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June 2007 - INFANT SCHOOL TURNS TO TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP PARENTS IN THE LOOP
An infant school in Birmingham has committed itself to the installation of a market-leading text alert system to facilitate child safety, monitor unauthorised absence and improve communication between the school and parents.
Lyndon Green Infant School, which has 278 pupils on roll aged between four and seven years old, signed up for Groupcall's Messenger system following a successful trial period.
"During the course of the trial, we found Messenger so useful that we decided to commit to it on an ongoing basis," explains Head Teacher, Barry Yeardsley. "Prior to that, our staff had to man the phones, which was very labour-intensive, so the ability to employ a credible, relevant and viable sms solution was an advantage. The system has drastically reduced the time spent on administrative tasks."
A good example of how the system has added value was illustrated recently when the school's heating system failed. School had to be closed and whereas previously it would have taken nearly three hours to contact parents by phone, Groupcall's Messenger reduced that time down to a few clicks of a mouse.
At first, the school was apprehensive as to whether it would use the system enough to justify the cost but has found the system really useful and has paid for itself within the first couple of months of use.
"We're in the process of expanding the family of contacts to include other relatives," adds Barry Yeardsley. "That's what's good about Groupcall: you can create your own bespoke database. It's a system which is specifically tailored for the needs of the school and is easier than I thought it would be to set up and use."
Lyndon Green has found the real value has come when the school has needed to inform parents quickly and efficiently that their child has had to be picked up from school at short notice.
"The positive feedback we have received from parents is testimony of what an impact it has had."
Groupcall's Messenger system, which provides integrated SMS, voice message and email technology, is helping Government meet new targets while improving teacher parent communication. The system 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, 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, meaning that no data export or re-keying is required.
For more information - Please contact us at sales@groupcall.com
