Building Communications and Engagement with SIMS InTouch

Background

Harbour Primary & Nursery School is located in Newhaven, East Sussex and is currently rated overall ‘Good’ by Ofsted and ‘Outstanding’ for early years. Having been established as recently as 2013, the school is made up of seventeen classes with 500 children ranging in age from as young as two years old, up to 11 years old in Year 6. 

Led by Headteacher Christine Terrey, the school has a clear vision to unite staff, governors, families and children, with a determination that all children will achieve their best as a result of being part of a welcoming, creative and inclusive community. 

With such a strong emphasis on family and community, creating open and consistent channels of communication is of great importance to the school. This requirement encouraged the school’s decision in 2016 to invest in SIMS InTouch, a complete communication tool which integrates with the school’s existing SIMS database to send email, text and instant messages.

One system for data and communications

Before purchasing SIMS InTouch, the school made use of a previous system that relied on a flow of data to and from their SIMS database, which created potential issues. In addition, needing to maintain two databases created additional challenges both in terms of ensuring data accuracy and the time spent in manually editing and checking entries. 

As Headteacher, Christine needed to be sure that embarking on a project to replace the existing tool would produce a positive outcome. She explains: “The system we were using was not always reliable, and relatively expensive.

Easy to use and keep up-to-date

After deciding to go ahead and implement SIMS InTouch, the school’s staff were supported with the technical process of embedding the new solution. This, as Christine outlines: “made the technical set up straightforward. We’ve since found SIMS InTouch to be very easy to use and it takes very little to maintain.” 

Improving flexibility and efficiency As part of the setup process, the school received training from SIMS to gain a solid understanding of the functionality available, including the ability to send messages quickly and easily from one inbox as a result of being fully embedded within SIMS. 

This allows the school to provide their parents with communications across a wide range of subjects, in a way that suits them best, as Christine explains: “We believe parents, on the whole, prefer to receive emails rather than paper communications.

“Also, having the ability to text when we need to urgently contact parents, if a club is cancelled, for example, is good. The absence texting is a brilliant function – being able to pick up the illness reasons from a text message and upload it to the register saves us time.”

Saving time with added security

In a modern school environment, the pressures placed on the available resources mean that an opportunity to improve efficiency and find a better way of working are top priorities. By switching to a predominantly electronic approach to communications, Harbour Primary & Nursery have enjoyed great success in streamlining their procedures and becoming more agile in how they contact parents. 

This also reduces the risk of communications being lost in transit, providing greater peace of mind. Christine explains the benefits: “Using SIMS InTouch has made a significant difference to the way we operate in the office.

“In addition, previously letters didn’t always reach home, so using SIMS InTouch means that we know parents will have received information when we send it.”

Encouraging two-way communications

A further benefit of using an electronic communications tool is that it provides parents with an additional platform for providing feedback to the school. This helps foster a culture of community and helps parents feel genuinely involved in developing an environment that encourages the best out of their children. 

Using the functionality of emails to receive this feedback rather than the formal method of writing and posting letters, fits in much better with the modern world in which school communities live. 

Christine and her staff have seen a significant upturn in the quantity of messages being received. She says: “Since activating SIMS InTouch we regularly receive emails from parents. It offers them an alternative and easy way to communicate with the school.” 

In addition to using the email functionality of SIMS InTouch, the school makes use of the SMS feature, sending text messages straight to parents’ phones in a cost effective and secure manner. Christine explains: “We use the SMS pay-as-you-go bundles to text parents – in particular for those who have absent children and we have not heard why.

What’s next?

Two years on from launching SIMS InTouch, the staff at Harbour Primary & Nursery have grown their confidence in the system and it has become an essential part of their day-to-day work. 

With the new regulations around data protection, GDPR, now launched in the UK, the school is well positioned to operate a robust and reliable strategy in regards to data management when it comes to communications. By successfully engaging their parents and inviting them to feel involved in school life, they are certainly living their values and vision with the support of their entire community.