Compass is first and foremost a school management system. That’s what we do. Simplifying complex school processes in one connected platform is our bread and butter.

But families form a big part of Compass, too.

We know how busy your average parent or carer is and we have the stats to back it up. Figures from the Australian Institute of Family Studies show, on average, fathers work 75 hours a week (46 hours on paid work, 16 on housework, and 13 on child care), and mothers work 77 hours a week (20 hours on paid work, 30 hours on housework, and 27 on child care). Taken together, that’s 152 hours of work, the majority of it unpaid, with single parents and carers burdening an even bigger share of that.

A week has 168 hours.

The coronavirus epidemic has undoubtedly made parents and carers acutely aware of just how much work they have to do to raise a family. When the kids aren’t at school and you’re working from home, it suddenly throws it all into sharp relief; working hard at the kitchen table while trying to keep an eye on them and make sure they’re actually doing the work they’re meant to be doing. Phew. It all adds up.

As a business, making things easier for parents and carers has been one of a number of significant shifts in our roadmap, with a particular focus on making things more accessible within the app. In honour of the UN's International Day of Families, we thought we’d list just a few other ways we make life easier for families.

‍
1. We’re available anytime, anywhere

Parents and carers can communicate with their child’s teacher, view schedules, keep track of homework, pay school fees, give consent for excursions, and book in for parent-teacher interviews whether on-the-go or from the comfort of the family home. Better yet, they don’t even need to get behind a desktop computer or laptop - they can do it all from their phone.

Because parents and carers are so busy, we are always working to ensure they have the quickest, easiest way to perform these necessary tasks with minimum effort. Keep an eye out for even more improvements in the future.

‍2. Never have to worry about missing a thing

It can be difficult for parents and carers to stay in-the-loop when they’re trying to keep on top of everything, but with automated school updates via SMS, email and push notification it’s much easier.

We believe this is particularly important during the coronavirus pandemic, so we’ve been working on a raft of updates to increase communication between parents and school staff. Watch this space.

‍3. Perfectly paperless with everything online

One of the big benefits of moving online is that parents never have to worry about misplacing a note, report or permission slip again. The pandemic has raised another big benefit to going paperless. With the virus able to survive on surfaces, reducing the number of physical forms and slips passing through the school office (and parents or carers coming in to drop them off!) is a simple step to take.

It’s also better for the environment!