Nine teachers, six hours of emails
Year 10 parents' evening is on a Thursday. Parents are asked to request appointments with their child's teachers. Some send one email with nine requests. Some ask their child to book, and the child forgets. Teachers each keep their own list of slots. A parent arrives with appointments at 6.10 with maths and 6.10 with chemistry, on different floors.
The office spends days in the run-up answering emails, and on the night a queue forms at the door of the popular teachers because some parents did not book at all.
Booking without seeing the whole evening
The problem with paper and email booking is that nobody sees the whole picture. Parents cannot see which slots are free for each teacher. Teachers cannot see which parents have clashes with other teachers. The office sits in the middle trying to match everything by hand.
- Parents do not know which slots are free.
- Clashes between teachers are not prevented.
- Pupils are sometimes the go-between.
- Teachers with two sets see some families twice.
- Separated parents may want separate appointments.
What clashing appointments cost
Parents waste the evening waiting, and leave without seeing every teacher. Teachers overrun and apologise. The office spends days on logistics. And parents who find the process frustrating form a view of the school's organisation at exactly the moment you want them to feel informed.
Online booking we build
- The evening is set up with its date, slot length and any break times, using your MIS timetable to know which teachers teach which pupils.
- Each parent receives a link showing only their child's teachers and their free slots.
- As a parent books, slots that would clash with their other bookings are unavailable, and a short gap for moving between rooms can be built in.
- Parents who live in separate households can each book, or book jointly, as the school allows.
- Parents receive a personal schedule with times and room locations, and a reminder on the day.
- Teachers see their list, and can block slots they cannot offer.
- Parents who cannot attend can book a video appointment in the same system, if you offer them.
| Problem | Before | With online booking |
|---|---|---|
| Free slots | Unknown to parents | Visible for each teacher |
| Clashes | Discovered on the night | Prevented at booking |
| Teacher lists | Kept by each teacher | Produced for them |
| Parents in two households | Handled by email | Booked as the school allows |
| Parents who cannot attend | Missed out | Video appointment option |
There are established booking services for parents' evenings. If one suits your school, we will say so and help set it up rather than build something new.
An evening that runs to time
Parents book in minutes and know exactly where to be. Teachers start with a list. Rooms are signed, and nobody has two appointments at once. The office spends the run-up on the few parents who need help, not on everyone.
Afterwards, the school can see which families did not book any appointments and follow up with them, which is often the most useful part.
The same setup serves the whole year. The Year 7 settling-in evening, the GCSE options evening and the sixth form subject consultations each have their own slot lengths and teacher lists, but parents book them all the same way, and teachers stop keeping separate paper lists for each. Tutors can see which of their tutees' families have booked, and nudge the ones who have not before the evening rather than after it.
Signs your parents' evening needs this
- Appointments are booked on paper or by email.
- Parents end up with clashing appointments.
- Pupils are relied on to book for parents.
- The office spends days on logistics beforehand.
- Families who did not attend are not followed up.