Notifications
SmartMy School tells parents, students and staff when something needs them: an absence, homework, a fee due, a result, a child leaving the gate. Every message also lands in one inbox in the Campus app and the portal. Each parent chooses their channels and their informational messages.
PLANSEvery plan
Phone push is built in and not switched on yet: the Campus app is not in the stores. WhatsApp and SMS use paid message credits and are set up and tested with you before go-live. Email and the inbox in the portal work today.
The problem it solves
- Parents learn their child was absent when the report card comes home.
- Circulars on WhatsApp groups get lost between forwards, and new parents are never added.
- Sending every message by SMS costs the school money even for parents who have the app.
- When a parent says they never got the fee reminder, the office cannot check.
How it works
- Something happens: attendance is submitted, a circular is published, a fee falls due, results are published.
- The event finds its people: the student, the father, the mother, the guardian, the class teacher, or the approvers of a request.
- It goes by the cheapest channel that reaches the person: app notification, then WhatsApp, SMS or email. Urgent ones, such as an absence, also use the first message channel. App push is built in and not switched on yet.
- Every message also lands in the person's inbox in the Campus app and on the portal, unread first. Tapping it opens the child's page it is about.
- Every message leaves a line in the Delivery Log, with the reason when it could not be sent, such as no mobile number.
Everything it does
Attendance, leave and the gate (to parents unless named)
- Absent Today: daily at the alert time (11:00 to start with), for a child absent in any period. App notification plus the first of WhatsApp, SMS and email. Not sent for a suspended student
- Low Attendance: Mondays, when attendance this year is below the minimum (75 %); informational; app notification plus a message channel
- Called In on a Special Day and Special Day Cancelled: to students and parents; app notification plus a message channel
- Leave Requested: to the class teacher or the approvers of the level; app notification or email
- Leave Approved / Rejected: to the student and parents, with the reason
- Student Exit Code, Student Left the Campus, Student Returned and Student Not Back: app notification plus a message channel
- Pickup Person Approved and Not Approved: to the parent who added the person; app notification and email
Homework, circulars and notices (to students and parents)
- New Homework / Material, Homework Due Soon (once, within 24 hours of the due time) and Homework Evaluated: informational
- Homework Returned for Redo: a work message
- Circular Published and Notice Published, to families or staff: informational. On each circular, Send Via is the school's settings, chosen channels (such as SMS and WhatsApp) or Don't notify
Fees (to parents)
- Fee Due Soon: 3 days before the due date; Fee Overdue: 1, 7 and 15 days after, while unpaid
- New Fee Dues, Fee Receipt (with a link to check the receipt), Fee Refund Paid
- Services Stopped for Fees and Services Back after Fees, checked daily
- Trip / Event Invitation
- Certificate Fee Due, Certificate Issued and Certificate Request Rejected: to the student and parents; app notification plus a message channel
Exams and meetings
- Hall Ticket Available, Attendance Shortage for Exam, Exam Results Published, Annual Result Published, Revaluation Completed: to the student and parents. Withheld results are not sent
- Absent at an Exam: to parents
- Invigilation Duty Assigned, Changed and Tomorrow: to the teacher
- Meeting Slot Assigned, Meeting Booking Open, Meeting Booked, Meeting Reminder (the day before) and Follow-up for Parents: to parents
- New Chat Message: a phone notification to the other side of a parent-teacher chat
Activities and discipline
- Choose Activities, Activity Enrolment Confirmed, Seat Held - Pay Fee, Seat Available, Activity Cancelled, Activity Assessment Result: to the student and parents
- Activity Class Reminder: shortly before each session, by app notification, WhatsApp or in the inbox, with the link for an online class
- Disciplinary Case Reported: to the class teacher, not for confidential categories
- Disciplinary Action (actions marked Inform Parents) and Parent Meeting (Discipline): to parents. Disciplinary Appeal Decided: to the student and parents. App notification plus a message channel
Staff and the office
- Request to Approve (level): to the approvers, by app notification or email. Certificate to Approve and Certificate Requested: to the approvers and the office, by app notification and email
- Substitution Requested, Substitution Update and Cover Assigned: to the teachers, by app notification, email and in the inbox
- Asset Warranty Ending, Maintenance Contract Ending and Insurance Ending: 30 days before, by email and in the inbox
- Asset Given: Please Acknowledge and Asset Taken Back: Please Confirm: to the receiver, by email or in the inbox
- Asset Not Received, Asset Hand Back Asked and Asset Handover Disputed: to the Incharge who gave it or the Asset Managers
- Login Invitation: the link to set a password, by WhatsApp or SMS, for a parent without email
Work messages and informational messages
- Informational: New Homework / Material, Homework Due Soon, Homework Evaluated, Circular Published, Notice Published (also to staff) and Low Attendance. They wait for the end of quiet hours (21:00 to 7:00 to start with), and a person can switch them off
- Every other School event is a work message: it goes out at once at any hour. A person can switch off a channel but not the event
- The inbox in the app and the portal always gets the message
Delivery
- Unless named above, an event goes to the first of app notification, WhatsApp, SMS and email that reaches the person
- Channels are tried in the event's order. A channel without a template, an approved template for your number, an address or credit is skipped, and the next is used
- Per school: switch an event off, or choose its channels and delivery, under Entity Settings
- Templates per event, channel and language; messages end with the school's name
- Delivery Log: each message, its status and why it was not sent; Retry and Cancel
Who uses it
ParentGets absences, fees, results and the gate messages, reads them in the inbox, and chooses channels and informational messages.
TeacherGets leave requests, duties, substitutions and chat messages.
Principal and officeGet requests to approve and certificate requests, and send circulars with the channels they choose.
AdministratorSwitches events and channels per school, edits the wording and checks the Delivery Log.
Where you use it
- The Campus app: the inbox and Notification settings (Send me by, Messages about). A notice opens the child's page (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Parent portal: Notifications, unread first, Mark all read, and Notification settings
- Web: Notifications > Delivery Log, Analysis and Configuration (Events, Entity Settings, Templates, Providers, Opt-outs, Push Devices)
- WhatsApp, SMS and email for parents without the app
What you control
Settings
- Per event and school: on or off, channels, their order and the delivery
- Absence alerts at: 11:00; low attendance below: 75 %
- Fee reminder: 3 days before the due date; overdue reminders after 1, 7 and 15 days
- Quiet hours: 21:00 to 7:00 per school, for informational messages
- Each parent: WhatsApp, SMS, email and app notification on or off; Attendance, Homework and Circulars & Notices on or off
Questions
Can a parent stop homework messages but keep fee reminders?
Yes. In Notification settings a parent switches off Homework or Circulars & Notices. Fee, attendance and result messages are work messages: a parent can move them to another channel but cannot stop them.Do messages wait until morning?
Homework, circulars, notices and the low attendance message wait for the end of quiet hours (21:00 to 7:00 to start with). Absences, fees, results and gate messages go out at once.Will we pay for SMS to parents who have the app?
Mostly not, once the app is in the stores and push is switched on. Most events then go by the free app notification. Absence, gate, certificate and discipline messages also use one message channel. Until then, email and the portal inbox carry them.Can an urgent circular go by SMS and WhatsApp?
Yes. On the circular, set Send Via to Choose channels and tick SMS and WhatsApp. Every ticked channel is used, and the inbox always gets it.How do I check whether a parent got a message?
Open Notifications > Delivery Log. Each message shows its channel, status and, when not sent, why, such as no mobile number.Is the fee receipt attached to the message?
By email, yes: the receipt PDF is attached. The WhatsApp and app messages carry a link where the parent checks the receipt instead.Related features
APPS AND PORTALCampus app for parents and studentsOne app on Android and iPhone for parents and students: attendance, timetable, homework, results, notices, leave, meetings, fees and chat with teachers. A parent signs in once and switches between all their children, even in different schools of your group.ATTENDANCE AND LEAVEClass attendance, and attendance for parentsTeachers mark each period's register on the web or on their phone, starting from all present. Parents see the percentage, every absence and the figures by subject, and are told the same day when their child is absent.TIMETABLE, HOMEWORK, NOTICESCirculars and noticesWrite a circular once, choose who it is for (parents, students, staff, chosen classes or sections) and how they are told. It is approved before it goes out, and families read it with its attachments on the portal and in the Campus app.FEESFees paid online by parentsParents see every due, receipt and the statement on the portal and the Campus app, and pay through your school's gateway. One payment can cover all their children at your school, and the receipts are made at once.GROUPYour own WhatsApp number and agreed termsMessages to parents can come from your school's own WhatsApp number, with your wording and your school's name. A group's own limits and terms are agreed with us. An app under your own name and icon is not built today.ACROSS SMARTMY SCHOOLApproval chainsHomework, circulars, leave, certificates, fee structures, concessions, refunds and revaluations go to the right people in the right order. You set the chains up without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.
See your own school year run in it.
Tell us how many students you have, which classes you run and how you collect fees today. We will show you SmartMy School set up that way.