Anfield Primary School Case Study

Transforming the Communication Strategy: Anfield Primary School Case Study

The Anfield Primary School Case Study shows how a school in Hong Kong boosted parental engagement with a dedicated app. By streamlining communication, Anfield ensured parents received timely updates and stayed connected with the school.

The app also supported home-learning during school disruptions, keeping parents informed and involved in their children’s education. This approach transformed the school’s communication strategy, making it more efficient and responsive.

Transitioning From Email To An App: Anfield Primary School Case Study

When schooling in Hong Kong was disrupted in late 2019 by local protests, Anfield Schools recognised the need for better communication. Consequently, parents missed important updates as emails went unnoticed or landed in junk folders. Moreover, with school day changes requiring quick communication, Anfield realised that email wasn’t effective.

Anfield improved its communication strategy by using Piota’s primary school app, which allowed them to quickly and easily send messages through instant push notifications. As a result, “using the app to reach parents has been a revelation.” Furthermore, the app has eased the workload on Anfield’s admin staff, making communication with parents both easier and more efficient.

Effective Communication With Registration: Anfield Primary School Case Study ​

The registration feature has been invaluable for Anfield, ensuring that parents see and receive important messages. “Since all our parents are registered, we know the messages reach them, and that’s crucial for us.” Using the back-end Content Management System (CMS), Anfield can check registered devices to confirm engagement with app content and follow up with parents as needed.

Additionally, the registration feature enables Anfield to send tailored messages to parents of specific year groups and classes. This relevance has increased parental engagement significantly. Parents have responded positively, stating, “They love the app; communication has been much smoother.”

I genuinely don’t know what we would have done in the last 12 months without it

— Elise Rees, Head of School

Improved Engagement with the Piota app: Anfield Primary School Case Study

Anfield has been able to see that communicating using the primary school app is both effective and efficient. After the Hong Kong education authorities advised all of the local schools to close for two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak, Anfield was able to send out instant communications to parents via its app. After sending out the initial alert, parents were then encouraged to stay engaged with the app and keep an eye out for further updates.
 

Another alert was then sent an hour later, confirming the school closure and sharing the new timetables and information about home-schooling for the next few days. This, in turn, gave Anfield some much-needed time to plan the next steps for the rest of the school closure. As a result of their effective communication using the app, only one child turned up to school the next day, thereby proving that parental engagement had increased significantly.

Saving On Admin Time ​

Having a web-based Content Management System (CMS) has enabled Anfield to send alerts from home when staff are off-site. Additionally, the CMS allows for pre-scheduling school messages, which can be easily updated as needed. This capability has “eliminated the rush to send bits of information,” ultimately saving admin time.

Moreover, when changes occur, the CMS allows for quick updates that reflect on parents’ smartphones. As a result, Anfield has also reduced costs on paper and printing. Previously, sending permission slips home was challenging, as they often got lost. However, by using the app to host links to Google Form permission slips, parents can fill them out digitally upon receiving alerts, resulting in a much higher response rate. Finally, parents are also encouraged to use the app to report absences and update their information, which helps keep Anfield’s database current.

Parents love the app, they feel the communication has been much smoother

— Elise Rees, Head of School

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