There are many different approaches to parenting and we all try to do what's right for our family, but one thing that seems to be consistent across every primary school parent is that no-one enjoys the school run.

In the morning, there is the challenge of getting the children ready and out the door on time and in the afternoons you are managing the timings around work and other commitments. Wraparound care such as after-school clubs can have limited availability, not to mention become incredibly expensive, so most of us end up relying on a complex network of grandparents, friends, and parents of our children's classmates.

Finally, we have to let the school know when someone else is collecting and, with everything else going on, you may not even be able to get through - especially if your plans have changed at the last minute.

Share the load

For most of us, we are happy to help someone out by picking up their child as well as our own. In fact, 84% of the parents we surveyed said that they had. The problem comes with getting someone to commit, which is what we really need, because the current way of doing things means that chopping and changing is a nightmare.

That is why we built Fetching - to make it easy for parents to help each other out from time to time. And not just parents... Fetching is the place where you can keep everyone that you trust to collect your child from school.

You may have encountered school apps that encourage parents to share the school run among themselves, but we are the first one to allow parents to connect on the app with people outside of their school community.

ID verification

We can do this because we ask all of our users to verify their ID, and this ensures that everyone collecting a child is exactly who they say they are.

It may seem a lot to ask, but we simply cannot allow anyone to create a fake profile and attempt to collect a child. (Here's a bit more info on the data we collect and why).

We know that parents rely on a wider group that just the other parents at the school gate, and it is not alway possible for the school staff to recognise every person in every family's "village".

Inviting some friends

Every family is different and the people that are important to you and your children will vary. You probably already have a list of trusted people that you would ask if you needed your child collecting from school but, just incase you don't, this article suggests five people you mind consider.

Once you've built your network, you can send a fetch request whenever you want help with the school run. As soon as you save the request, all of your friends on the app will be notified.

Keeping the school informed

Your child's school will be able to see who is collecting them through our secure web app. We provide them with a name and photo of the person picking up. Also, the system updates instantly, so the new 'fetcher' will show on their system, even if your plans change at the last minute.

TL;DR

You can find out more about how to get started with the Fetching app by watching the video below.

Get in touch

If you have any queries or would like to find out how to introduce Fetching at your school, contact us on hello@wearefetching.com.