Understanding communications

What it's for

Communications is how your academy stays in touch with families and staff. Some messages you send yourself (announcements), and some your academy sends automatically when something happens (automated notifications, like an invoice or an invitation). This article explains the difference so you know where to go for each.

Where to find it

Open Communications from the main menu for messages you send. Automated emails live under Settings → Communication.

The two kinds of communication

1. Broadcasts — messages you send Found in the Communications area:

• Announcements — a message you write and send to a chosen audience (all families, one level, one program, specific people, or staff). See *How to send an announcement*.
• Templates — reusable messages you save once and send again later. See *How to create message templates*.

You can also decide which staff are allowed to send communications, and limit who each of them can reach — see *How to control staff access to communications*.

2. Automated notifications — emails your academy sends on its own Found in Settings → Communication → Automated Notifications. These go out automatically in response to events — for example when you send an invoice, invite a parent, or confirm a booking. You choose which are switched on and can reword them. See *How to set up automated notifications* and *How to customize an email template*.

Where messages are delivered

An announcement can reach families through more than one channel — the parent portal, email, and (where available) the mobile app. Which channels are used depends on your academy's setup and the message.

Tips & limits

• Announcements are one-off messages you choose to send; automated notifications are triggered by the system — you control whether each is on, not when it fires.
• Preschool/early-childhood notification emails are managed separately and don't appear in the academy list.
• What a family actually sees is covered in the Family Portal section (*Messages and announcements*).

Related articles

• How to send an announcement
• How to create message templates
• How to set up automated notifications