We鈥檙e excited to introduce 麻豆视频’s all-new Sports Portal, designed to elevate the sports experience for international and independent schools globally! Whether you’re a staff member, parent, or student, the portal offers an all-in-one solution for managing and viewing school sports fixtures and results.

From upcoming matches to past results, the Sports Portal delivers a comprehensive overview at a glance. Staff can enjoy complete visibility of fixtures, set favourite teams, and get immediate access to results as soon as they’re posted. Plus, with real-time updates on match results, stats, and reports, the Sports Portal keeps everyone in the loop – during and after the game.

Streamline your match day prep with downloadable team sheets and stay ahead of the game. Whether you鈥檙e a Head of Sports, Athletics Director or Activities Coordinator, the Sports Portal is your one-stop platform to professionalise your programme. The portal鈥檚 modern, sleek interface brings a premium experience to staff, students, and families alike, ensuring every aspect of your school鈥檚 sports offering is managed efficiently and seamlessly.

Looking to dive deeper into the portal鈥檚 features? We鈥檝e got you covered! Watch our on-demand webinar recording, which offers an in-depth look at the Sports Portal and all the ways it can revolutionise your school’s sports programme.

Promote and cultivate a strong sense of team spirit and unity within your school community, bringing parents, students, and staff together through a shared passion for sports. 麻豆视频鈥檚 Sports Portal is built to meet the high expectations of international and independent schools, helping your school deliver a professional, exciting sports programme.

It鈥檚 time to give your school鈥檚 sports programme the upgrade it deserves!

For a personalised discussion and demonstration of the Sports Portal, book a free session with a member of our team:

Book Free Demo

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Does your school use 麻豆视频?

• Yes
• No

Demo

Learn more about new 麻豆视频 features and additional modules.

Free 1 hour online session

For leadership and management staff across activities, sports, finance, and IT directors
1-1 or group session

What to expect:

• Hosted by your dedicated Account Manager for your school鈥檚 activities, sports, administrative, IT and finance teams
• Find out about:
• Our recent 麻豆视频 updates
• New modules
• Getting the most out of existing features
• Learn how 麻豆视频 can streamline your activities, bookings, parent-teacher conferences, billing and transport via a centralised platform
• Create a bespoke package of individual modules or use all 麻豆视频鈥檚 features as your complete school portal

Training

Receive in-depth training on 麻豆视频 features.

Free 45 minute session about your chosen topic

Configure your session to respond to your ECA, PTC, transport, sport, booking and billing needs. Sessions needs to be booked by an 麻豆视频 Admin
1-1 or group session

Continue

What to expect:

• Hosted by a Customer Success team member with intimate knowledge of your school鈥檚 account
• A personal, in-depth online training on 麻豆视频 features. The session is tailored to your exact needs so you will be able to specify the topics and features you want training in
• Benefit from refined School-to-Home processes and best-practices
• Suitable for all skill levels, whether your school just started with 麻豆视频 or is a seasoned user

Are you a student or parent looking for support?
Please make contact with your school directly or check out our .

Other Training Options

Onsite Training

Paid onsite training for schools that wish to compress training time or prefer onsite support 鈥� available during working hours, Monday through Friday.

Curious about our team, our user satisfaction, and all available training options?

Learn More

Demo

Your school doesn鈥檛 use 麻豆视频 but you're curious to learn more.

Free 1 hour online session

1-1 or group session

Continue

What to expect:

• A personal, guided walkthrough of 麻豆视频 for your school鈥檚 activities, sports, administrative, IT and finance teams as well as senior leadership
• Learn how 麻豆视频 can streamline your activities, bookings, parent-teacher conferences, billing and transport via a centralised platform
• Create a bespoke package of individual modules or use all 麻豆视频鈥檚 features as your complete school portal

The post Game On: 麻豆视频鈥檚 New Sports Portal Is Live! appeared first on 麻豆视频.

We are excited to share several new feature enhancements designed to streamline school-to-home processes and significantly enhance the 麻豆视频 user experience for our schools. These updates will increase efficiency, communication, data accuracy, and lots more! Let鈥檚 take a closer look.

Administrative Updates

We’ve streamlined several administrative features to ensure smoother operations. The Pre-select students and Multi Add to Groups tools can now correctly filter by gender, making group management more efficient. Additionally, we’ve refined the Preference and FCFS Containers, allowing admins to remove student selections and allocations at the same time.

Meanwhile, improvements to the Reception User Search Bar mean faster, more accurate results, and manually booked students now show up correctly in Groups. Furthermore, we’ve optimised the display of contact information for multi-school users to ensure vital information is formatted properly for easier readability.

Communication Updates

Our communication tools received several key improvements to enhance messaging efficiency. We’ve optimised the Send Communications tool to ensure that attachments now accompany emails on all screens (by updating individual Groups communications screens so that attachments can be sent from these as well as the main Messages Centre), and enhanced the functionality to allow sending multiple messages with the same attachment seamlessly.

To avoid redundancy, duplicated absentee emails have been eliminated. Several message details, including group/year/person information, timestamps, and error messages have been clarified and improved.

We also improved the message icon alignment for a more consistent appearance and made it easier to unarchive messages from your ‘Sent’ folder. Lastly, the redundant ‘+’ button for users without relatives has been removed.

Diary Updates

Updates to the Diary system this month were focused on synchronisation across platforms. We reviewed diary filtering and visibility of fee-only events. Additionally, the language used for transport event student statuses has been aligned across web and app interfaces.

We also improved the iCal and Google integrations to ensure your calendar events now accurately reflect the correct timezone settings.

Fee Updates

Our recent fee management updates target key areas to ensure more timely financial tracking. We refined the Transfer Out and Balance Outstanding columns to ensure that balance updates are being processed smoothly and efficiently.

We also reviewed and addressed niche scenarios where duplicate charges had been possible, enhancing our error prevention measures. These fixes help to maintain precise and reliable fee tracking, giving schools and parents peace of mind.

Signup Updates

Signups are now more reliable with several critical enhancements in place. We recently updated our timezone management software having thoroughly reviewed the functionality in relation to signups. This included improving the parent experience in unique scenarios, such as when a latecomer is halfway through making a booking – when a signup closes – and doesn’t quite make it. We鈥檝e enhanced the formatting during preference resubmissions and ensured that Instant Book accurately displays the Signup Closed Modal.

Restrictions on booking multiple events over several days are now seamlessly enforced, and the Join Request function is optimised to handle multiple changes when a student can’t decide if they’re in or out. Additionally, the user experience around transport configuration recognition and minimum weekly selections for families with multiple children has been improved.

Other Updates

Finally, various other improvements have been implemented to enhance overall system functionality. The GG4L Import now effectively reactivates previously deleted parents, ensuring data consistency. We’ve enhanced the integration with SSO providers to support longer names seamlessly. Transport Live Route Data refreshes are now more targeted, and invoice reminders properly copy parents into corporate bills. Lastly, recipient names are now visible in overdue reminder emails, making communication clearer and more personalised.

Coming Soon

Get ready to elevate your school鈥檚 sports experience with our new Sports Portal, launching very soon!

Designed for both staff and parents/students, the portal will offer a comprehensive view of all upcoming and past fixtures and results at a glance. Staff will enjoy full visibility of fixtures, with the ability to set favourite teams and access results as soon as they鈥檙e released. During matches, results, stats, and match reports will be seamlessly recorded in one place, updating in real-time. Plus, streamline match day preparations with downloadable team sheets!

To learn more about any of our updates and enhancements, whether you are a 麻豆视频 user or not, book a free demo with a member of our team.

Book Free Demo

Share

Share

Facebook Twitter Email

Click to copy link

Text has been copied

Does your school use 麻豆视频?

• Yes
• No

Demo

Learn more about new 麻豆视频 features and additional modules.

Free 1 hour online session

For leadership and management staff across activities, sports, finance, and IT directors
1-1 or group session

What to expect:

• Hosted by your dedicated Account Manager for your school鈥檚 activities, sports, administrative, IT and finance teams
• Find out about:
• Our recent 麻豆视频 updates
• New modules
• Getting the most out of existing features
• Learn how 麻豆视频 can streamline your activities, bookings, parent-teacher conferences, billing and transport via a centralised platform
• Create a bespoke package of individual modules or use all 麻豆视频鈥檚 features as your complete school portal

Training

Receive in-depth training on 麻豆视频 features.

Free 45 minute session about your chosen topic

Configure your session to respond to your ECA, PTC, transport, sport, booking and billing needs. Sessions needs to be booked by an 麻豆视频 Admin
1-1 or group session

Continue

What to expect:

• Hosted by a Customer Success team member with intimate knowledge of your school鈥檚 account
• A personal, in-depth online training on 麻豆视频 features. The session is tailored to your exact needs so you will be able to specify the topics and features you want training in
• Benefit from refined School-to-Home processes and best-practices
• Suitable for all skill levels, whether your school just started with 麻豆视频 or is a seasoned user

Are you a student or parent looking for support?
Please make contact with your school directly or check out our .

Other Training Options

Onsite Training

Paid onsite training for schools that wish to compress training time or prefer onsite support 鈥� available during working hours, Monday through Friday.

Curious about our team, our user satisfaction, and all available training options?

Learn More

Demo

Your school doesn鈥檛 use 麻豆视频 but you're curious to learn more.

Free 1 hour online session

1-1 or group session

Continue

What to expect:

• A personal, guided walkthrough of 麻豆视频 for your school鈥檚 activities, sports, administrative, IT and finance teams as well as senior leadership
• Learn how 麻豆视频 can streamline your activities, bookings, parent-teacher conferences, billing and transport via a centralised platform
• Create a bespoke package of individual modules or use all 麻豆视频鈥檚 features as your complete school portal

The post August Spotlight: Feature Enhancements and Updates appeared first on 麻豆视频.

Creating a joyful and supportive environment is essential for the success of international and independent schools. When students and parents feel happy and valued, it fosters a thriving community that enhances learning and overall wellbeing. Implementing effective strategies across various aspects of school life can significantly contribute to this positive atmosphere. In this blog, we will share seven effective approaches to elevate happiness among students and parents alike.

Personalised Extracurricular Programmes

Extracurricular activities play a vital role in student engagement and wellbeing. To foster a sense of belonging and enthusiasm, schools should consider personalising these programmes to reflect the diverse interests of their students. Regularly surveying students to understand their passions and introducing new clubs or activities that cater to these interests can lead to higher levels of participation and happiness. Additionally, offering flexible scheduling options can help accommodate the varied commitments of students, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to pursue what they love. This personalised approach creates a more inclusive and vibrant school culture. Learn more about navigating the extracurricular maze in our .

Efficient and Safe Transportation

The daily commute is often a significant aspect of the school experience for both students and parents. Optimising bus routes, ensuring punctuality, and maintaining high safety standards can greatly reduce stress and improve overall happiness. Implementing a real-time tracking app that allows parents to monitor their child鈥檚 journey provides an extra layer of security and peace of mind. Furthermore, regularly gathering and acting on feedback from both parents and students can help address any concerns and ensure a smooth and comfortable transportation experience.

A Holistic Approach to Student Wellness

While physical activity is crucial for student health, a comprehensive approach to wellness that includes mental and emotional wellbeing can further enhance happiness. Expanding wellness programmes to include activities such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness workshops can help students manage stress and improve their overall wellbeing. Encouraging a balanced approach to physical activity, where enjoyment and participation are prioritised over competition, can create a more supportive and inclusive environment. This focus on holistic wellness contributes to a healthier and happier student body.

Seamless Technology Integration

Technology is a critical component of modern education, and its successful integration can significantly impact the school experience. Schools should focus on providing intuitive, user-friendly platforms that enhance everything from admissions to activities management, teaching and learning, parent-teacher conferences, alumni relations, communications, and more (find out how, ). Offering training sessions for staff, students, and parents can help ensure that everyone is comfortable with the technology being used. Additionally, investing in reliable infrastructure and responsive IT support can prevent disruptions and frustrations, leading to a smoother and more enjoyable experience for all users.

Active Parental Involvement and Communication

Effective communication between schools and parents is essential for building a strong, happy community. Leveraging technology to keep parents informed and engaged – whether through regular newsletters, parent-teacher apps, or virtual meetings – can strengthen the connection between home and school. Ensuring that parents feel heard and valued not only increases their satisfaction but also fosters a sense of trust. Inviting parents to participate in school activities or decision-making processes can further enhance their connection to the school, leading to a more cohesive and supportive community.

Cultural and Social Inclusion

In international schools, the richness of cultural diversity can be a source of strength, but it requires thoughtful attention to ensure that all students feel included. Promoting cultural and social inclusion through activities that celebrate diversity, such as international days, cultural fairs, and inclusive sports events, can help create a sense of unity and respect among students. By fostering an environment where every culture is valued and celebrated, schools can enhance the happiness and sense of belonging for both students and their families.

Commitment to Continuous Feedback and Development

Establishing a culture of ongoing feedback and improvement is essential for maintaining high levels of satisfaction among students and parents. Regularly soliciting input through surveys, suggestion boxes, and forums allows the school to identify strengths and areas for enhancement. Demonstrating responsiveness by implementing changes and communicating updates shows a dedication to meeting the community’s evolving needs. Encouraging student and parent involvement in decision-making processes empowers individuals and fosters a shared sense of responsibility and pride in the school’s direction. Continuous development ensures that the school remains dynamic, responsive, and aligned with the best interests of its community.

Conclusion

Boosting student and parent happiness in international and independent schools requires a holistic approach that considers all aspects of the school experience. By personalising extracurricular programmes, optimising transportation, adopting a holistic approach to wellness, seamlessly integrating technology, fostering parental involvement, promoting cultural inclusion, and continuously seeking feedback, schools can create a nurturing and positive environment. These strategies not only enhance the day-to-day experience but also build a thriving, happy community that attracts and retains families.

The post 7 Transformative Strategies for Boosting Student and Parent Happiness appeared first on 麻豆视频.

Managing after-school programmes at international and independent schools presents a unique set of challenges. Coordinators and administrators must ensure that activities run smoothly, students are safe, data is handled with care, and communication with parents is clear and effective. In this blog, we will explore a number of strategies to streamline the ECA (extracurricular activities) experience and enhance satisfaction for students, parents, and staff.

Simplifying the Sign-Up Process

A seamless ECA sign-up process is the first step in ensuring a positive experience for everyone involved. Implementing an online registration system can significantly reduce administrative burden and errors. The parent experience should:

• Be User-Friendly: Parents should easily navigate the platform, find activities, and sign up without confusion
• Include Clear Information: Detailed descriptions, schedules, costs, and requirements for each activity should be provided
• Allow Automatic Reminders: The system should send event notification reminders and payment reminders to parents, eliminating the need for staff to manually do these tasks

Using a centralised platform also helps in maintaining accurate records, which is essential for planning and resource allocation.

Effective Communication Channels

Clear communication is vital for the smooth operation of after-school programmes. Establish multiple communication channels to ensure all parties are informed:

• Email and Newsletters: Include regular updates about upcoming activities, changes, and important announcements
• Mobile Apps: Provide dedicated apps that offer instant notifications, schedules, and real-time updates
• Parent Portals: Set up an online portal where parents can log in to check their child’s ECA schedule, attendance, and other relevant information

Regularly soliciting feedback from parents and students can also help in making necessary adjustments to improve the programme(s).

Efficient Attendance Management

Accurate attendance tracking is crucial for ensuring student safety and accountability. Empowering bus monitors, sports coaches and activity leaders with technology can make this process more efficient. Here鈥檚 how:

• QR Code Scanning: Equip bus monitors with mobile devices to scan QR codes on student ID cards as they board and exit the bus. This method not only speeds up the process but also minimises errors associated with manual attendance taking
• Real-Time Updates: Ensure that attendance data is updated in real-time and accessible to administrators and parents through a secure online platform
• Automated Alerts: Set up automated alerts for parents when their child boards or exits the bus, enhancing peace of mind

Streamlined Transportation Logistics

Managing transportation logistics for after-school activities can be complex, but leveraging technology can simplify this process:

• GPS Tracking: Implement GPS tracking on school buses to provide real-time location updates to parents and administrators
• Route Optimisation: Plan your bus stops strategically, to reduce travel time and ensure efficient use of resources
• Driver Checklists: Provide bus drivers with checklists for daily tasks and student drop-off points, ensuring no child is left behind

Ensuring Student Safety and Safeguarding

The safety of students is paramount. Implementing robust safeguarding measures helps in creating a secure ECA environment:

• Background Checks: Conduct thorough background checks on all staff and volunteers involved in after-school programmes
• Training Programmes: Regularly train staff on safeguarding policies, emergency procedures, and first aid
• Secure Pick-Up Procedures: Establish clear and secure pick-up procedures. Only authorised individuals should be allowed to pick up students, verified through ID checks or pre-registered identification methods

Maintaining Data Integrity

Handling student data with care is essential for maintaining trust and complying with regulations. Here are key practices:

• Secure Systems: Use encrypted and secure systems for storing and processing data
• Access Controls: Restrict data access to authorised personnel only, ensuring that sensitive information is not misused
• Regular Audits: Conduct regular audits of data management practices to identify and rectify vulnerabilities

Enhancing Staff Efficiency

Supporting your staff with the right tools and training can significantly enhance the overall efficiency of after-school programme management:

• Professional Development: Provide ongoing training for staff on new technologies and best practices in activity management (learn more about enriching student lives with ECAs here)
• Collaborative Tools: Use collaborative tools like shared calendars and task management apps to streamline coordination among staff
• Feedback Mechanisms: Implement systems for staff to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement, fostering a culture of continuous improvement

Boosting Student and Parent Satisfaction

Ultimately, the goal is to create an enjoyable and enriching experience for students while keeping parents satisfied. Here鈥檚 how:

• Diverse ECA Options: Offer a wide range of activities to cater to different interests and talents. This diversity ensures that every student finds something engaging
• Inclusive Practices: Ensure that activities are inclusive and accessible to all students, regardless of their background or abilities
• Parental Involvement: Encourage parental involvement through volunteering opportunities and regular events showcasing student achievements

Managing Reputation

A well-managed after-school programme can significantly enhance the reputation of your school. Focus on:

• Transparency: Be transparent about your processes, achievements, and areas for improvement. Regularly update the school community on the success and impact of your after-school programmes
• Showcasing Success: Highlight student successes and ECA programme highlights through newsletters, social media, and school events
• Community Engagement: Engage with the broader community through partnerships, showcasing your commitment to holistic education and community involvement

Conclusion

Efficiently managing after-school programmes at international and independent schools requires a strategic approach that leverages technology, enhances communication, and prioritises safety and satisfaction. By streamlining processes from sign-up to pick-up, you can create a positive and enriching experience for students, parents, and staff alike. Adopting these best practices not only ensures smooth operations but also strengthens the overall reputation of your school, making it a preferred choice for families seeking a well-rounded educational experience for their children.

To learn more about how 麻豆视频 can centralise and streamline your ECAs, bookings, billing and transport management, schedule a demo with a member of the team:

Book Free Demo

Share

Share

Facebook Twitter Email

Click to copy link

Text has been copied

Does your school use 麻豆视频?

• Yes
• No

Demo

Learn more about new 麻豆视频 features and additional modules.

Free 1 hour online session

For leadership and management staff across activities, sports, finance, and IT directors
1-1 or group session

What to expect:

• Hosted by your dedicated Account Manager for your school鈥檚 activities, sports, administrative, IT and finance teams
• Find out about:
• Our recent 麻豆视频 updates
• New modules
• Getting the most out of existing features
• Learn how 麻豆视频 can streamline your activities, bookings, parent-teacher conferences, billing and transport via a centralised platform
• Create a bespoke package of individual modules or use all 麻豆视频鈥檚 features as your complete school portal

Training

Receive in-depth training on 麻豆视频 features.

Free 45 minute session about your chosen topic

Configure your session to respond to your ECA, PTC, transport, sport, booking and billing needs. Sessions needs to be booked by an 麻豆视频 Admin
1-1 or group session

Continue

What to expect:

• Hosted by a Customer Success team member with intimate knowledge of your school鈥檚 account
• A personal, in-depth online training on 麻豆视频 features. The session is tailored to your exact needs so you will be able to specify the topics and features you want training in
• Benefit from refined School-to-Home processes and best-practices
• Suitable for all skill levels, whether your school just started with 麻豆视频 or is a seasoned user

Are you a student or parent looking for support?
Please make contact with your school directly or check out our .

Other Training Options

Onsite Training

Paid onsite training for schools that wish to compress training time or prefer onsite support 鈥� available during working hours, Monday through Friday.

Curious about our team, our user satisfaction, and all available training options?

Learn More

Demo

Your school doesn鈥檛 use 麻豆视频 but you're curious to learn more.

Free 1 hour online session

1-1 or group session

Continue

What to expect:

• A personal, guided walkthrough of 麻豆视频 for your school鈥檚 activities, sports, administrative, IT and finance teams as well as senior leadership
• Learn how 麻豆视频 can streamline your activities, bookings, parent-teacher conferences, billing and transport via a centralised platform
• Create a bespoke package of individual modules or use all 麻豆视频鈥檚 features as your complete school portal

The post From Sign-Up to Pick-Up: 9 Steps to Streamline the ECA Experience appeared first on 麻豆视频.

In the increasingly competitive international and independent school market, a diverse range of extracurricular activities can help schools to stand out from the competition. From a student recruitment and admissions perspective, schools can attract a wider range of students with different interests, skills, and backgrounds (learn more about supercharging student recruitment and enrolment conversions in , published by our friends at OpenApply). This not only promotes inclusivity but also creates a diverse student body, which can lead to a more enriching educational experience for all students.

Schools that offer a wide range of extracurricular activities demonstrate that they prioritise the overall development of their students, beyond just academic achievements. This can be particularly attractive to parents who want their children to have a well-rounded education and gain skills and experiences that can help them in their future careers and personal lives.

Undoubtedly, running after-school clubs is a terrific way to enrich the lives of students and provide them with opportunities to learn new skills, make friends, and have fun. As a teacher or community leader, there are several things to consider when setting up an after-school club. We鈥檝e put together some tips and strategies to make your after-school club a success.

1. Identify Your Goals and Objectives

Before expanding your offering with a new club, or optimising your existing activities, you need absolute clarity on what you want to achieve. What are your goals and objectives for the club? Are you looking to provide a safe and supportive environment for students to socialise and have fun, or are you trying to create a more structured program that focuses on skill development or academic enrichment? Consider the scope, breadth and synergy within your activities offering, being mindful of your target student demographic, and the resources you will need to make the club a success. Also consider the impact of your wider community, such as prominent guest speakers (alumni or otherwise) who have had great success in a particular field.

2. Choose Your Activities

Once you have crystallised your goals, you need to ensure your chosen activities are in full alignment with them. Think about what kinds of activities would be of interest and value to your students, and what resources you have available, or need to make available. For example, if you want to start a sports club, you may have a gym or sports field, but be lacking in specialised or cutting-edge equipment. If you want to start a drama club, you may have access to an auditorium with a stage, but not the costumes and props required to really bring this activity to life.

3. Recruit Members (Existing and Prospective Students)

With the aforementioned goals and activities cemented, aligned and organised, it’s time to start recruiting members. You can advertise your club through digital channels like school newsletters, social media and mobile push notifications, as well as at physical events and exhibitions through print collateral. Make sure to provide clear information about what the club is about, who can join, and when and where meetings will be held. As mentioned earlier, the benefits of a diverse, robust and well managed activities program extend beyond enriching existing students’ school experiences; such programs also support the school’s advancement and recruitment initiatives (learn more about professionalising your school admissions in , published by our friends at OpenApply).

4. Set Rules and Expectations

It is important to define clear rules and expectations for your club, event, or activity, including attendance requirements, behaviour expectations, and safety guidelines. Be sure to communicate these rules and expectations to students and enforce them consistently. This helps create a safe and respectful environment that promotes positive experiences for everyone involved. It also helps students develop self-discipline, responsibility, and leadership skills. By following rules and expectations, students can learn the importance of teamwork and collaboration, which can benefit them in all areas of their lives.

5. Establish a Schedule

Decide on an appropriate event schedule that takes into account the particular demands and nuances of each activity (e.g. recovery time, if it is a sports activity). Make sure to communicate the schedule to members in advance so that they can plan accordingly, and from an administrative perspective, focus on simplicity and convenience so that the booking process is streamlined and frictionless for parents and students.

6. Encourage Member Involvement

Encourage students to get involved in planning and leading club activities, albeit under staff supervision, with parent consent, and adherence to predefined guidelines, principles and objectives. This can help to build leadership skills and create a sense of ownership among students. For instance, consider setting up sub-committees or task forces to focus on specific aspects of the club, such as organising events or fundraising. Throughout the entire process, it is both beneficial and vital to keep parents informed with regular communication and updates.

7. Evaluate and Adjust

Regularly evaluate your club to see if it is meeting your goals and objectives. Solicit feedback from members and make adjustments as needed. This could include changing the event schedule, modifying activities, or re-evaluating membership requirements.

Running an after-school club can be a highly rewarding experience for activity and event coordinators and students alike. By following these tips and strategies, you can create a fun and engaging program that will enrich the lives of your students, empower them to pursue their passion as well as help them to develop new skills and interests.

Learn more about transforming school activities and clubs management by watching our recent webinar on the subject:

The post Enrich Students鈥� Lives with After-School Clubs appeared first on 麻豆视频.

5 minutes with鈥�
Ian Douglas, Director of Co-Curricular Activities
St George鈥檚 British International School
Host of the COBIS Secondary Games

Why host the COBIS Games?

St George鈥檚 activities, like many other schools, were hampered by COVID, so they saw the COBIS Games as a perfect opportunity to kick-start again after a difficult couple of years for Co-Curricular sport especially. Ian explains 鈥淥ur activities were hampered by COVID, but things like the COBIS Games give us the perfect platform to reset after a tricky couple of years.鈥�

Why is hosting the COBIS Games so important to St George鈥檚?

鈥淚t鈥檚 super-exciting. The opportunity to showcase our facilities and to welcome lots of schools worldwide to our school is a huge thing for our community. The community is really supportive of what we do, but one of the things they have missed the most is the opportunity to see one another, to see their children and their peers playing sports and enjoying representing St George鈥檚. The COBIS Games are an amazing opportunity to represent St George鈥檚 on a world scale, which we haven鈥檛 been able to do for a long time. We want to make St George鈥檚 an international school that is really proud of their (sporting) achievements. The COBIS Games is such an important event to us, and that鈥檚 why we are proud to be hosting it this year.鈥�

How do St George鈥檚 rate their chances in the Games?

鈥淲e have seen huge numbers of Year 7 and 8 football enrollments this year, largely due the students desire to be involved in the COBIS Games. A dedicated COBIS Games swimming programme is also just about to start, and St George鈥檚 vibrant athletics programme restarted in January, focused on the Games. We are trying to look after our students as best we can, to make sure they are fully prepared. The difficult thing of course鈥� will be to select the squads!鈥�

How is the wider school community responding to hosting the COBIS Games?

鈥淲e will need an enormous amount of volunteers to host the Games, so even though there will only be 20 students from St George鈥檚 competing, there will be a much, much wider community of students, parents and staff who are part of the bigger picture of putting these games on.鈥�

What will the lasting benefits of the COBIS Games be for St George鈥檚 and all the participants?

鈥淥ne of the most exciting parts of the Games, that we hadn鈥檛 necessarily thought about previously, was the opening and closing ceremonies. Everyone comes onto site for the first afternoon, and students who have flown in from all over the world just to come to our school, make this pretty special. Also, we are looking forward to the closing ceremony which will be hosted in a really cool venue, with performances from students across the school, and everyone who has gotten to know each other over the course of the Games can come together. Hopefully some lifelong friendships will be made and they can leave having had a very positive experience.鈥�

The post COBIS Games 2023; Interview with Ian Douglas appeared first on 麻豆视频.

Payments from parents are the lifeblood of any school, whether it be tuition fees or additional payments for wraparound care, clubs, transport, lunch or any of the other extras that require either one-off or recurring transactions. Each year, the international school sector sees a staggering amount of revenue passing through it, but the practicalities of taking individual payments still raise logistical challenges for staff.

In today鈥檚 article, we will look at the productivity gains to be made from streamlining this process, as well as considering how speeding up and simplifying payments could help parents.

Challenges

Despite the large sums of money passing through international schools, there remain numerous challenges with processing and reconciling payments, which is still a time-consuming process for many school finance teams. Yet, as School Management Plus , many international schools operate on tight budgets only made worse by the after-effects of the pandemic and the continuing cost of living increases.

Our own research further enlightens the picture. A survey we carried out in June 2022 around tuition fees billing found that 40% of respondents are still using traditional, manual processes to manage payments, such as spreadsheets, email and paper. In order of importance, the main challenges this creates include:

• Lack of integration: because these manual ways of taking payments lack connection to other processes, it often requires duplicating work across other systems.
• Lack of automation: processes are performed manually that could easily be automated to save time.
• Lack of financial history: manual systems such as spreadsheets make it difficult to show parents a full centralised financial history.
• Disjointedness: manual systems lack the ability to consolidate all your financial activities and reporting across the school.
• Lack of live invoice status updates: manual systems are unable to let you track and view the status of invoicing.
• Visibility: manual systems make it harder to see finance views by student and by product, as well as other performance metrics of interest to school leadership.

Schools need to be able to consolidate all payments and information efficiently, as well as be able to report quickly and accurately to their leadership teams. With time and resources pushed, it stands to reason that finding ways of working more efficiently means your school can do more with less. If you could save time and simplify the reconciliation process, imagine what else you could do with that time to look at ways to increase promotion and marketing of revenue generating activities.

The Parents鈥� Perspective

Of course, school staff and leadership are not the only parties to benefit from a more streamlined system for taking payments. Parents, too, are looking for a faster and more simple way to pay for all aspects of their life digitally, and that includes school fees and other payments relating to their children鈥檚 education.

Not only that, but they have come to expect a digital 鈥榩aper trail鈥� that gives them visibility over their payment history to date. This fits in with a much wider trend towards mobile app payments, with expected to use mobile payment systems by 2023. Is your school keeping up with the times? Answer these questions to find out:

• Does your school provide a smooth, flexible and secure translation service for your parents?
• Do you allow payments in local currencies?
• Does your fee payment system also allow payments for other one-off and recurring expenses incurred during the school year, such as extracurricular activities and school trips?
• Is your payment system joined up with other systems used by your school community, such as your communications platform and calendars?
• Do you have an easy way to issue refunds as credits for cancelled trips and activities?

If your school still relies on manual payment systems and spreadsheets, there are platforms out there offering far more flexibility, that have the potential to increase efficiency and save huge amounts of time. Not only that, but systems such as 麻豆视频 offer the ability to integrate payments with your activities and events, delivering a more joined-up experience to teachers, admin staff and parents overall. It鈥檚 a win for the whole school community!

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Parents are a vital part of your school community, and effective communication with them is of paramount importance to your smooth day-to-day running. In this article, we will address the benefits of good school-to-home communications, as well as look at what parents want to hear from you and how to improve your school鈥檚 interactions with them.

When Communications Improve, Everyone Benefits

It is important to begin by remembering that good parent communications are not just for the benefit of the parents themselves; they benefit the whole school community, starting, of course, with the students. Joyce Epstein鈥檚 research into school-to-home collaboration is widely cited, as referenced , with one key finding being that:

鈥�…when the schools conduct frequent communications and interactions with the families and communities (Epstein 2009, Epstein 2001) more children stand a chance to receive common messages from various stakeholders about the importance of the school, working hard, thinking creatively, helping one another and of staying in school.鈥�

Indeed, other research suggests that 鈥淪trong communication between teachers and parents contributes to overall improvements in students鈥� attendance, behaviour, and grades鈥� (Nagro & Stein, 2016).

Meanwhile, good parent communication 鈥� and in particular digital communication 鈥� also has a positive impact on the parent-teacher relationship and on the well-being of teachers, as discussed in Finnish research entitled . This study concluded that 鈥渄igital communication can be one positive factor building parent鈥搕eacher partnership and enhancing teacher well-being鈥� and found that 鈥渞espectful and trusty digital communication that also supports teacher well-being contains the elements of frequency, clarity, prudence, proactivity, and encouraging feedback.鈥�

So, with parents, students and teachers all benefiting from good school-to-home communication, how can your school improve yours?

Understanding How Families Access the Internet

It is helpful to think about communication from the point of view of the parents who will be receiving it, and one of the key considerations in communicating effectively is understanding how they typically access information.

Firstly, it seems safe to assume that they will have internet access, with 2019 indicating that in Europe, it is almost universal for households with children (98% on the EU average). Interestingly, other research shows that parents are also more likely to use digital technologies than adults without children (Kildare and Middlemiss, 2017).

A (NSPRA) found that email and online parent portals were top of the list of preferences when it came to medium of communication. It is also worth noting, however, that one thing that has changed in recent years is the devices used to access the internet. Desktop is no longer king, with 81% using a smartphone for regularly checking emails and 21% using a tablet. According to Adobe鈥檚 2018 鈥楨mail Use 2017鈥� report, smartphones are the most common device, particularly for those aged under 35 years old and women.

This suggests that schools should ensure that content is mobile-friendly to ensure parents can read it easily 鈥� or even better, offer a mobile app to facilitate easy communication.

What Parents Want From School Communication

Having understood how parents access information, the next aspect to consider is what they actually want to hear from your school. The NSPRA survey showed that the top priorities were progress and performance updates for their children, and information on the syllabus, homework and grading. They also expressed a desire for a calendar showing events and meetings, as well as curriculum updates and safety information.

Importantly, the aforementioned Finnish study acknowledged that there are limitations to what parents want to hear about via digital communications versus face-to-face or a phone call:

鈥淧arents want to have information about their child鈥檚 conflicts at school (). However, according to the present study, both parents and teachers felt that sensitive issues with pupils, like constant conflicts and health issues, should be communicated face-to-face or by phone. Choosing the right channel to communicate is essential because parents and teachers should have open and proactive communication about sensitive issues affecting children鈥檚 well-being ().鈥�

Of course, you could run a parent survey of your own to find out what your specific school community wants to hear. This will give you the opportunity to rethink your communications strategy from an informed starting point, allowing you to tailor your messages to your own community.

Improving Your School-to-Home Communications Journey

To improve the way your school communicates with parents, the next step is to consider all the potential touchpoints you may have with them. These could include:

• Attendance 鈥� keeping them informed on their children鈥檚 attendance records, ideally in real time so that they immediately know if their child has not turned up for a class or activity
• Reports 鈥� end-of-term and end-of-year academic and behaviour reports
• Consent 鈥� obtaining consent for trips and other activities
• Transport 鈥� pick-up times and locations, and updates about delays or changes
• Events and ECAs 鈥� signing up for and receiving updates about activities, wrap-around care, parent-teacher conferences and so on
• Cancellations and alerts 鈥� for instance, closure due to snow, or a Covid outbreak in a particular class
• Fees and payments 鈥� making payments for trips, kit and activities

The simplest solution to addressing all these potential touchpoints is to use a school-to-home management system, which keeps all your parent communications in one place. Systems like these allow you to send messages relating to the whole school, to specific year groups or to other segments of your school community, such as a specific class, a football team or those who signed up for a particular swimming lesson slot or trip. This means that parents only receive what is relevant to them and their child, making them more likely to read them.

The benefit of this kind of system is that parents know that all messages from the school will come from a single source, using push notifications (saving money on expensive SMS messages) to ensure that they are less likely to miss them. This also means they no longer need to check multiple systems for updates on their child, as well as have the ability to store a personal calendar of all the activities their child is attending (or each of their children, if they have more than one child at your school) 鈥� tapping directly into the desire expressed in that NSPRA survey we touched on earlier.

So, while some parent communications are best left face-to-face, for everything else it makes sense to house as much under one roof as possible. This keeps things simple for busy parents, giving them just one place to receive information and complete any of the other tasks they need to do, such as providing consent or making payments. With the benefits of good communication to all in the school community clearly documented by a range of research, a comprehensive school-to-home management system could be the best investment your school ever makes.

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Transport status visibility is critically important to the safe and efficient transport of your students to and from your school. While your staff need to know where buses are and which bus each student should be on, parents often need to know exactly when their child鈥檚 bus is due in order to make sure they are there to meet them.

The transport systems at many international schools are currently hampered by manual ways of management. According to the schools we spoke to, the areas most in need of improvement in a typical school transport programme are efficiency, communication, manual processes and safeguarding. We discussed this subject in a with international schools, and in today鈥檚 post, we will look again at the problems raised and potential solutions to them.

Transport Challenges

Masterminding transport is a complex task, and one made more difficult by not having the correct systems in place. Indeed, 60% of international schools we spoke to are running their transport system using manual processes such as paper, spreadsheets or messaging via WhatsApp or other such platforms. This way of running school transport comes with a number of challenges, including:

• Labour-intensive process 鈥� keeping track of everything on paper is a time-consuming manual process, involving updating attendance lists by hand, ensuring the correct students are on board each bus and passing the list to drivers. This makes for a stressful end to the day for bus monitors!
• Lack of tracking 鈥� with a manual system, it is not possible to live-track where the school bus is, or whether it is running late; yet parents need to know when their children will be home, and staff need to know from a safeguarding perspective where each bus is on its route.
• Difficult to make changes 鈥� parents sometimes need to make changes to a student鈥檚 transport needs, for example due to a doctor鈥檚 appointment or change of plans, but a paper system makes last-minute emailed or phoned in change requests a challenge to handle.
• Knowing which students are able to walk home 鈥� it can be difficult to keep track of which students are permitted to walk home from the bus stop, leading to confusion, concerns and unnecessary contact with your team.
• Linking ECAs with transport 鈥� a paper transport system can make it challenging to manage students who need a later bus following an after-school club, or changes of plan due to the cancellation of an ECA.

Above all, these challenges can be summarised by one overarching problem: not having everything online and easily accessible in one place. Attendance lists may be managed by spreadsheets, but then parents will email or phone in with change requests, and the day鈥檚 piece of paper must be located and updated manually before being passed to the driver. This is an inefficient way of working that can lead to extra stress, human error and potentially compromises to student safety.

Utilising Transport Visibility Technology

These challenges are surmountable thanks to school transport visibility technology, which can give you:

• Complete visibility 鈥� showing staff and parents exactly where students are, and ensuring drivers know whether or not to expect them.
• Easy change requests 鈥� parents can submit change requests via an app, such as requesting a different bus or a different mode of transport (such as walking). These are approved by a member of staff and attendance lists are then automatically updated.
• Live status updates 鈥� with real-time bus times and route updates showing exactly where the bus is, staff and parents can immediately see whether the bus is running on schedule, late or completed. Warnings can be issued via push notification and/or email when the bus is running late.
• Linking ECAs and transport 鈥� plans change all the time where after-school clubs are concerned, as an activity may be cancelled, or students might decide not to attend due to illness or other commitments. Linking ECAs with transport means that attendance lists are updated automatically, so the bus driver always knows whether to expect a particular student or not.

Finally, in our last post, we noted the findings of a study that questioned parents about what they want to receive in terms of communications from their child鈥檚 school. They 鈥渆xpressed a desire for a calendar showing events and meetings, as well as curriculum updates and safety information.鈥� Given that transport to and from school is a key element of running events and ensuring children鈥檚 safety, the ability of transport status visibility technology to import details of transport arrangements to parents鈥� calendars is also of great value.

In short, improving transport status visibility brings many benefits to both parents and staff 鈥� and so, by extension, to students, as it ultimately helps to ensure they are kept safe at each end of the school day. The right technology makes this simple, easily replacing the time-consuming and error-prone spreadsheets and paper lists of old.

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Holiday clubs and summer camps can provide an invaluable opportunity for the students and parents of your school community during non-academic periods of the year. They are also an excellent chance to open your school to other members of your local community, providing services and relationship-building with a new audience.

In today鈥檚 post, we discuss the benefits of holiday clubs to both students and parents, before looking at how to run your school鈥檚 holiday club or summer camp with maximum efficiency.

Post-pandemic, Holiday Clubs Matter More Than Ever

As the world emerges from the impact of COVID-19, holiday club provision has become more important than ever as schools and students strive to 鈥榗atch up鈥� on the learning, social interaction and revenue lost during lockdowns and periods of school closure. The advantages, however, go far beyond this and have been investigated in in Newcastle.

The research 鈥� the largest study of its kind in England 鈥� reveals that holiday clubs provide many more benefits for both children and parents than had previously been recognised. Parents reported that holiday clubs give their children:

• Somewhere safe to play 鈥� safety was a strong theme emerging from the research, with holiday clubs helping children feel safe while giving their parents peace of mind that they are being supervised in a controlled environment
• Somewhere to learn new skills and experience new things, some of which they bring home (such as cookery skills and cultivating vegetables)
• The ability to form or build relationships with others in their local community

The research found that children exercise more on the days they attend holiday clubs 鈥� and enjoy it 鈥� with less screentime and a wider variety of activities than they would otherwise have during the holidays. Interestingly, parents also reported that holiday clubs enable them to spend more quality time together as a family.

The announcing the research quotes Professor Greta Defeyter, Director of Northumbria University鈥檚 , summarising: 鈥淥ur findings suggest that holiday club provision offers the potential to have a far wider impact than previously evidenced on children鈥檚 health, wellbeing and education.鈥�

With that in mind, how can your school make the most of clubs to provide these benefits to your school community during the holidays? With the right technology in place, running holiday clubs and summer camps doesn鈥檛 have to be an organisational headache.

Holiday Club and Summer Camp Organisation Made Easy

Whether your school already runs a successful holiday club programme or you are considering organising a new one, you need a flexible, user-friendly system to allow parents to sign up and make payments both from within and often outside your usual school community. This is where 麻豆视频 can help.

Built to help schools manage complex activities programmes, 麻豆视频 does everything from handling sign-ups and cancellations to taking online payments. Its ClubsBuddy module is specifically designed to make it easy to run holiday clubs and summer camps, with its own fully native iOS and Android apps that keep things simple for both parents and your summer camp teams.

ClubsBuddy handles all aspects of running your summer camp or holiday club, including:

• Event management 鈥� you can manage all events in ClubsBuddy. Once activities are booked or set up, you can take registers, send invitations, message the group and more.
• Handle bookings 鈥� ClubsBuddy allows bookings or sign-ups for free or paid events. Simply set the amount required for upfront payment and allow the rest to be added to the user鈥檚 ClubsBuddy balance. Customise the registration form to your needs and collect the data you want during member registration.
• Take payments 鈥� allow parents to pay for camps, tickets and clubs on the same system with one unified balance, and complete with a 鈥榦ne-click鈥� chase payment feature.
• Manage communications 鈥� communicate with all organisers, members and parents via 鈥榩ush鈥� or 鈥榠n-app鈥� notifications and email.
• Record attendance 鈥� at all events, know who to expect and record attendance via our mobile registers.
• Emergency response 鈥� instantly handle any emergency with ICE information, absence alerts, medical data, map locations and travel updates available in your mobile device.

We have developed 麻豆视频 with mobile features as the top priority, which makes it easy to use when you are out and about in a summer camp environment. From organising on the move to taking registers out in the field, it makes holiday clubs simple to run, as well as giving you a quick and direct line of communication with members and parents.

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