“Fact: The more families talk positively about school, the better children do. Attendance increases, children’s motivation is higher, and classroom behaviour, happiness and outcomes improve.
Yet schools struggle to connect with parents; to inspire them with the right information, in the right way. An added challenge is engaging working and separated parents, and those who are negative or anxious about school, or perhaps lacking self-esteem or interest.“
Adrian Burt, Founder MarvellousMe
My Background
As a working father, I rarely visited my son’s school. I’d arrive home from an hour commute and ask Billy what he had done at school, just to get a shrug or meaningless response at best.
His school’s communications were okay, but mainly about general things, reminders, or asking for volunteers or fundraising. Their learning platform was confusing, newsletters wordy, and social media impersonal. Hardly anything to inspire a free-flowing discussion about Billy’s day.
I wanted a conversation starter, to feel more involved with his learning and development. That’s why I built…
So, what is MarvellousMe?
MarvellousMe is an app that engages parents by giving them high impact news that is learning-led and praise-led, in an exciting, positive and personal way. It’s different to other communication systems, and a brilliant way to add home re-enforcement to school rewards.
MarvellousMe grabs attention and makes you smile and glow with pride; the magical secret to break down barriers and engage all types of parents.
What makes MarvellousMe different?
MarvellousMe is a whole school solution, that leaders can manage and measure.
It empowers leaders to focus parent communication on learning and school rewards, and makes it easy for them to ensure success in every class. They can even evidence parent engagement impact by special cohorts, like Pupil Premium and SEN children.
MarvellousMe is set up and managed centrally, so it’s always up-to-date, and it’s secure and GDPR compliant. The investment is low and our business model transparent, and we back everything up with first-class service, including a 2-step programme that guarantees results.
Plus, the leaders and office can use it too, to send news home and award MarvellousMe badges, en masse and on the fly, saving a fortune on texts, paper and ink, and encouraging even greater parental support and strong attendance and punctuality.
Is it extra work for teachers?
Making MarvellousMe effortless for teachers is always a priority.
Teachers use it 2-3 times a week, with their class in plenaries. It’s like sending a learning postcard home, or awarding an electronic sticker. Notes are kept short for maximum impact, and teachers can add media, worksheets and even date-stamped homework.
There’s never any setup for teachers, and we restrict parent replies to thrilling Hi5s, to eliminate off- task conversations or out-of-hour contact.
What’s the impact?
There are over 750 schools using MarvellousMe, with average parent engagement of 90%.
We hear fabulous comments every day and love our shout-outs in inspection reports, but we can’t ask for more than parents saying that they now get valuable information about their child’s progress. As a better engaged dad now myself, I know first-hand the massive difference that makes.