Lexden Springs school is a 168-pupil school based in Colchester, offering specialist education for children aged 3 – 19 with complex learning difficulties. Their school ethos aims to empower pupils to raise achievement through active independent learning in partnership with the support of their parent community. For a school like Lexden Springs, having a clear and effective communication strategy is paramount to the engagement they build with their pupils’ parents and carers.
Why SchoolPing?
Prior to implementing SchoolPing the school was using two separate communication solutions, as well as printed documents to communicate with their school community. Not only was this proving costly, but it was increasing workload for the admin team.
They chose SchoolPing so they could have an all-encompassing solution which included parents’ evening booking, permission slips, forms and unlimited messages, allowing them to become paperless. They loved the fact it links directly to SIMS and provides overnight updates to ensure contact details are kept up to date.
How much have the school saved?
Not only were they able to stop paying out for two communication solutions but with 166 pupils, they will also be saving on both printing and texting costs.
Message tracking made easy
A massive bonus for Lexden Spring is the ability to see which messages have been read and received, as well as who has opened attachments. This facility not only helps report on engagement but makes it an easy and seamless process to re-target those people who haven’t responded.
‘’A massive bonus of the site is that you can see if your message has been viewed and attachments opened.’’
Improved communications = improved engagement
Parents have loved the introduction of SchoolPing. There has been lots of positive feedback around parents being able to receive and respond to messages on their phone. This is now parents’ preferred choice of communication, demonstrating how important it is that a school opts for a communication method that parents will engage with to ensure maximum engagement.
Sharing school experiences with parent communities is really important in a school such as Lexden Springs. It engages the parents and allows them an insight into their children’s day.
Switching to SchoolPing also encouraged the school to check that their records were up to date.
‘’Parents are able to receive and respond to messages on an app on their phone which is now most peoples preferred method of communication.’’
Hours of administration time saved
By using SchoolPing to automate their parents’ evening and forms, as well as removing the need to print and distribute school news, they have managed to free up vital admin hours.
A dedicated team with exceptional customer services
From the moment the school signed up they received exceptional service from the New Era Team. We pride ourselves on our thorough onboarding and customer experience and this was reflected in Lexden Springs’ feedback.
‘’The team are really helpful on the phone and the initial training was very thorough.’’
Summary
‘’A simple to use app, which our parents love, allowing us to efficiently send and keep all communications in one place. Complete with the ability to track who has read and received messages, improving our overall engagement with parents and carers.’’
More info
If you would like more information about SchoolPing, visit our webpage or contact a member of our team directly.