Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to the most common questions schools have about Parents Booking.
If you don’t see your question here, just contact us to ask it.
If you’re looking for product support, take a look at our product support FAQs.
What is Parents Booking?
Parents Booking is software that allows parents to book parents’ evening appointments, events, clubs, trips and related parent-school ‘bookings’ easily, online. We integrate with your school’s MIS database and your favourite EdTech products so that we fit seamlessly into your digital offering.
Parents make their own appointments and bookings – these can made on a smart device such as a smartphone or tablet, or on a computer. Teachers can see their appointment schedules online at any time, and similarly admin staff can check lists of sign-ups for events, clubs and trips in just a few clicks.
Of course, there’s more to it than that – for example, features for creating reports, automatically chasing parents who haven’t booked, and communication tools which facilitate parents and teacher dialogues in advance of meetings are all part of the service. Parents Booking designed to make parents’ evenings and all school-parent ‘booking’ tasks as easy as possible.
See how it works in more detail
How do parents make appointments online?
Here’s how it works. You can also watch our support video.
- You send out the login details, website address and instructions in a letter or email (we provide templates for these)
- The parent goes online on their phone, tablet or laptop and enters their login details
- The parent sees their child’s name or names (they may have more than one child in the relevant year groups)
- Then there are two options:
- they click on the ‘booking wizard’, which automatically creates a schedule covering all their children and all relevant teachers, with no clashes
- OR they click on a child, see a list of the relevant teachers, and then select from a list of available appointments with each
- They email or print out their schedule – and then just turn up on the night
What are the benefits of running booking online?
There are plenty of benefits:
- Save time for teachers and staff
- Improve parental engagement
- Run more effective evenings
- Monitor your performance
- Go paper free
Read about them in more detail: The system
Can school teachers and office staff assist parents who need help?
Yes, of course. If a parent is unable to get online or can’t use the system, you can make their bookings for them. We’ve got instruction videos that will get you up to speed on the parents’ end of the system. Or you can send parents links to the videos, or embed them on your website.
How do you help with a school’s parental engagement challenges?
- Self-booking makes parents’ schedules easier
Often the reasons parents don’t attend are practical ones – for example, they’re too busy, signing up is difficult and time consuming, or they will need to find a babysitter. Online booking removes a lot of these obstacles. Not only is it easier to book, it’s also easier to arrange an appointment that fits with their schedule. Perhaps they can fit it into an hour when a relative is available, or arrange a time that won’t interrupt dinner. The less disruption the event will cause, the more likely the parent is to attend. And because they take ownership of their attendance, they’re less likely to cancel.
- It’s easy to chase parents who haven’t booked
Parents Booking makes it easy to identify which parents haven’t yet booked and send them personalised messages. And when they receive a reminder, online booking means they can book then and there on their phone – reducing the likelihood that it gets forgotten in the midst of a busy day. You can also send reminders to parents who have booked, including their appointment time – a great way to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations.
- New channels of communication allow parents to be more engaged
Parents Booking gives parents the opportunity to send message to the teacher, for example suggesting topics for discussion. Because the teacher comes prepared, the parents evening appointment is more useful for everyone. And because they found the event useful, the parent is more likely to remain engaged in future. Working together with teachers, they can provide a better learning environment for their child at home.
Which school (MIS) databases do you integrate with?
We integrate with the most popular MIS databases used by UK schools, including:
- SIMS
- SEEMIS
- Facility
- Progresso
- Bromcom
- Integris
- iSAMS
- ScholarPack
- WCBS Pass
- Arbor
- Pupil Asset
- Other lesser-known and bespoke databases
Do you provide telephone and e-mail support?
Yes, absolutely. Our support desk is open 9-5pm, Monday to Friday. For email enquiries, we aim to get back to you within the hour. We also offer plenty of help videos that take you step by step through a task.
Do you help schools with events, tickets, clubs and trips as well?
Yes, you can add the Event Booking or School Club Booking modules to Parents Booking. You can use it to create events and let parents book tickets online.