The Challenge:
Redcliffe Primary School caters to a very diverse group of students from mid to low socioeconomic backgrounds, who collectively speak over 35 different languages at home. Prior to joining Compass, Redliffe PS were juggling several different platforms for day-to-day tasks. In addition, a lot of their processes were still paper-based and they often had to do things manually (e.g. data entry).
Choosing Compass:
Redcliffe PS were looking for a single platform that they could use across the whole school that would benefit everyone in the school community and integrate well with the program they use that is supplied by the department. One key incentive for switching to Compass was how comprehensive the system is, spanning all facets of managing a school: communications, events, payments, reports, attendance, canteen and more. In addition, it was important to find a system that is user friendly, which would help in getting staff and parents on board and making the most out of the features and functionality.
Results:
Originally hoping to ease into implementing Compass by starting off with just a few modules, the school quickly decided to take on more features than they had originally planned. While initially concerned about the uptake from parents, Lyn Clark, Manager of Corporate Services, says that it has been a really positive experience for them so far. Today, around 90% of their P&C community are using the app for communications, payments, giving consent for school trips and more.
Staff are seeing real benefits from the events and attendance modules, noting in particular how much time they save themselves and how convenient it is to be able to do everything from one place and online. The ease of access to key information is allowing for more accountability and transparency.
One module in particular is doing wonders for the school - Canteen. Monique Herbst, Education Assistant, shares that it offers very simple and straightforward processes around creating and uploading menus, keeping track of orders and generating reports. Prior to taking on the Compass Canteen module, the school received around 40 orders a week and sold around $3,800 worth of food and drink items per year. Today, the weekly order number has grown to 100+, and their yearly canteen sales have skyrocketed to $15,000+.
