Developed for schools by schools

Hear our story and why we’re proudly developed with the help of schools.

A quick history...

In 2009, Compass founders John de la Motte and Lucas Filer met over a team lunch. While chowing down on their cafeteria sandwiches they bonded over their unapologetically nerdy love for education technology.
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John and Lucas were sure there was a way to use technology to improve processes in school communities; a way of making tech part of everyday activities, like ordering a pie in the canteen, or letting parents know how their kids were performing in class.
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After months of white-boarding and long days spent writing thousands of lines of code, Compass 1.0 came to life. However, the journey had only just begun and with the valuable input of foundational schools John and Lucas were able to add new features to the platform to meet school’s needs.
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Fast forward a decade and Compass’ school management ecosystem is now used in more than 2,000 schools in Australia and beyond: from Melbourne to Mountrath (that’s in Ireland!), Toronto to Toowoomba.

It’s no longer just John and Lucas eating sandwiches at the lunch table. Now they’re joined by 200 members of the Compass team, delivering smart school management solutions around the world.
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Compass now offer a comprehensive suite of modules that connects the entire school community. Schools are now able to simplify processes and reduce their administrative burden so everyone can focus on achieving their school’s version of success.
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Not bad for an idea formed over a lunch break.

Our Values

Remember how important values were for your school? It’s the same at Compass. Our values guide how and why we work

Work to WOW!

Dynamic, enthusiastic, motivated: we aspire to break new ground. Guided by research, we constantly iterate and improve to deliver the best solution to meet the needs of our customers. We work to set the benchmark to always help.

Conquer the impossible.

When we face challenges together, few problems are unsolvable. We play to each other’s strengths and work collaboratively to achieve our shared objectives. We’re constantly creating products we stand behind in a workplace we’re proud of.

Do it yesterday.

We plan and we prioritise but we are still agile and responsive. We work with passion and urgency, but we measure and consider variables, to deliver a high-quality solution. ‘Be Prepared’ is being ready, not reactive. We walk before we run, so we can outperform the competition and reach amazing heights they couldn’t conceive.

Be the school.

Teachers and students, principals and admin staff, parents, and guardians: school communities make Compass. They are the reason we work tirelessly to make their lives easier and help them bring their school’s vision to life. We understand their needs, goals and ambitions in order to do our best work.