Working with parents
In today’s schools, how parents communicate matters more than ever
One of the most consistent challenges in school leadership is how parents communicate with one another—and with the school. It is both a blessing and, at times, a burden.
On the one hand, strong parent-to-parent networks help families feel connected, informed, and supported. A WhatsApp group can be a lifeline for new parents who don’t yet know the ropes, or for families trying to coordinate playdates, car shares, and birthday parties. But school leaders also know the downsides. Parent WhatsApp groups can quickly spiral into places of misinformation, unmoderated complaints, and exclusion—often leaving staff to pick up the pieces when a small misunderstanding snowballs.
This raises a bigger issue: what role should schools play in shaping how parents communicate? Schools can’t (and shouldn’t) control private friendships, but they do have a responsibility for ensuring inclusion, safeguarding, and compliance with data protection laws.
One school, Denstone College, introduced Classlist, a GDPR-compliant parent communication platform, used in many UK schools. This is the message the Head of School sent to all parents.
Parents need to be able to connect directly to build friendships, make arrangements for their children and themselves, and stay in the loop on the activities of our busy school community. The use of social media as a communication tool between parents has been on the rise in recent times.
However, platforms such as WhatsApp oblige users to share personal data in order to participate in a group. Some parents are simply not in a position to share their details with others for professional or personal reasons (for example, doctors, military personnel, teachers, or families with more complicated circumstances). These parents face a difficult choice: being excluded from parent-to-parent communications by not using WhatsApp, or unwillingly sharing their personal details so that they or their child don’t miss out.
The school therefore cannot support the use of WhatsApp or other non-inclusive platforms for school-related communication, including those set up informally by class or year-group representatives. We are formally requesting that parents do not create class or year-group WhatsApp groups. Without causing alarm, it is important to note that parents who administer such groups are likely to qualify as data controllers under UK GDPR and will therefore carry legal responsibility for complying with UK data protection regulations. Platforms such as WhatsApp may not provide the necessary tools to support this, and often restrict users to “personal use” in their terms and conditions. In the event of a data breach or legal infringement, parents acting as group administrators could therefore be unable to comply with the law. For this reason, the school and its parent community cannot be associated with social media groups which do not comply with data protection requirements and may put parent or pupil data at risk.
In order to facilitate inclusive parent communication for all families, the school is introducing the Classlist app, which is widely used in schools across the UK and beyond and is GDPR compliant.
By joining Classlist you can:
- Decide exactly what contact information you wish to share with other families;
- View a list of children in the class and year, and contact their parents via the app;
- See which families live nearby on a map (if you and they choose to share this information);
- Communicate with your class and year group in a secure chat space on the app;
- Find, join, and create other interest groups with fellow parents;
- Send and manage invitations to children’s parties and parent social events (including dietary info and RSVPs);
- Stay in the loop on informal events and activities run by parents;
- Buy, sell, or give away items in a private school marketplace—without needing a Facebook account;
- Choose your own level of notifications, from instant alerts to a weekly digest email covering everything relevant to you.
Classlist is UK-based, fully GDPR-compliant, and already used successfully by hundreds of thousands of parents in other schools. Everyone using Classlist agrees to the Community Guidelines, which include being respectful to fellow parents and not using the app to complain about the school or individuals connected with it. You will shortly receive an invitation to join Classlist from [email protected].
Please let us know if you would prefer not to receive an invite. Parents who are invited but choose not to join will still receive school announcements through our usual channels, but will not have access to the additional features listed above.
Our school prides itself on being a welcoming, inclusive community. Classlist’s “virtual school gate” offers a safe, moderated, and private space where parents can link up online as well as meet in person at school events.
We encourage all families to consider joining Classlist. While no single platform will ever be a perfect “one-stop shop” for communication, we hope that this tool will streamline parent-to-parent connections and provide a safe, inclusive way to build our community.