In June, we released a new version of MyChildAtSchool − our top-rated parent portal app − which is providing its many users with an improved user experience. With a 4.3 star rating on the Apple App Store based off over 62,000 reviews, it has significantly more positive reviews than the parent apps offered by other MIS providers. And as you can imagine, we’re very proud of it.
Given we just made the app even better, I felt it was time to share what makes this app quite so popular among parents and schools, and show off some of the exciting new changes we’ve made.
What’s the MyChildAtSchool app?
MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) is an online parent portal that allows parents to monitor their child’s progress and wellbeing at school with real-time information and instant updates. It can be accessed via any web browser or an app (available on iOS and Android devices) which offers parents the same features. Launched in June 2000, MCAS was such a ground-breaking innovation that it won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2001.
MCAS offers parents a wide range of capabilities including the ability to monitor attendance and behaviour, book parents’ evening slots, see reports and other important documents, receive communications from the school, and make payments. And with the parent portal app, all these features can be accessed from a personal device, like a smartphone. Although its most beneficial for its users, MCAS poses plenty of advantages for schools, too. We’ll explore the features and benefits of MCAS in more detail in a minute.
In a time of significant parental disengagement and widespread attendance issues, engaging parents and communicating with them sufficiently is critical. Our parent portal, particularly the app version, is playing an essential role in keeping parents informed and rebuilding their relationship with schools following the pandemic.
The 6 benefits of the MCAS app for schools and parents
- It’s easy for schools to set up and manage
Firstly, MCAS directly integrates with Bromcom MIS so all data and configurations are pulled from the system directly into the app. Any data added or updated by parents on MCAS goes straight to the MIS, too. For example, you no longer need to contact parents about parental consents when their child joins the school; simply upload consents to MCAS and let parents grant or revoke them themselves! Parents can request changes to their data with the app, as well, which will then automatically update the information in your MIS.
Schools are also fully in control of everything that’s shown on the app. If a court order is issued, for example, you can hide students on specific account so parents cannot see the child’s personal information.
2. It improves school organisation
By sharing resources and information directly with parents in a convenient way, our parent portal app is streamlining operations for schools across the country.
Take parents’ evenings: instead of having to rely on third-party software to organise it, MCAS can take care of it all for you. You can set up multiple parents’ evenings events at one time and create unique configurations for each, such as having parents and children sharing appointments or setting intervals between slots. All the parents have to do? Book their appointments in the MCAS app. Their bookings will then be automatically fed back into the MIS.
Parents will also have an interactive school calendar in the app so they can easily see school closures, events, holidays, and any other key dates.
They can see which groups and classes their child is part of, too, as well as who teaches them. This is especially important for the parents of students with additional needs that might like to get in touch with staff to provide them with additional information or review the curriculum.
3. It enhances students’ academic engagement
The MCAS app not only encourages parents to be more engaged with the school but their children’s experience at school, too.
One of the most important features − particularly right now − is that the MCAS app gives parents a clear breakdown of their child’s attendance. Parents can see their attendance for each period and see what caused any absences, from unauthorised absences to when they turn up late for class. As this data is pulled directly from the MIS, the school doesn’t have to upload it themselves; attendance is visible on the app the moment the register is completed.
Parents can also track their children’s behaviour in MCAS, including positive and negative behaviour points, detentions, and merits and awards. Schools can create an automated system that connects this information directly to MCAS, as well, so there’s no need for schools to upload anything to the system.
They can even manage homework via the app. Schools can upload and assign homework to students, and parents can review the assignments, help their children with, submit it, and see when it’s been marked.
Reports can be easily accessed by the MCAS app, too. Simply upload reports online and parents can view them at their own convenience.
4. It encourages better curriculum engagement
With the MCAS app, parents can manage their child’s clubs, trips, and wraparound care all in one place. They can easily register them for clubs, reserve spaces on trips (or join waiting lists), and make payments when required.
Parents can see student timetables, too, to ensure they’re always ready for the school day. Schools don’t need to add this data to the system, either; it’s pulled directly from the MIS. Exam timetables are available to view, as well, so parents can make sure their child is organised and best prepared during the exam season.
5. It refines school communications
Need to send a time-critical message to parents? Send a push notification directly to their devices. Want to send a letter with minimal fuss? Try one of our ‘quick letters’, where you use dynamic fields to automatically fill in parents’ and students’ personal details.
Parents can even get in touch with staff directly through the app, such as by sending messages to their child’s teachers.
6. It streamlines online payments
Parents can easily make and manage payments to the school with the MCAS app. They can access the school shop built into your MIS from their device, purchasing products as and when they’re required.
Managing dinner balances is straightforward, too. Parents can monitor dinner money funds and top them up when necessary. With our MIS’ built-in dinner management, schools can see balances update in real-time instead of having to trace payments across multiple systems.
What updates have we made to the app?
We recently upgraded the UI (user interface) of the MCAS app so it has a new look and feel, and will be even easier to use. There are also a few minor updates to its functionality.
- There’s a new central dashboard – the My Child page – which has replaced the side menu. When parents log in to the app, they will now see a calendar for the school year and can scroll down to see all linked modules (i.e. attendance, behaviour, homework). If they click on a day in the calendar, they will see their child’s timetable and attendance. They can also easily navigate to the individual modules.
- Parents can now add dinner money in the dinner module. Everything dinner-related in one place, including the menus, what’s been ordered, and previous payments, and parents can manage dinners and dinner funds in a more straightforward way.
- There’s now a specific teacher module which will enable parents to see a list of their child’s teachers and directly message them from there (if enabled by the school).
- Parents will have to delete payment cards in settings – they can no longer delete them from the basket. They can also see the last five transactions and filter transactions by payment method. They can save addresses to payment cards, too (please note that this data will be saved to the local device, not the MIS).
- Addresses can be saved in the basket, making purchases quicker and easier.
- There’s no longer a basket on the banner of the app; there’s a basket in each individual module where payments can be made, making managing purchases easier.
- Accounts and profile have been moved from the banner to the settings screen.
Learn more about MyChildAtSchool
To find out more about Bromcom MIS and our parent portal, as well as how it could benefit your school, book a discovery call with our team.
You can see the fantastic reviews for the MCAS app on the Apple App Store (rated 4.3 stars) here and the Google Play Store (also rated 4.3 stars) here.
