Case Studies - Helmshore Primary School

Helmshore Primary School

A primary school in Rossendale is turning to SMS and voice messaging technology to improve levels of communication with parents and keep them better informed of school developments.
Helmshore Primary School, which has 340 pupils on roll, has successfully completed a two-month pilot of the Groupcall Messenger system and has now decided to move forward with its permanent installation. The system allows schools to simultaneously send automated and pre-recorded voice and SMS messages to the landlines or mobile phones of parents, staff or other school contacts and is in use throughout the UK for absence management, emergency response and to enhance pupil safety.

“We have found ourselves using the system extensively over the past couple of months to advise parents about the cancellation of football matches and, during the recent snow, to send one message to all parents to let them know that we would be open as usual,” explains school administrator, Sarah Jones.

“Having the system in place has saved an enormous amount of time that would otherwise have been spent making and fielding calls, because parents have already received a message with the information they need.”

Feedback from parents has been overwhelmingly positive and the school has even had some parents contacting them to ensure that both parents’ mobile numbers are included on the school’s database, providing a very useful way of ensuring that the school’s contact data is kept up to date.

“We have already identified other uses for the system, from sending parents a reminder of the time of their appointments at Parents’ Evenings to confirming or otherwise whether school sports days will be going ahead,” adds Sarah.

“If you’re a parent, the Groupcall Messenger system means not only an improved flow of communication from your child’s school, but also the security of knowing that if your child does not arrive at school, you will be quickly alerted to the fact. It reduces the amount of cost and administration time spent by school staff on the telephone and vastly improves ease of contact between school and parent,” explains Groupcall’s Lawrence Royston.