We would like to see a feature within the iSAMS Parent Portal that allows parents to communicate directly with their own children through a secure messaging system.
Currently, parents can communicate with the school, but there is no mechanism for a parent to send a message directly to their child. Many schools need a controlled way for parents to send important information during the school day, such as changes to collection arrangements, transport updates, reminders, or other time-sensitive messages.
The key requirement is that messaging should be based on the existing parent-student relationships already stored within iSAMS. Parents should only be able to contact their own children and should not have visibility of or access to other students.
Benefits:
Improves communication between families and students.
Leverages existing parent-student relationship data already maintained in iSAMS.
Reduces reliance on external communication platforms.
Provides a secure, auditable, school-managed communication channel.
Supports safeguarding requirements by restricting communication to verified family relationships.
Example use case:
A parent needs to inform their child that collection arrangements have changed and that a different family member will pick them up after school. The parent logs into the iSAMS Parent Portal, selects their child, sends a message, and the student receives the notification by email to their school email account. The parent cannot contact any other student, and all communication remains within the school's managed environment.
Optional enhancements could include message moderation, notification settings, read receipts, and the ability for schools to enable or disable the feature by year group or division.
