News Archive
Clarion Call keeps parents up to date
23 September 2008
St Bede's Preparatory School has gone live with Clarion Call, a system of electronic only communications to parents. The text messaging system eliminates the need for notes in book bags and ensures that the School can relay important messages to parents via SMS text, voice messages or emails at the touch of a button. Parents are reminded of up-coming events affecting them such as parents' evenings and concerts and receive match details direct when pupils are chosen for sports teams. Meanwhile, the weekly newsletter is emailed home with hyperlinks to photos and stories on the school's website.
Initial registration was simple: parents logged onto a website, entered their details and were updated onto the school's pupil information system. There is now an automatic synchronisation every night between this and Clarion Call so that contact detail changes feed through immediately. Parents can even choose both to be entered as priority one, keeping the whole family aware of arrangements, or to designate one person only to receive news. The whole system is not only reliable and convenient but is helping to save a considerable amount of paper and energy.
This is yet another example of St Bede's leading the way with technology and follows the successful launch of the electronic security system last year, based on Oyster Card technology, where every pupil has their own individually programmed electronic key to the school.
