Parents have more ways than ever to stay connected to their child’s education. But while regular and effective communication is important, it can quickly turn into extra work for teachers.
As schools navigate growing expectations from families, evolving student needs, and increasingly complex learning environments, communication plays a critical role in building trust and supporting student outcomes. When done well, it strengthens the partnership between home and school – ensuring everyone is working towards the same goals.
But with limited time and competing priorities, educators need systems that support meaningful engagement without adding to their workload.
So how do schools keep parents informed without overloading staff?
The key isn’t just more communication – it’s smarter communication. Schools that take a structured approach make it easier for parents to stay up to date while reducing the admin burden on staff1.
Parents want more updates – but teachers don’t have more time
Parent expectations have evolved significantly. It’s no longer enough to provide a report at the end of term – today’s families want ongoing, meaningful communication about their child’s progress, wellbeing, and daily school life2 . They expect timely updates, greater transparency, and easy access to information that helps them stay connected and involved in their child’s education.
That’s not a bad thing. Strong communication between schools and families is important. But without a structured system, keeping parents informed can become a full-time job for teachers and administrators3. Over time, staff can find themselves dedicating significant hours to managing communications, reducing the time available to support students directly.
Schools are now shifting to structured tools that:
- Give parents the right information at the right time.
- Reduce the need for back-and-forth messages.
- Keep teachers focused on teaching, not admin.
A well-planned approach keeps parents engaged while making sure staff workloads stay manageable.
Smarter tools, less admin – how schools can streamline communication
It’s not communication itself that creates extra work – it’s how it’s managed.
The good news? Schools don’t have to handle everything manually. The right tools allow staff to share information efficiently while reducing the need for individual responses and follow-ups4.
Making school-parent communication smoother
Schools are moving to structured communication platforms that make information easy to access5. Key features that may help reduce admin work include:
- Centralised messaging systems – All updates are in one place, so teachers don’t have to send individual emails.
- Automated notifications – Parents get reminders and updates without staff having to follow up.
- Self-service portals – Parents can check attendance, reports, and notices without needing to contact the school.
- Wellbeing tracking and reporting – Updates are shared proactively, reducing the need for additional meetings.
By making these small shifts, schools can stay ahead of parent expectations while keeping teacher workloads under control6.
Compass in action: Christian College Geelong
Christian College Geelong, a multi-campus K–12 school with 2,200 students and 500 staff, prides itself on strong parent engagement. But their previous communication system wasn’t working. Staff, students, and parents were juggling multiple platforms, making it harder to find information and leading to more questions, more emails, and more admin work.
By switching to Compass, the school has:
- Improved parent access to student information, reducing reliance on teachers for updates.
- Consolidated multiple platforms, making communication simpler and more efficient.
- Enhanced reporting tools, ensuring parents receive accurate, real-time student progress updates.
- Strengthened wellbeing tracking, allowing proactive communication and minimising unnecessary check-ins.
With the Compass App, parents can now find the information they need – without having to ask teachers directly. The school expects higher parent engagement while reducing admin time, giving teachers more space to focus on student learning and wellbeing.
“Compass will be instrumental in helping our school achieve its goals by significantly improving organisational efficiency across key areas like teaching and learning, wellbeing, administration, and accounts.”
– Christian College Geelong
Final thoughts – making communication work for everyone
Schools need a smarter way to keep parents informed without overloading staff. With tools like the Compass Parent App, schools can engage parents, reduce admin, and give teachers more time to focus on students.
Compass makes this easy. By centralising communication and automating updates, it ensures parents get the right information at the right time – without extra work for staff.
See Compass in action. Book a demo today.
Resources
- Understanding work in schools: The foundations for teaching and learning
- Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research
- Family-school partnerships framework
- Technology could be the answer to growing admin workloads
- Connect: Strengthening family-school relationships
- Strengthening parent engagement to improve student outcomes
