SCHOOLS TO TARGET PARENTS BY EMAIL USING PROVEN TRUANCY REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Schools that have been using text and voice messaging technology that has been proven to significantly reduce truancy levels are about to gain a third way of informing parents that their children aren’t in class…email.

[ClickPress, Sat Jan 06 2007] Groupcall, a company co-founded by Sir Bob Geldof, will use next week’s BETT education technology exhibition at London’s Olympia to showcase a new email element to its acclaimed Messenger communication software for schools.

The new email function can be applied in two ways. Schools will have the option when they send a standard voice or text message to send a duplicate email message, if the school’s management system holds parents’ email addresses. This opens an additional communications channel with parents in case mobile phones are switched off. Parents replying to the school’s email message will do so automatically to the school’s email address. Voice or text messages sent in a foreign language are sent as a foreign language attachment by email. Additionally, schools can use the email facility for routine communication, sending messages in either plain text or HTML format and can also attach files, such as school newsletters, general letters etc.

“Schools have become very comfortable using Groupcall Messenger both as a truancy management tool and also for general communication,” explains Groupcall managing director, Lawrence Royston. “By adding an email facility, we are providing schools with a further method of communication to stay in contact with parents.”

In official statistics released recently by the Scottish Executive, authorities using Groupcall Messenger for a year saw truancy levels in their secondary schools fall by as much as 27%. In some places, schools which chose to use Groupcall Messenger recorded big drops in truancy levels, whilst neighbouring schools that didn’t use the technology saw little or no change.

The Groupcall Messenger system is currently in use in more than 600 primary and secondary schools throughout the UK. It allows schools to simultaneously send voice or text messages to the landlines or mobile phones of parents, staff or other school contacts in any language for a low monthly subscription fee.

Messenger is the only system which reads data live and in real-time from all major school management systems, enabling all absences to be quickly investigated to ensure they are genuine and known about by parents. In so doing, it also drastically reduces administration time spent on the telephone and saves on telephone costs, providing an inexpensive and robust method of contacting all or groups of parents in the event of an emergency or change to the normal school day.



The system has been deliberately designed to be affordable. Subscription is geared to the number of pupils on roll. The result is that it can be offered to schools for approximately £1 per pupil per year. There is no additional cost for each email but there is a small additional monthly fee for schools wanting the email capability.



The software works with existing computers, existing telephony and existing infrastructure. There is no requirement on the school for data entry; installation causes no disruption to the day to day running of the school, and nor are schools tied in to long-term contracts.



Ends.

Bookmark this release: Del.icio.us - Digg - Furl - Blinklist - Reddit