and special schools.
The announcement was made jointly by Julia Swan, Falkirk's Director of Education Services, and Sir Bob Geldof, founding partner of Groupcall, whose Messenger system is to be installed for an initial three year period in all 65 of the authority's nurseries and schools, at a Head Teachers' conference in the town. The announcement comes just weeks after the Groupcall system was proven to have reduced truancy in other authorities by more than a quarter. In some places, schools which chose to use Groupcall Messenger recorded big drops in truancy levels, whilst neighbouring schools that didn't use the technology saw little or no change.
Groupcall Messenger allows schools to send text messages (SMS) to the mobile phones of parents, staff and other school contacts or voice messages to landlines or mobile phones, or emails in any language for a low monthly subscription fee. The system was developed in consultation with primary and secondary schools and provides First Day Contact, unauthorised absence chasing and general parental communication all in one integrated desktop solution. The Groupcall system reads pupil and attendance information live and in real time from the school's management system.
Julia Swan, Falkirk's Director of Education Services, explained the authority's decision:
"We've seen a 25-30% improvement in the explanations for absence since Groupcall was piloted in some of our schools last year.
"Our schools already have fairly robust procedures for checking unauthorised absences in place but this new system is far more flexible and very easy to manage.
"The Groupcall technology is helping us and parents make sure children attend school."
Sir Bob Geldof was similarly enthusiastic:
"The truancy figures published by the Scottish Executive were phenomenal, providing definitive proof that this system brings down truancy. But, we also know that it has an equally important role to play in enhancing child safety and improving communication with parents at all levels, from nursery through to secondary. Falkirk is to be applauded in setting a lead to other authorities throughout the UK."
Falkirk's Education and Leisure Convener Councillor Tom Coleman said:
"Making sure pupils are safe and well and also reducing unauthorised absences are major priorities for Falkirk Council.
"This system ensures parents are kept informed if their child is absent from school and is flexible enough to allow staff to design tailored messages like warning of school closures due to bad weather and even reminders about parents' evenings."
Messenger is installed in more than 600 primary and secondary schools throughout the UK, enabling all absences to be quickly investigated to ensure they are genuine and known about by parents. In so doing, it also drastically reduces administration time spent on the telephone and saves on telephone costs, providing an inexpensive and robust method of contacting all or groups of parents in the event of an emergency or change to the normal school day.
The system has been deliberately designed to be affordable. Subscription is geared to the number of pupils on roll. The result is that it can be offered to schools for approximately £1 per pupil per year. There is no additional cost for each email but there is a small additional monthly fee for schools wanting the email capability.
The software works with existing computers, existing telephony and existing infrastructure. There is no requirement on the school for data entry; installation causes no disruption to the day to day running of the school, and nor are schools tied in to long-term contracts.
For more information - Please contact us at sales@groupcall.com
