SMS (text) messages can be sent to parents and other contacts of pupils via iSAMS. These are logged in the pupils’ communication history so other staff can see exactly what has been sent to whom. Texts should normally only be sent regarding urgent matters, emergencies or short-notice changes to pre-published arrangements – email is the preferred option for general, routine and non-urgent communication as there is a per-message charge for texts.
Selecting the Pupils in Pupil Manager Open Pupil Manager. From here, you can select a Year Group or other group. Multiple groups can be selected at the same time using the Multiple View tab, teaching groups can be selected under the Academic tab, and the Custom Groups tab allows access to groups such as trips. Click ‘Search’ at the bottom of the window. This will bring up a list of your selected pupils. You may select a few individual pupils by checking the box to the left of their name, or you may select all pupils in one click by checking the box in the header row above the list. Now you can choose what you wish to do with the information. In the ‘Selected Pupils’ drop down menu, there are various different options, such as viewing timetables and emailing the pupils’ contacts.
Emailing Pupils or their Parents and Contacts
Complete the steps as above in ‘Pupil Manager’ and once you have selected the pupils whose parents and contacts you wish to email, select ‘SMS Wizard’ (not ‘Create SMS’) at the bottom of the drop down menu. If you don’t have permissions in iSAMS to do this and are authorised to do so, it can be set up on request. (The feature is left disabled for staff who have no need of it as an additional security measure.)
A new prompt box will appear – click the button for ‘Contacts for the selected pupils’ to choose parents/contacts. (The ‘Selected pupils’ option would text the pupils themselves if we hold mobile numbers for them -don’t use this.) Click ‘Next’. On the next page, select which of the contacts you wish to text.
1. For parents and equivalent, select all the likely Contact Types on the Relation Type tab for those to receive correspondence, including Parents, Father, Mother and Mother and Stepfather, Agents, Guardians, Aunts, Personal Assistants etc. – Emergency Contacts and Bill Payers don’t need texts. The options available depend on the particular pupils on the list.
2. Check the Correspondence box on the Filter by Contact Type tab. This filters the text message down to just those set to receive correspondence, filtering out any aunts, grandparents, etc. there solely as emergency contacts but not for regular correspondence. (Each contact for each family in iSAMS has check boxes for Billing, Correspondence and Reports, so if you ‘over select’ in step 1, it doesn’t matter, they will be filtered out here if needed, provided the Correspondence box is ticked.) This is needed because, for example, some Agents and Guardians may need to receive texts sent to parents, while others shouldn’t. The next page will show you the list of people you have selected so that you can make sure that you have made the right selection. Once all selections have been made, you may start composing your text using up to 160 characters.
On the Recipients tab you can check and fine tune the contacts to whom the text will be sent.
Once you are happy with the message, press ‘Send SMS’
