Frequently asked questions

No, as stated by Ofsted, if you are a family friend or relative that is looking after a child for fewer than three hours per day, then you do not need to be registered.

We do not. We are not here to decide who can fetch your child from school and who can’t - that is down to you.

What we can do is make sure that only people that know you (i.e. have your telephone number or email address) can send you a friend request. And even then, you do not need to accept it. Once you do, they help you with the school run.

What we have built is similar to a social network, in that you have a profile and can connect with other people. However, there is no way of searching for people so, if you want to connect with someone you have to know them offline.

You can invite them using their email address or via your preferred messaging platform. Fetching is not about making friends, it is about facilitating what is already happening with groups of parents across the country. Making it easier for them to help each other out with the school run.

It may seem restrictive compared to what you are used to, but ask yourself this: how many Facebook friends would you have, if every person you accepted was going to be authorised to look after your child?

If Uber let you to connect with your preferred drivers so that they were the only ones that ever picked you up. And, instead of paying them, you drove them somewhere when they needed a ride, then it would be a bit like Uber.

The We Are Fetching app automatically emails the school to let them know that someone, other than you, is collecting your child. The email also includes a photo of the person for the avoidance of doubt.

The school also has it's own We Are Fetching account so that they can log on and see all children, the people that are approved to collect them, and who is due to fetch them from school on a given day.

We are looking into how we can get people socialising in those early days at the school gate, but for the time being, it is up to you. We will hold off giving you helpful suggestions on how to start a conversation - you being you will do just fine.

Yes. The share icon on the child profile allows you to share that child with one of your 'friends'. This ensures that there is only one of each child, which helps from the school's perspective.

Sharing a child means that you can both raise a fetch requests for that child, and either of you can collect them without letting the school know. Only two people can share a child and each child should only have one profile on the Fetching app.

You can share your child with whomever you wish. To get maximum benefit from the app, the two "parents" should be the two people who look after the child most often.

No. Your network is completely up to you. It may make sense for you to connect with other parents whose children attend the same school, but it is by no means compulsory.

You can add your child's schools to the app and we will send them an email to set up their free account.

We will also follow up with them on your behalf although, as we are quite new, your child's school may not have heard of us before, so you may want to mention it to them as well.

As soon as the school has created their account, you will be notified.

No. Only people that you have explicitly accepted as friends can see your information and your fetch requests.

An acorn can be earned by helping a friend out for 30 minutes. For example, if you collect one child from school (in addition to your own), you earn one acorn. This applies for the school run, play dates and dog dates.

This multiplies up if you are able to take more than one. So, if you look after three children or dogs (in addition to your own) for 30 minutes, you will earn three acorns.

We are currently working on some great partnerships so that you will be able to spend your acorns on rewards you'll love.

No - any parent (or fur parent!) can use it. As long as you have a child or dog who needs looking after, and a network of friends that are willing to help out.

We ask for the information up front to save asking for it later. Here is a list of what we ask for and why we need it:

• Name - so your friends know who you are.
• Email - so you can receive confirmation notices about play dates and school fetches.
• Password - it is really important that you keep your account secure with a strong password. Only you should be able to approve someone to look after your family.
• Mobile number - this allows you and your friends to contact each other easily within the app.
• Address - everyone has their home address on their profile so that you can see where to drop off to and where to collect from afterwards.
• Privacy policy - we don't sell your data to any third parties, we only share information of who is fetching who with your child's school, if you are using the Fetching app for the school run.
• Your photo - you won't be asked for this up front, but we will need it before you agree to collect a friend's child from school. This is to ensure that the child is passed to the correct person, when you arrive. 

If you have checked your junk mail and it isn’t there either, then please contact us on hello@wearefetching.com

That's great! There is an article on our blog called 'Getting started' which will definitely help. There is a link to it in your confirmation email but, just in case you haven't received that, you can also find it here.

Of course - you may have done it already for ad hoc requests. However, doing it via Fetching can not only save time, but end the administration and (let’s face it) guilt of asking for a favour.

Here’s what we do automatically, to save you having to send multiple messages.

1. We inform the school. Once your school is added to the app, they will receive an automated email to let them know that someone other than the child’s parent will collect them. The email will also contain a photo of that person for security purposes and their phone number should they need it.
2. You can store need-to-know information. Details of your child’s dietary requirements and favourite activities can be added to your child's profile on the app to ensure that the 'fetcher' is informed without you having to send another message. We also show you your friends’ address details so you know where to go to collect your child - just in case you haven’t been there before.
3. We send reminders. We know you are busy, so we also send push notifications to your phone to make sure you remember who you are collecting on any given day.
4. You stay informed. Once your child is collected, the “fetcher” clicks a button on the app and you are notified.
5. We keep it fair. Our credits system guarantees everyone feels comfortable that both they and their friends are in this together, and no-one is having their goodwill taken advantage of. 

Schools will enjoy reduced administration, as all changes to collection arrangements will be fed straight into the system.

The live nature of the system means that parents can request help from a friend - even if they are held up unexpectedly - meaning that teachers will no longer have to stay late because a child has not been collected on time.

We also have a track and trace feature which means that, should a child be diagnosed with the virus, they can instantly see who has collected them over the past two weeks.

Finally, sharing the school run means that there will be less congestion at the school gates, reducing pollution and minimising the risk of transmission of coronavirus through overcrowding.

If you think that your school could benefit from using our free platform, download our schools' pack for more information.

All users of the Fetching must verify their ID before they can use the app.

If someone invites you to connect you can click on their photo to reveal their profile information. Here you will see their "ID name" - this is the name that appears on their government ID, so you will be able to see who they are verified as.

If the ID name does not match the person you believe them to be, we advise you not accept their friend request.