Utilising EdSmart’s SMS feature can significantly enhance school communication by boosting response rates for Parent Slips and increasing the visibility of Broadcasts. SMS proves particularly valuable in emergency communications for parents, students, and staff.

Important note:

It's essential to note the distinction between Broadcast SMS and Parent Slip SMS, each governed by specific conditions for activation:

  1. Broadcast SMS (Manual) - School staff can opt to send Broadcasts via SMS by simply checking the SMS checkbox before sending.

  2. Parent Slip SMS (Automated) - Parents automatically receive Slip communications via SMS if their contact profile in EdSmart has the Send SMS Notifications flag enabled. If your contact data is managed through your Student Management System, please coordinate with your school administrator to adjust this setting if required.
    For Slips with reminders enabled, these will also be sent as a text message if the Send SMS Notifications flag has been enabled for the contact. Reminder SMS will incur SMS fees too.

Screenshot of a contact’s SMS Flag:

Functionality - Broadcasts

EdSmart’s SMS Broadcasts can include attachments, making it easy for parents, students and staff to download files from text messages.

Functionality - Slips

When sending Slips, parents will receive an SMS with a link to the Slip as below unless your school has made a special request for EdSmart to send absentee Slips only via SMS.

Reporting

EdSmart’s granular reporting allows schools to track recipients who downloaded the file.

With a click of a button, you can resend it to those recipients that haven’t seen the message.

Preview

EdSmart displays a preview of the SMS being sent, so you can be sure your critical communications are accurately represented before pushing the send button.

Emergencies

EdSmart’s Broadcasts can be critical during emergencies. Multiple Broadcast templates can be set up in advance – fire, flood, bomb threat – so you’re ready for any scenario.

And because EdSmart is cloud-based and not reliant on your on-premises equipment, you can message all parents, students and staff no matter what happens.

Service Provider for SMS

Below are the service providers for SMS in Australia and for the rest of the countries

Text Messaging Service | SMS Broadcast for Australia
Communication APIs for SMS, Voice, Video & Authentication | Twilio for the rest of the countries

Pricing for SMS

8c per SMS for Prepaid

10c per SMS for Postpaid