How Our Lady Queen of Peace achieved 100% parental app uptake

Industry

Education

Challenge

For Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, parent communication has always been a big priority. When the school moved from ReachMoreParents to a new MIS system, they hoped it would cover their communication needs - but keeping parents informed and engaged became a key issue.

Results

Returning to ReachMoreParents changed things. With almost 100% of families using the app, parents can now rely again on the calendar for upcoming events, engage regularly with the news feed, and message the school directly through the platform. Staff have complete visibility over conversations, and a single, reliable place for managing all their communications. For a school where a strong reputation drives enrolment, getting communication right is what keeps families coming through the door.

Key Product

Messages, Newsfeed

ourladyqueenofpeacepenshaw.bwcet.com/

100%

parent uptake

Improved

reputation

Engaged

parents

Higher

pupil intake

Communication is a massive part of keeping parents happy. Parental word-of-mouth is bigger than advertising for us.

Peta Kristiansen-Ludford

Business Manager at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School

About Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School

Located in Penshaw in Sunderland, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School has almost 300 students in an area affected by declining pupil numbers. With a close-knit community and a focus on creating a happy and nurturing environment, it’s a school where keeping parents included and involved is important.

The cost of forgetting communication

When Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School moved to a new MIS system as part of a Trust-wide communications shift, the hope was that it would handle everything in one place, including parent communications.

In practice, the large MIS system did many things well - but communication functions didn't work the way the school required.

“With the MIS system, communications became complicated - which increased our workload.”

Conversations with parents via messaging lacked clear trails and were hard to follow, and staff couldn't tell whether messages had been read. For a school where current parent satisfaction drives future pupil intake, that uncertainty created problems.

The gaps didn't stop there. The MIS system had no newsfeed, no calendar, and no way to share classroom photos and updates. These weren't nice-to-haves, they were things parents valued and had come to expect. Without them, the school lost a key part of how it connected with families day to day. However, upon giving this feedback to the MIS system’s team, the school learned that other improvements to the system took higher priority, making it unlikely that communications must-haves like newsfeeds and calendars would be added.

Returning to ReachMoreParents with 100% app uptake

When the MIS system didn't deliver on the school’s communication needs, they knew where to turn. ReachMoreParents had been their platform of choice before, and the reasons for coming back were clear: a message trail that made sense, a newsfeed parents could engage with, a calendar that synced straight to their phones, and the ability to share classroom photos and updates in real time.

It worked for both parents and school staff, with everything in one place the school already knew and trusted.

The ripple effect of reputation

With declining pupil numbers affecting schools across the area, reputation has never mattered more. Our Lady Queen of Peace has seen first-hand what happens when communication slips: during some changes after the pandemic, inconsistent messaging left parents vocally frustrated. Taking this seriously, the school got back on track, and the difference was felt immediately.

Today, parents talk. Families have transferred their children to Our Lady Queen of Peace based purely on the great recommendation of neighbours. Younger siblings follow older ones through the gates because parents understand it's a good school. That kind of word of mouth is, as Peta puts it, bigger than any advertising budget - and it starts with making parents feel informed, involved, and heard.