If you want someone to receive a message from you straight away, the best way to do it is to send them a text.

Unfortunately bulk messaging has been expensive – until now. Now you can communicate with parents, and it won’t cost the school a penny.

This can have a major impact on your communication systems as well as your budget, because until now you may well have restricted the number of messages you send out because of cost.

Although obviously you would never want to overdo the number of messages you can send out, you can despatch any message to any group of parents without judging the message financially. A reminder of exam dates, assignment due dates as well as school closures can all be accommodated.

Clearly, if both student and parent know the due date for a homework assignment and are reminded of it at the appropriate moment, then there is more chance that the homework will be done.

Likewise, information about absences, reminders of rehearsals, etc, can all be sent out. That’s why so many schools pay for the service.

To run this service, all that is required is that the parents download a smartphone app. This then allows parents to download assessment dates, calendar events, etc. The system also sends the parent regular reminder alerts as and when required.

The great bonus of this system is that the sole cost is a charge to parents of £1.49 per year. (This is the price for family, irrespective of the number of people in the family receiving the alerts.)

Experience shows that most parents opt to sign up for the system, which then makes existing text messaging systems redundant – thus saving you a considerable amount each year.

There is more information on the Assessment Alert website at www.assessmentalert.co.uk

Or you can email info@assessmentalert.com for more information or call us on 01536 509826.