Aussie Mum designs free app to help principles and teachers better connect with parents

With children heading back to school in Australia this week, new research reveals that 72% of parents have missed major school events and 61% aren’t aware of what academic milestones their child should be achieving. In light of this new research, mum of two Sharlene Barnes, has designed the first free app, The Skool Loop App, designed to help principles and teachers better connect with parents to tackle this issue.

Research commissioned by The Skool Loop App, shows communication with teachers is one of the main issues facing parents, with 76% of parents saying they feel the overall level of communication between parents and the school community could be improved, and 64% of parents having to rely solely on their child to find out important school dates and events.

With many parents struggling to keep up to date, 39% of parents admitted that they had missed their child’s sports day, 29% a parent teacher evening, 27% school concerts and performances and one in five parents having missed an important exam date. The main reasons being 32% of parents saying they were notified too late, 25% said they were not aware an event or exam was taking place, and 36% of Australian parents suspecting that their child had lied to get out of doing homework or to prevent getting in to trouble, by not sharing a school report or letter.

To help solve this issue, mum of two Sharlene Barnes, has designed The Skool Loop App that launches this week in Australia to make sure parents don’t miss an important school event again or news about their child’s academic year.

“I was struggling to keep up to date with the school curriculum and missed a few important school events. Parents want to help their children succeed however trying to juggle parenthood with a job is hard with all the admin,” said Sharlene Barnes, founder of The Skool Loop App.

“I was surprised from the research how many teachers and parents wanted better communication and thought technology like an app would help, so I created The Skool Loop App.”

With 83% of parents advising that they wanted to be more involved in their child’s education and 56% saying that their busy schedules left them with little time, three quarters of parents (75%) advised that they wanted an app to help connect teachers and parents more seamlessly.

The Skool Loop App, is free for schools and provides parents with The school calendar: Providing up to date school information regarding all school events; Absentee messaging: a quick, simple and convenient way for a parent or caregiver to report absentees to the school; School contacts: One easy list of contacts to store in their phone; Permission slips: Parents and caregivers can electronically sign forms & permission slips directly from their school app, along with newsletters and instant messages.