Don't call me in a panic

A school office is a hive of controlled chaos. The phone is ringing, a child has fallen in the playground and needs a plaster, the photocopier has chosen this moment to jam, and a member of the team is calmly trying to direct three different people to the right classroom.

Then, the phone rings again.

On the other end is a parent. Their voice is strained but unapologetic. Their meeting has overrun, their elderly father has had a fall, the train has been cancelled. They can’t pick up their child, and they’ve had to arrange for a neighbour to come at the last minute. They just need to let the school know.

This is a moment we all understand. Life, in all its messy complexity, gets in the way.

Parents are doing a lot: juggling busy jobs, caring for young children, and often supporting ageing parents too. But here’s the part that often goes unseen: that well-intentioned, necessary phone call lands in the middle of a workplace.

The school office staff, teachers, and leadership team are not just surrounded by children; they are managing a thousand tiny tasks in a short, critical window. That urgent phone call, while completely valid, is an interruption to a delicate logistical ballet. The staff member has to stop what they’re doing, find a pen and paper, locate the right child on the system, and take down the details—all while ensuring the information is accurately passed to the teacher, who is trying to safely dismiss 30 other children.

And it's not just one phone call. There can be 10-15 per day on top of emails and even people just popping in to pass on this message.

In this moment of high stress, a subtle shift can happen. The school, stretched thin, might perceive the parent as disorganised. The parent, feeling rushed and anxious, might perceive the school as unhelpful or cold. It’s not a conflict; it’s a misalignment, born from two parties trying their best in a pressured situation. This single interaction can, over time, gently challenge the warm, collaborative relationship that is so vital for a child’s success.

What if we could remove this point of friction entirely?

Imagine if, in that moment of panic, a parent didn't have to make a phone call. They could simply open an app on their phone and securely notify the school that a different, pre-approved adult would be collecting their child.

This isn't a far-off dream. It’s the reality with Fetching.

Fetching does more than just enhance safeguarding and reduce administrative paperwork (though it does both brilliantly). Its most profound benefit might be for our collective well-being.

It protects the relationship.

By managing collection changes digitally and instantly, Fetching prevents school staff and parents from having to interact at a time of high stress. There’s no frantic phone call, no need to repeat information, no room for miscommunication. The school gets the clear, secure information it needs to keep your child safe, and you get the peace of mind that the message has been received, without having to navigate someone else’s busy workday.

It allows both school staff and parents to not be impacted by a panicked situation because, at the heart of it all, we’re on the same team.