Winkleigh Primary School

What goals were you hoping to achieve when you decided that an engagement system would be a good fit for your school?

We were already using Schoolcomms for texting and emailing parents and found it a user-friendly interface. We needed to reduce the amount of cash and cheques being handled by the Admin team as counting and banking was becoming a very timely activity since pupil numbers at our school have increased over the years.

We were looking to modernise our payments systems to ease the process not only for Admin staff, but for our parents as well. We therefore decided to speak to Schoolcomms about the online payment system. Once the payment system was embedded we extended even further by purchasing the online school dinners module.

Why did Winkleigh Primary decide to use Schoolcomms to reach these goals?

Schoolcomms is a simple and efficient system to use. We were familiar with the interface and dealings with the support staff have always been efficient so we felt safe in their hands.

Were there any advantages to using Schoolcomms that you hadn’t considered when originally looking?

From the very beginning it was easy to use. The result of using Schoolcomms is that we have been able to streamline and modernise most or our more cumbersome admin processes, and we’ve become more efficient as a result.

What has parent and staff reaction been to School Gateway?

Parents and staff have loved School Gateway. It’s easy to install on any device and simple to use! I personally did not use the internet on my phone but I have since installed the app and purchase meals online before I come to work. It must be easy if I can do it!

One of our Admin team members is also a parent at the school so sees School Gateway from both sides – she finds it really easy and straightforward to use and is able to help any parents who get stuck.

What challenges were you concerned about and how did you overcome them?

We were worried that some parents may not be comfortable paying online as we do still have some parents who will not use the internet. We introduced the payment system slowly adding trips on to it over a period of time. All trips are now paid for online using School Gateway.

Once the trips payments were embedded we introduced online dinner payments. This was again introduced slowly. Voluntary at first in the Summer term with full conversion by September. Most parents have been converted. They find the system is easy to use and general feedback is that they love it.
Any issues that we have had as an Admin team have been dealt with very well by the support team.

Just talking our issues through with somebody has often helped to resolve the issue. The support team clearly know and understand their product, and have always been courteous and helpful – no matter how inconsequential our query might be!

Response to Wishlist requests or general queries made using the online contact form has always been speedy. It’s very reassuring as an Admin team to know we can depend on the support team.

What has been the impact of adopting Schoolcomms?

We now only have two parents who do not use the online systems. Very good take up. We feel that our parents are prepared for communicating with local secondary schools – who all use online payment systems – by the time their children move on.

• It is very easy to communicate with our parents.
• The Admin team no longer have to spend hours counting cash and cheques.
• Our Admin processes are much more efficient

Download the PDF version of Winkleigh Primary School’s journey with Schoolcomms.