At the best of times rummaging around in your child’s rucksack in search of that school report or timetable can feel like routing through the depths of Mary Poppins’ suitcase: a lengthy struggle to find what it is you’re looking for, if you find it at all. The iParent app is iSAMS' paperless solution for parents.
However, the fact remains that the vast majority of parents and guardians are hugely invested in the education of their child or children; they’re just looking for the best way they can get involved. Simultaneously, teachers recognise the significance of students’ academic and wellbeing progress extending beyond the classroom and into their lives at home.
In recognition of this, we developed the iParent App; to sort out school-parent communication once and for all. Available on Android and iOS mobile devices, an intuitive dashboard provides parents with instant insights into attendance records, exam results, timetables, school reports, and other key information regarding each of their children.
If you’ve already invested in the iParent App, then you’ll be keen to start seeing the benefits of simplified and enhanced communications between your school and parents, building closer relationships and encouraging greater involvement in school life. But – how do you introduce the app to parents?
Check out our 6 top tips below to support parents in downloading and starting to use the iParent App:
1. Merchandise
Everybody loves a freebie, and there’s the added benefit that it’s a really good way to increase the visibility of the app; particularly if it’s something parents are going to see or use every day. From mugs and notebooks, to bags and cupcakes, we encourage you to get creative with your promotional tactics – it doesn’t have to be expensive but it can be enormously effective. Some of our partner schools have sported bright orange t-shirts to spread the word, whilst others have opted for adorning boldly brilliant signs as parents drop their children off in the morning.
2. Find a spokesperson
One of the easiest ways you can showcase the benefits of something is to find yourself someone willing to give you a good review, which is especially effective as people tend to trust their peers more than anyone else. We would recommend speaking to one of the parents most heavily engaged with school activities and someone who is an active voice in the parent community, so they can help raise awareness and encourage greater involvement from other parents.
3. Parents’ evening
One of the many advantages of using the iParent App is that school reports, exam results, attendance records, and further important information involving each of their children is readily available for parents to view in real-time. This means that a lot of time can be saved at parents’ evenings as, instead of going over what’s happened, you can spend valuable time discussing why things have happened and planning next steps towards achieving better student academic and wellbeing outcomes. So, what better time to discuss the value of the iParent App than at parents’ evening? Highlight what the app can do and how parents can download and use it for next time.
4. Include iParent in your school’s marketing materials
The iParent App is a great selling point for prospective parents, helping your school stand out against others they may be considering sending their children to. So, why not include it in your marketing materials to help showcase what you can offer your students and parents, simultaneously raising awareness of the iParent App early so it’s something parents will recognise as their children begin attending your school.
5. Host a dedicated “Introduction to the iParent app” session
They say safety comes in numbers, so it might help to organise a more official gathering for the launch of the app at your school – perhaps doubled up with another event, such as a beginning of the year “meet ‘n’ greet” – where parents can download the App together and briefly go over how to use it, to help parents get the best out of it. Any parents unable to attend, could be sent some concise instructions surrounding the iParent App alongside the important start-of-term information, thus ensuring they don’t miss out.
6. Use the App Broadcast feature
Use the iParent App Broadcast feature to send emails directly to Parent Portal users who haven’t yet installed the App, ensuring they’re aware that it’s available and highlighting how it will be useful for them. You can even include installation instructions to make sure they know how to download and set up the App on their mobile devices.
Give some of these a go and be sure to let us know which method works best for you.
Got another suggestion? We’d love to hear how your school is showcasing the launch of the iParent App and if there’s anything we can do to support you with this. Keep us posted by dropping us an email.
