Who is this guide for?
System administrators should use this guide, as they have overview of the entire system and are best placed to decide who has access to mailboxes.
What is a mailbox?
Mailboxes are found within the messaging section of ReachMoreParents. They are the storage location where messages can be sent from and to. All staff users have a personal mailbox on ReachMoreParents, however, you can create a shared mailbox.
A shared mailbox allows multiple staff users to send messages from the one location and all view incoming messages to that mailbox. All schools have a 'School Office Mailbox' as a shared mailbox for the admin team.
Examples of mailboxes
Below are some examples of mailboxes some of our schools create to communicate with families:
Class - if multiple adults within the classroom have the need and ability to communicate with parents/carers, a class mailbox could be created. We have seen this used to great effect in SEND schools in particular, where multiple teachers/LSAs contribute to the daily reports sent to parents/carers.
Phase - if you have multiple classes within a year group, you may want a shared mailbox so year group updates/ newsletters can be sent from one central mailbox by teachers, rather than each teacher sending the same message separately. This can also be useful for Heads of Year in secondary schools. Some schools also separate phases of the school into their own mailbox, particularly Nursery or Sixth Form.
Department - some secondary schools set up shared mailboxes for subject departments. This can be particularly useful for departments where regular communications are needed in regards to student equipment are needed (e.g. PE, cookery).
Admin function - you may want to create a mailbox for messages that relate to a specific admin function or department e.g. admissions/ attendance/ welfare/ finance.
PLEASE NOTE - whilst there is no limit on the number of mailboxes a school can create, local network strength can affect the processing speed within the messaging area if there is a high volume of mailboxes. Therefore, we advise that only essential mailboxes that will be regularly used are created.
Benefits of mailboxes
Schools can benefit from using mailboxes for the following reasons:
- Allows staff collaboration on single messages.
- Allows for oversight of inboxes from multiple staff, leading to quicker response times.
- Prevents duplication of effort from multiple staff sending the same messages to families.
- Prevents parents receiving duplicate messages from different staff members.
- Clearer organisation allows for messages to be easier to locate.
How to create a mailbox
Please click here for our guide on how to create mailboxes.
Videos from the Introductory Series for All Staff on Messaging and Mailboxes
Alternatively, please see the videos below for more general overviews suitable for all staff.
