7 Apps to Engage Parents

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Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children’s learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better outcomes. Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation's Teaching and Learning Toolkit suggests that "effective parental engagement can lead to learning gains of over 3 months over the course of a year".

However, it can be a difficult and time consuming job to get parents involved in the right way. Thankfully, edtech is shaping the future of parental engagement and is helping schools to break down barriers to communication, as well as encouraging and enabling parents to take an active role in their children’s learning journeys.

This article looks at 7 of the best Parent Engagement Apps as rated on the independent review platform, EdTech Impact. See the full list of Parent Engagement Apps here.

1. Apps Central - a one-stop-shop for parent communication

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 from 61 reviews

Apps Central provides parental engagement apps to over 600 schools across the UK. It is a one-stop-shop for parent communication. In the app is the school calendar, the news, an information section that can link out to websites and attach in the important school policies, and a messages section where unlimited number of messages can be sent to all users who have downloaded the app.

2. mySchoolApp - keeping the 'mobile generation' of parents updated

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.9/5 from 19 reviews

Say goodbye to relying on scrunched up letters in school bags and say hello to mySchoolApp. Schools are using it to keep the mobile generation of parents updated on school news, events, payment requests and last-minute changes such as snow days and event cancellations. One tap or click will get through to all the parents you want.

3. Carter’s Yard Phonics Flashcards - teach phonics with augmented reality flashcards

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 from 14 reviews

When learning happens at home with the support of parents and carers, outcomes can dramatically improve. Carter’s Yard Phonics Flashcards are a set of 64 interactive, augmented reality ‘talking’ flashcards that unlock the difficulties of teaching phonics at home. The flashcards support families as they progress from producing individual sounds to reading words and allow them to learn at their own pace, with or without input from an adult.

how it works

4. MarvellousMe - making it easy to say "well done!"

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 from 1 review

Designed by a once disengaged dad, MarvellousMe engages parents in their children’s learning and character development. It boosts family conversations about school and makes it easy for parents to help their children’s education and say: ‘Well done!’. MarvellousMe is special because it encourages and helps teachers to focus parent communication on learning and positive behaviours, as well as giving leaders insight and tools to ensure it’s consistent and sustained in every class.

5. School Spider - parent payment system, mobile app and more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 from 14 reviews

School Spider has everything your school needs in order to succeed online with a website designed specifically for your school, a parent payment system, mobile app and loads of features for parents, pupils and teachers. The software is extremely easy to use and with everything all in one place it is one login and one place to go. Simple, easy to use and cost effective.

6. Epraise - homework, messaging, parents' evenings and activities

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.55/5 from 10 reviews

Epraise is designed to do three things: motivate students, engage parents and save teachers time. Although recognising achievement is at the heart of much that they do, they are far more than a replacement school rewards system. Epraise aids in the transformation of schools through features such as leaderboards, digital badges, certificates, clubs and activities, the shop, draws, charitable donations, marksheets, homework tools, parents' evenings, messenger, interventions and seating plans. They work closely with their schools to develop features that will engage parents in the right way.

7. Learning Ladders - formative assessment and parental engagement, connected at last

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.9/5 from 16 reviews

Learning Ladders is how outstanding schools accelerate learning, improve wellbeing, and save teacher time by connecting teaching in school and at home.

Learning Ladders parental engagement app