Kent Schools: New school closure reporting service

[elsiegee40]

We've had an amail from the Kent Messenger Group saying that they're changing their school closure reporting service shortly.

 

The existing one is pretty useful as it's online, and you can report opening as well as closing. It's already far less fuss to get the school's status announced on KMFM than BBC Radio Kent or Heart who both have telephone systems that are engaged for long periods in bad weather.

 

The new KM system is here: Kent School Closures - system

 

The big changes are:

• every school sets up its own account instead of using a common password
  
• parents can register with the site specifying which school(s) they are interested in and opt to be emailed or sent an SMS message regarding any change of status of any of their schools
  

 

The SMS messages have to be paid for through the site and I haven't checked the cost, emails are free. I thought this is particularly useful for schools that don't have an SMS or parentmail system.

 

It looks like most state schools in our area are registered, but not many of the private ones.

[marshharrier]

Complete rip off - trying to charges parents either £1 or 50p per alert message depending on how they pay! Outrageous and not endorsed by Kent CC as far as I can see.

[elsiegee40]

I agree the charges are high. However, they are avoidable, just don't put a mobile number; only use your email address. We had 3 radio station contacts on our snow closure info from KCC... BBC radio Kent, Heart (formerly Invicta) and KMFM. in terms of getting through on snowy mornings, KMFM's online reporting has always been easiest. I couldn't get through on the BBC phone line one day before Christmas.

[m25man]

Seems like a perfectly reasonable commercially viable opt in/out system that school doesn't have to maintain.

 

The problem of course will be all of the marketing spam that will inevitably follow once the parents hand over mobile numbers and email addresses.

 

The alternatives are all likely to add to the schools own cost which in the current climate I would expect they would prefer to avoid.