Brentry Primary School

Brentry Primary faces a unique challenge and looks towards a straightforward and easy payments re-structure…

A lack of man hours meant restructuring the school payment system had to be straightforward and easy. The school delved into which solution could be the best for them in this case.
“Due to a staff restructure and a loss of admin staff we needed to reconsider, as a school, how we could restructure the school payment system to save time and ultimately money. After looking at various systems, we decided that Schoolcomms was our best fit.”

The majority of your parents were using the app before you fully implemented the system in September. Did you undertake any preparation to improve uptake in the run-up to implementation?

The school decided to introduce the system as a soft approach at the beginning of June with no more cash payments being taken from 1st September. By allowing themselves a transfer period during the Summer term, the school was able to ensure that 90% of their parents had the app, were registered, and were able to make payments before September.

The impact of implementing Schoolcomms…

Since last September, Brenty Primary has been able to successfully put the majority of their payments through Schoolcomms. It has transformed the way the school collects, registers, and manages bank payments.

How did you turn your staff into Schoolcomms’ champions?

The school was able to prepare for the implementation of Schoolcomms by sharing with the staff and explaining the reasoning and the impact on trips before announcing anything to parents. They took some additional steps, with the help of Schoolcomms’ available resources, to fully equip their staff to handle any queries:
“We shared sample documents with staff and showed them how we would be able to monitor pupil payments and also offer installment payments more easily on the camps. The admin team participated in all the Schoolcomms online tutorials to ensure that they understood the process and felt confident to deal with teacher and parent queries.”

What advice would you offer to other schools hoping to implement Schoolcomms?

Brentry Primary was quickly able to identify the benefits they were able to enjoy due to the implementation of Schoolcomms and how this solution was a better fit for their school’s goals:
“I think our tips for success would be to ensure that the admin team is fully trained; you have your teachers buy-in through sharing the benefits; a transfer period where you still accept cash payments and time to help parents where required. We would not go back to the old system!”

So, how much is Brentry Primary School saving by using free app messaging?

If Brentry Primary School replaces just one text per pupil with a free message to parents with the app, they will be sending 184 fewer texts per day. 184 texts, charged at 6p (the average cost for a school their size), would have cost the school £11.07 per day or £2,103 per school year.

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