WAM Milverton Primary School

Amanda Parks

WAM Manager

Milverton is taking this club provision under its umbrella of WAM. This will be a simple one price for childcare and then you can choose one of the activity clubs on offer or take up the choices option.

The choices option is a more flexible club that will allow children to join in with an art or cooking project activity or they may choose to colour or even play outside for some of the time.

After school, the first session will run to 4.30 and children will be collected from the main playground, outside the main hall, as they are now. The second session will end at 5.45 and children will be collected on the main playground outside the main hall. Those staying until 6.00pm will be collected from the main reception.

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Due to WAM having various sessions this implies that they would benefit from an online booking system such as Onside Live.

Under Milverton’s wraparound service, WAM, parents can choose from of a range of activities on offer at different times and on different days. These activities incorporate traditional after-school clubs and sports as well as a more flexible ‘free choice’ option.

As well as a breakfast club, there are two separate sessions running afterschool, plus an additional late pick-up option - catering to the needs of parents with different worktimes and commitments. In addition, parents who only need occasional after school childcare have the option of booking ‘ad hoc’ sessions as and when they need them. They can also opt for their child to have an after-school snack.

The wide range of choices and the fact that there are different sessions made for a complicated and time-consuming paper booking system, so it was clear that WAM could benefit from a flexible online booking system such as Onside Live.

Challenges

Processing bookings presented staff with a huge volume of work to be completed in a short space of time at the start of each term.
The process for parents was slow, leading to fewer bookings.
Invoices had to be created individually, taking-up valuable time and often resulting in late payments.
Registers for each individual session had to be manually created and amended daily for any ad hoc additions.
Tracing and chasing individual payments meant daily trawls through bank transactions.

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When Amanda at WAM talked to us about the issues she faced, it became clear that the process of setting up each term’s clubs and wraparound services was too complicated and laborious. The long-winded paper-based process was inefficient, and resulted in fewer bookings, as parents needing instant certainty chose to make alternative arrangements. Having to manually raise invoices, chase-up payments and produce registers, took Amanda away from other important things that she wanted to achieve too. It was easy to see that we could help, and Milverton became the second school to trial our Onside Live software. It only took one day to set-up our software for their needs with their business branding, and this was followed by a training day for Amanda and the team to learn how to use the software correctly.

SOLUTIONS

Provide the facility for parents to register their details, add any special requirements for their children, and make their bookings online - removing hours of office administration.
Integration of email so automatic bookings confirmations are received real-time by both WAM and by parents - giving parents instant certainty.
Integration of payment service provider, enabling payments to go direct to WAM bank account at the point of booking - no more chasing of payments.
Automatic generation of session registers, updated real-time as bookings are made.
Brand integration and customisation to the specific wraparound care offered by WAM - including creating individual session options, times and collection points.
Opportunity to make specific customised changes - in the case of WAM, we added a feature for parents to select a snack option.

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Implementing Onside Live provided WAM with a fully integrated solution which is simple for parents to use and straightforward for WAM to administer. The content management system allows WAM to easily create sessions to feed directly into a booking timetable, with registers being built as bookings are made. Parents get immediate feedback as they book; can book anytime, anywhere, and make payment at the time of booking. The result is an improved user experience and a knock-on positive impact on business performance.

When implementing the booking software, a training day was arranged to ensure that those using it could be self-sufficient in setting up their options each term. Thereafter, if there was ever an issue that Amanda encountered, we were there to help. Not only were we available to explain how things worked, but also to make small modifications specific to the way WAM operated. For example, Amanda wanted to add a snack option for parents to add to their booking. Richard was able to respond and quickly find a solution to allow this option. By being adaptable and changing our software so quickly, we can ensure that our booking software works for any kind of business.

BENEFITS

Huge time saving, as software manages all the bookings and payments.
Extra time allows administrators to direct their energy to other areas of the business.
Increased bookings due to easy process.
Up to date information - live, real-time registers make it easier for session leaders to have essential information to hand.
Improved brand image and professionalism.

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Through the implementation of Onside Live, Milverton primary school realised the following benefits:

90% less admin time: Automatic booking and real-time payments means that the only real admin is when session choices are created in the first place or changed. Amanda said that not having to do all invoices and bookings manually “saved hours and hours in the day”. Having more available time meant she could invest in other areas of the business.
Enhanced user experience: The Onside Live timetable allows users to book all their children onto different sessions and different times in one go and make a single payment, making for a quicker and more professional experience for the user.
Increase in sales: A more easy and efficient booking process has resulted in a higher volume of bookings. The option to easily make ad hoc, last minute bookings is also invaluable to parents who require flexibility.
Better safeguarding: Staff have all the information they need at their fingertips without having to have paper records of confidential information. Registers give access to contact records for parents, any medical or other special requirements for children, and where each child should go at the end of the session. Having a live system ensures that these records are updated real-time. There is even a facility for collection passwords.

Case Study