Customer Story: Woldingham School

For independent schools, parent expectations have never been higher. Families expect information to be easy to access, communication to be seamless and administrative processes to be simple and intuitive.

At Woldingham School, an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Surrey, delivering an exceptional parent experience is a key priority.

When the school found itself relying on a mixture of systems, PDFs and manual processes, it became clear that a more streamlined approach was needed.

Just over a year after implementing My School Portal, Woldingham has transformed how parents, students and staff access information, complete forms and interact with the school.

As Director of External Relations, Camilla Mair oversees admissions, marketing, development and the wider parent experience.

Before My School Portal, parents often had to navigate multiple systems to access information, complete forms and manage key school interactions.

"We were doing forms via PDFs and other systems. I was really keen to pull everything into one place and have one single area where parents could access all the information, timetables, documents and everything they needed."

The fragmented experience created challenges for both parents and staff.

Important forms had to be manually completed, returned and tracked. Staff spent significant amounts of time chasing responses, checking completion rates and managing information across different systems.

For a busy boarding school, managing large volumes of parental information, the process was becoming increasingly inefficient.

Camilla was already familiar with My School Portal from her own experience as a parent.
 
Having seen first-hand how easy the platform was to use, she recognised the opportunity to bring the same experience to Woldingham families.
 
The school explored multiple solutions, but My School Portal quickly stood out.
 
"We looked at a couple of other systems, but I kept getting my phone out and saying, 'Look, this is how it works. It's brilliant.'"
 
The ability to bring communications, forms, calendars, reports, documents and integrations together in one place was a major factor in the decision.
 
Most importantly, the platform aligned with the school's vision of creating a parent-friendly experience.

While Woldingham has seen benefits across the platform, one feature has delivered the greatest impact. Forms. The school has moved away from paper forms, PDFs and manual processes, replacing them with a digital experience that is easier for parents and significantly more efficient for staff.
 
For parents, the benefits are immediate.
 
"The fact that parents don't have to fill in the same information every year is huge. If you added up the time we've given back to parents across the year, it's significant."
 
As a boarding school, Woldingham collects important information annually. Previously, this could be a lengthy and repetitive process.
 
Today, parents simply review and update existing information, reducing frustration and making completion far quicker.
 
The impact on staff has been equally significant.
 
"It was a nightmare trying to work out who had completed forms and who hadn't. Now we can immediately see who's completed them, who's still outstanding and send reminders quickly."
 
Instead of spending hours manually tracking responses, staff can monitor completion rates instantly and target reminders only where needed.

One unexpected benefit has been the way My School Portal has encouraged wider ownership across departments.
 
Rather than administration teams carrying the full burden of managing forms and information requests, individual departments now take greater responsibility for their own processes.
 
"It means the onus isn't falling exclusively on admissions, the school office or the data team. Staff are taking ownership of their forms and making sure they have the information they need."
 
This distributed approach has reduced pressure on central teams while improving accountability across the school.

A recurring phrase around Woldingham is simple:

"It's on the portal."

Whether parents need access to forms, policies, reports, calendars, handbooks or other information, there is now a single destination. Accessible via both desktop and the My School Portal app, parents can quickly find what they need wherever they are. In fact, the app's 4.8-star rating reflects just how much parents value its convenience and ease of use.

The school has actively encouraged parents and students to use the platform as their first point of reference.

"We keep directing parents back to the portal. It's becoming second nature. Everyone knows that's where they need to go to find what they need."

The result is a more consistent experience, fewer enquiries and greater confidence among parents.

Replacing a school portal can feel like a daunting project, particularly when it affects parents, students and staff.
 
However, Woldingham found the implementation process straightforward thanks to the structured onboarding programme and responsive support team.
 
"It was a big project, but the training was excellent. The bite-sized sessions were manageable, really clear and helped us get everything launched without major issues."
 
The team also praised the responsiveness of Access support.
 
"Whenever we've had questions, we've always received really quick responses. That's incredibly reassuring."
 
The positive support experience has also given the school confidence to continue expanding its use of the platform.

Taking the leap was worth it
For many schools, changing a parent portal can feel like a daunting prospect. Concerns around implementation, staff training and parent adoption can make schools hesitant to move away from existing systems.
 
For the Data Manager at Woldingham School, the experience proved far smoother than expected.
 
"Changing your whole portal is a big project and it can feel quite overwhelming because there is so much involved. But our experience was really positive. The training was excellent, the system was easy to use and the support team guided us through every stage."
 
Rather than creating disruption, the move quickly became part of everyday school life.
 
The Data Manager believes schools should not let concerns about implementation prevent them from modernising their parent experience.
 
"I think some schools are probably nervous about making a change because they worry about the amount of work involved. It is a significant project, but the impact is absolutely worth it. Looking back, the difference it has made for both parents and staff has been huge."
 
That confidence is one of the reasons Woldingham continues to expand its use of My School Portal and explore new ways to deliver an even better experience for families and students.

Having successfully introduced forms, calendars, reports and the student portal, Woldingham is already exploring additional ways to extend the value of My School Portal.
 
The school sees the platform not simply as a software solution, but as a foundation for delivering an exceptional experience for parents and students.
 
As new requirements emerge, the flexibility of the platform means it can continue to evolve alongside the school's needs.

When asked what she would say to another school considering My School Portal, Camilla's answer was simple.

"It's a one-stop shop. Everything is in one place. It creates a seamless experience for parents, students and staff."
 
For Woldingham, the investment has delivered far more than a portal.
 
It has reduced administration, improved engagement, streamlined processes and helped create the modern, connected experience that today's families expect.

If you're looking to simplify parent engagement, reduce administrative workload and create a seamless digital experience for your school community, discover how My School Portal can help your school bring everything together in one place.