Keeping in touch with the classroom via ClassDojo

My favourite part of the day is rushing home from work to pick my children up. I really miss them during the day, and working in a school has made me realise just how much goes on at school. My 8 year old will tell me exactly what he got up to, who he talked to, the person he sat next to at lunch and what arguments happened in the class room. My 7 year old is the complete opposite. When I ask her what she has got up to she will say she can’t remember! She might eventually remember what she had for lunch, but that’s about it.

Keeping in touch with the classroom via ClassDojo

Fortunately for me, a few years ago her school started to use ClassDojo which is a brilliant way for parents and schools to connect. Have you heard of ClassDojo? It’s a simple app you can use via your smartphone. It’s an easy way to follow what your child has been up to as school staff can upload text and photographs directly from the classroom! You can see what your child is doing at school and get in touch with teachers if you need to. I find it really helps me keep up to date with what my child is learning at school, and is a direct link to her learning.

In the UK about 85% of primary schools, and almost 40% of primary school teachers, use ClassDojo. And 10% of UK families with a child in primary school use it every week to connect with what’s going on in their children’s classroom.

A recent ClassDojo poll of 1,000 parents with children aged between 5 – 11 years old found the following:
93% have no idea what their children learn in the classroom on a day to day basis
75% say they have to make-do with snippets of information
27% say finding out what their children did in school is like getting blood out of a stone

However, this isn’t really a new issue. 72% say they only talked about “bits and pieces” of their life with their own parents when they were children. Times have changed and I think we parents expect to know more about our child’s school day.

How to use ClassDojo

Having used ClassDojo for the past 2 years I can safely say there are several things I like about it:

Stories – a place where teachers can add a photo of special activities or events or meeting reminders. It was so helpful when we had snow and were unsure if school was going to close early. As well as images taken in the classroom, assemblies or special guests, our school has used it to share photos from school trips to the seaside or farm.

Messages – this is so useful as I can send a quick message to my child’s teacher or a member of admin staff at her school. As I work in a secondary school it can be really difficult to communicate with my daughter’s school as the reception hours are really limited. I can leave simple messages via ClassDojo and I know my message will always reach the right person via the app. The school have been really clear that messages will only be answered during the school day and we shouldn’t use it for anything serious. I’ve used it if I know my daughter has a medical appointment coming up. Our class teacher sends us whole class messages in case the homework has changed or if they need to bring in anything special to school, but also individual messages if I need to stop by for a chat.

How useful is ClassDojo?

Over the last two years I’ve really enjoyed using the ClassDojo app to keep up to date with my daughter’s Infant School. We were the first class to trial it and I was really happy when I found it was to be rolled out to the whole school. It’s used alongside weekly emails and is a great tool for seeing a more informal side to school. I’ve loved seeing her in the classroom, on her school trips, or sitting in assembly when a special guest comes to visit.

You can only use ClassDojo on your smartphone, tablet or computer if you’ve been invited by the school so I know that it’s a safe place to share images and information. I absolutely couldn’t exist without my phone and this is a great app for keeping up to date with the classroom. How do you find out about your child’s day and do you think ClassDojo would help?

Disclosure – post in collaboration with ClassDojo