School Communications

Schoolcomms

At Tanbridge House we use Schoolcomms to communicate with families via email and text. This service has proved to be very popular and works effectively, especially when we need to get important message out quickly i.e. to keep you informed of sudden closures due to bad weather etc.

Please note that in the event of an emergency closure, we will communicate as soon as possible via the school website, our social media channels and/or Schoolcomms (email).

How to receive Schoolcomms emails

To receive emails from Tanbridge House please ensure you provide us with an up to date email address and mobile number. We will take this information from the admissions form in the first instance.

Our school messages will show as coming from Tanbridge House School. Please make sure you check your Spam/Junk folder regularly just in case messages are sent there. To avoid this, please add our Schoolcomms email address to your email address book or approved sender list.

If you have any problems receiving electronic communications from us, or require any further information, please email comms@ths.uk.net or contact the school on 01403 263628.

ParentPay

We use a totally cashless payment system called ParentPay® for school meals, trips and resources. This involves the use of online payments as well as biometric registration for the canteen. All new students will be registered for this automatically unless you have opted out and all Parents/Carers are required to complete a Biometric Consent form in order for students to access the cashless catering system.

ParentPay provides you with a secure online account, which can be accessed with your unique user ID and password (issued by the school). ParentPay enables you to view all payment items available to each of your children along with relevant costs and details. Please do not send cash or cheques to school to pay for school meals or trips.

To make a payment, simply select the item to pay for and follow the instructions. ParentPay holds an electronic record on your payments to view at a later date should you wish. No card details are stored in any part of the system.

If cash is your only option, payment can be made at local PayPoint centres. You will need to ask the school for a payment card for the canteen and a bar-coded letter for trips. PayPoint payments are also recorded by ParentPay and can be seen by logging onto your ParentPay account and viewing your payment history. The nearest PayPoint stores are available on their website (www.paypoint.com).

Please note that ParentPay will NEVER contact you by phone, email or mail and ask you to divulge confidential information like passwords or card numbers. If you are ever contacted by someone claiming to be from ParentPay, please contact ParentPay immediately on 0870 042 0550.

Operoo

Operoo is a system designed to enable schools and families to reduce paper and work more effectively together. Parents can use the system to respond to school trips, medical and other consent forms, with access available via mobile phones, tablets or computers/laptops.

In addition, Operoo allows you to check the data that we hold on your child and advise us of any updates, making it easy to keep your child’s medical data and emergency contacts up to date. Consent forms for trips, in-school activities and more may be completed electronically and the system will remind you to complete forms if a deadline is looming.

You will be issued with an Operoo login when your child starts with us. Please note your Operoo username is not your email address.

Further information can be found on the Operoo website: www.operoo.com/intro-for-parents/

MyChildAtSchool (MCAS)

MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) is an online parental portal that enables you to view your child’s performance at school in real time via any modern web browser (e.g. Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc.) or the app (android/ios).

Through MCAS, you can currently access attendance data, rewards, assessments and student reports, letters or important documents. You can also see student timetables alongside our academic calendar and exam timetables.

As the process is fully GDPR compliant, parents are invited to setup their secure account, and when downloading the App, can add additional security including biometric authentication and a PIN for ease of use. Equally, schools can use the MCAS Parental Consent feature to enable parents to give/revoke their consent as required and has a feature to allow parents to inform the school of changes to their key contact details.

There is also a Student Portal which is available for students to use.