The paper sign-up sheet for parents’ evenings is a humble, historic piece of school life – frayed at the edges, covered in scribbles, and sometimes more than a little hard to read. But in this digital age, it is a relic from another time.
Before Tes Parents Meetings
A paper-based approach to booking parents’ evenings appointments means it’s tricky for staff to keep track of who has signed up for what (particularly in large schools), and that’s without even considering the additional challenge of changes or cancellations. It’s a pain for parents too, having to rummage around for a crumpled piece of paper in their child’s bag, or amend their schedule to sign in person at school, hoping a convenient slot will still be available.
But this was the system that Snaresbrook Primary School used for years, as Rhian Jenkins, office manager, explains.
“When I first started here, parents’ evenings were booked via huge sheets of paper on boards outside. Parents would come along and sign up manually."
“But as less and less parents come and pick up on a regular basis due to childcare, after-school clubs, and so on, we started to look for solutions where it could be more admin-managed. We started to look for a way that we could communicate with the parents and they could easily book from work, from home, in the middle of the night, like lots of parents do.”
After Tes Parents Meetings
The solution? Tes Parents’ Meetings. The easy-to-use online platform offers simple online booking for parents and integrates seamlessly with school management systems, significantly lightening the load for admin staff.
“Obviously doing it manually was a mammoth task,” Rhian explains. “But with Tes Parents’ Meetings the classes, the children and the parents all load automatically from the MIS system, which means that there's no work involved for us. It's very, very easy to use. As a result of that, we just sit back and let the parents book.”
Transition to online parents' meetings
Tes Parents’ Meetings also offers the option of holding meetings online, via secure, encrypted video conferencing, which can bring peace of mind around privacy, rather than discussing potentially sensitive topics in a crowded school hall. And the online option can bring significant benefits around organisation for staff and families, Rhian continues, with things being “a lot stricter for the appointments”, she explains.
“During the pandemic, we managed all of our parents’ consultations virtually. The teachers really enjoyed that side of things because they were given their 10 minutes and as they were coming to the end of the meeting, a timer came on, counting down. It made it very slick and very clear that they weren't being rude, they just had to wrap it up. It enabled them to be very aware of their time management, and it makes sure that you talk smart and get the job done.”
The option of hybrid meetings
Most meetings are now face-to-face again, she continues, but the hybrid option of being able to offer online or in-person has proven a relief for time-pushed parents.
“We get parents who say, ‘I really cannot get out of work, but I can spare you those 10 minutes’ and we'll swap that into a virtual meeting. It has helped with parent engagement because they are now able to do things themselves rather than needing us to do it for them.
“Of course, we're here to help if they need us to make the appointments, but they have that control that they don't have to come into the school and they can do it in the middle of the night if that suits them, they're not worrying. It's so flexible, it really works for everybody.”
Set-up parents' meetings in less than five minutes
The benefits also extend to admin staff, Rhian continues, who can use Tes Parents’ Meetings to set up events quickly and easily.
“It takes less than five minutes to set up a parents’ evening now,” she says. “You just need to enter the date, the times and how long the appointments are for. Everything else, it takes care of it. You can put breaks in or the teachers can log in and set their own breaks, whichever way you wish to manage it. But I would say it takes less than five minutes to set up a parents’ evening.”
The most popular parents' meeting software
With this level of simplicity enhancing parent-teacher communication and improving the experience for everyone involved, it’s perhaps no surprise that Tes Parents’ Meetings is the most popular parents' meeting software in the UK, with more than 40 million bookings so far and counting, from schools of all sizes, from small primaries to large secondaries and colleges.
“I would definitely recommend Tes Parents’ Meetings to other schools,” Rianne concludes. “It’s made the office’s job a lot easier. It's easy to manage. The teachers like it; they can access all the information they need and parents can book their own appointments. It’s a game-changer.”