Ambulance officers praise CareMonkey during student emergency

Customer: St Finbars Primary School, Brighton

Using CareMonkey since: October 2013

When a Year 6 student from St Finbars Primary School, Victoria, was knocked unconscious on a school excursion, instant access to emergency details via CareMonkey ensured staff at the scene could provide the correct information to ambulance and hospital staff.  

"The CareMonkey App made the whole situation much less stressful as school staff could answer questions quickly and informatively, something that our old paper based system would never have been able to do"

Yvette Porter, School Administrator gave us her account of the student emergency and the role CareMonkey played.  

Yvette Porter, Administrator

When on excursion to the Icehouse, Lachlan Jackett-Simpson, grade 6 student, slipped and hit his head on the ice and was knocked unconscious. An ambulance was called to respond to the incident and when ambulance paramedics asked for his medical details, the teacher produced the CareMonkey App on her phone.

Ambulance personnel were thrilled and very impressed with CareMonkey. The ease of having all parent contact details, allergies, medical details, etc. made it so much easier for them to administer the correct care. When the student was transferred to the Royal Children's Hospital, nurses were equally impressed.


Karlie Jackett-Simpson, Lachlan's mother, kindly shared her thoughts on CareMonkey when Lachlan was knocked unconscious.   

(Karlie and Lachlan)

"Because the teacher had my phone number in the CareMonkey App on her smartphone, she was talking to me seconds after the incident occurred. As shattering and frightening as it was, it meant I was part of what was unfolding and knew what they were doing with my son. 

Because all our medical information was up to date, it also meant that by the time I got to hospital I could focus on Lachlan rather than getting stressed about insurance questions and medical details etc.”

Karlie, Yvette and the team at St Finbars, thank you so much for contacting us with this story.   

We are very pleased to hear that Lachlan recovered well and that CareMonkey could assist with this emergency and continues to make your lives easier.  




If you are interested in learning how CareMonkey can help your school, club or business, please click here or visit www.caremonkey.com

St Joan of Arc School: Enjoying much higher parent response rates with CareMonkey

St Joan of Arc School, Brighton
CareMonkey customer since November 2013
Recently renewed for the 2nd year


Modules used:

• Emergency and medical details
• Excursions and permissions forms
• Email and sms notification system

Ellen Saccutelli, St Joan of Arc's Office Manager, gave us her view on CareMonkey

"For our recent whole school swimming carnival we had 100% of families respond to the CareMonkey notification telling us if their child could attend.... Previously using paper forms we would have had 60-70% response rate from parents"

What is the greatest advantage for your school in using CareMonkey?

Since using CareMonkey the greatest advantage has been the time we have saved by not having to go through the process of photocopying, getting the note to classes, sending it home via the children, and then hoping to get responses! 
Now, we simply send them a CareMonkey notification.
Previously, using paper forms we would have had 60-70% response rate from parents. Now we have at least a 95% response rate.
For our recent whole school swimming carnival we had 100% of families respond to the CareMonkey notification telling us if their child was able to attend. It was fantastic!

No paper

Our Principal is a great advocate for “no paper”, as such, he is ensuring CareMonkey is used to its full capability and encourages staff to use the system wherever possible. Teachers will now bring event or task requests to Administration so we can load them onto CareMonkey. Teachers also love that they can access student details when on excursions.

Getting ready for 2015

Prep families

For our 2015 prep families we have their letters asking them to sign up to CareMonkey ready to go! It is part of our school now so the sooner we get everyone on board the better!

Class Rep lists using CareMonkey data

Because CareMonkey has the most up to date parent contact information in it, we will also use it in 2015 to give Class Representatives their parent list which will include: child name, parent name, email and phone. It will make this process very easy. 

The CareMonkey team is very grateful to St Joan of Arc for their ongoing support of our system. The feedback they and other customers provide, allows us to tweak and constantly improve the CareMonkey system to ensure it is an excellent tool in solving practical challenges within schools or any organisation with a duty of care.

St Thomas Primary School uses CareMonkey when managing student emergency on camp

 
St Thomas Primary School Sale  
Started using CareMonkey: April 2014
Deputy Principal, Webley Hirt gave us his account of how CareMonkey is solving practical challenges for their school.

"The teachers in charge said having the ability to access profiles and call parents from their smartphones was brilliant....This would not be possible with the old paper system"

 "We recently used the sms function to inform parents of a bus returning from camp being late" 

"Parents appreciate that the school is taking safety seriously by investing in a ‘third party’ program"  

How are you using CareMonkey?

We use CareMonkey to document all of our emergency information, this includes asthma/anaphylaxis management plans. The teachers love the fact they can open a child’s profile and look at an emergency management plan in pdf form.

We use the email function to prompt parents to update profiles or add elements such as management plans.  


How did CareMonkey help on your recent school camp? 

We had two camps running in different locations.  One child was injured and had to leave his camp group to be airlifted to hospital in Canberra. Fortunately the second camp group was in Canberra which meant there were teachers to look after him.  
As all teachers at St Thomas Primary can access a child's care profile via their smartphone, the Canberra teachers were able to access his profile, talk to his parents and provide updates. 
This would not have been possible with the old paper system, as only the teachers in charge of his original group would have had his details.

Overall, the teachers in charge of both camps said having the ability to access profiles and call parents from their smartphones was brilliant. 
This was particularly so when breaking into groups. In the past if splitting into groups, teachers would have to divide up the paper permission forms so that at any one time each teacher had emergency contact info for each child in their care. With CareMonkey this was overcome because each teacher had convenient access to details for every child. 


How are you introducing it to your 2015 prep families?

When we meet with the 2015 prep families I will be explaining the importance of filling out profiles for their children, with luck this will ensure that all of our new students have a profile made from the outset. 

Nunawading Swimming Club, giving coaches and parents peace of mind

Nunawading Swimming Club

Started using CareMonkey: June 2014

Modules used: Emergency Contacts and Medical details

Kirsty Veliades, Nunawading's Squad and Club Coordinator talked to us about why CareMonkey works for them.  

"It made sense to give the coaches immediate up to date medical and contact information for their athletes without having to print and carry private information"

Why did you start using CareMonkey?  

Our CEO’s son's football club uses CareMonkey and suggested that it would be an easier option than paper medical forms for the amount of trips we do each year.

With the club also training at various locations every day and with the majority of parents not staying to watch, it made sense to give the coaches immediate up to date medical and contact information for their athletes without having to print and carry private information.

What do the club administrators like most about the system?  

Administrators love that it is easy to use and change as needed. We have kids constantly changing groups and different trips going away with different carers and it’s quick and easy for us to add/delete people and give or take away access.

Who are the main users of the system at your club? 

Each swimming member is required to have an up to date CareMonkey profile so the relevant coaches/staff can access their information as needed.

Coaches and 2 admin staff have day to day access for their own groups.  Team managers and coaches have access to selected swimmers for the duration of trips and camps they are on.

How did you get members to activate their profile? 

It is a requirement for all club swimming members to have an active CareMonkey profile. 

We used the CareMonkey system to send each swimmer in the squad system an email invitation to sign up, along with information on why we were implementing the system and how it would be used.

Each month we check the CareMonkey system to resend requests as needed and to add any new members.

The coaches also pass information onto swimmers requesting they sign up.  

How have the swimming coaches received the system?  Are they using the CareMonkey App? 

Coaches have all been positive about the system as it gives them much greater security if something happens at training and they need to contact parents quickly. It also means they are aware of any medical information that had not been passed on previously.

All coaches have been asked to download the CareMonkey app onto their phones.

 

"The CareMonkey system has been great and really easy to learn."

 
If you want to learn how CareMonkey can help your sporting club contact us here today

Langwarrin Junior Footy Club: saving time and loving the ease of CareMonkey

Langwarrin Junior Football Club, Victoria

Started using CareMonkey: February 2014

400+ participants

With the 2014 football season over we were keen to know how CareMonkey performed!

Graham Pryde, President of Langwarrin (pictured) shared his thoughts...

"The system has been fantastic and I cannot talk more highly of it.  Keep up the great work"

Why did you implement CareMonkey? 

• To keep more accurate and up to date records 
• Make it easier to collect medical information
• Make it easier to share medical information with approved people within the club

What do the club administrators like most about the system?  

• They love that it's easy to use and collect information and that there's lots of time saved.  It was also easy to learn and set up.
• By sending out constant reminders to parents using the messaging tool, the number of care profiles completed is extremely high.

How do you manage CareMonkey alongside the Fox Sports Pulse (SportingPulse) administration system?

• We download data from FSP and upload to CareMonkey.
• FSP is the source of truth for member contact information and CareMonkey for medical information.
• General communications are sent via FSP and reminders to complete the CareMonkey profile are sent via CareMonkey.

Who are the main users of the system at your club? 
Parents, Team Managers and Trainers as well as our Club Administrators.

 

Graham and his team at Langwarrin JFC have been great supporters of CareMonkey and we are thrilled they are enjoying the benefits.  

If you want to learn more about how to use CareMonkey at your sporting club, please contact us today. 

Customer Profile: Creek Street Christian College, Bendigo

 
Creek Street Christian College
Bendigo, Victoria
CareMonkey customer since November 2013

Coral Maxwell, Principal (pictured left), kindly gave us her insight into how CareMonkey is working for them 12 months on....

"For our Athletics day, all staff had the app on their mobile device.  Staff were able to use it not only should an emergency occur, but also to contact parents who may be late picking up their children"  


Modules used:

• Emergency contacts and student care profiles
• Communications and notifications tools

Who are the main team members who look after the system?

Our school administrator, Jenni (pictured right) looks after the system

How are you using CareMonkey alongside your school administration system?

We are using SAS as our school admin system and using CareMonkey for our medical information and management of that data

What do you and your team like the most about CareMonkey?
 
We are enjoying the ease of use and no more paper updates all the time

We also love the fact that the responsibility sits with the parents to ensure that all information is up to date

How has it been received by the teaching staff?  

Staff have said that it is great because CareMonkey is so easy to use

Thanks to Coral, Jenni and the team at Creek Street Christian College for your ongoing support of CareMonkey. 

Customer Profile: Firbank Grammar

 

Firbank Grammar School
Brighton, Victoria (ELC to Yr 12)
CareMonkey customer since March 2014

Modules Used:

• Emergency contacts and student care profiles
• Email communications tool
• Online permission forms
• Excursions & camps system

Since signing up with CareMonkey, Firbank has been a great supporter and advocate of the platform.  We have enjoyed working closely with the team to improve and evolve our system.  

 
"The time the system saves us in checking permissions for a camp or excursion is fantastic"  







Michelle Lewis, Enrolments Officer and Fiona Tait, Health Centre Manager share their experience.

Who are the main team members who look after system?

• Enrolments Officer
• Health Centre Manager
• VASS Administrator and Assistant to Director of Curriculum
• Head of Outdoor Education
• Senior School Office-Assistant to DP Head of Senior School
• Both Junior Schools complete their own requests for camps, excursions
• The PE Department look after sporting teams

What do you and your team like the most about the system?

• We like giving parents the responsibility to keep information updated. It means they can update the data at anytime
• Setting up an activity/event and adding students is easy
• The time the system saves us in checking permissions for a camp or excursion is fantastic

How did you use CareMonkey for your recent trip to Thailand?

• We were able to email parents via the Thailand Request Group with information about the trip
• We could then see all medical conditions via reports for the children who attended
• All ‘carers’ were loaded into the system so we all could access the reports for medical conditions and food issues
• It was fantastic when we were away to log on and check student information when a student was unwell

Do your teachers use the App when on excursions?

• Yes.  Before each excursion, the Health Centre briefs the teachers on the students attending who may have medical conditions. The Health Centre also ensures the teacher has downloaded the latest data from CareMonkey onto their phone or iPad. Like anything, this new process has taken some time to adapt to, but it is now managed well

How has it been received by the parent group?

• Really well. There were a few parents who struggled in the beginning, so we invited them in to sit with us while they completed the profile
• Parents now know they need to fully disclose medical conditions such as allergies and Anaphylaxis to ensure the system is effective

Any other comments?  

• Essentially, it's a great system to use 
• The support from the CareMonkey team has been fantastic. When we have experienced problems the team has been easy to contact and assist with our concerns
• When we have ideas to share, they have been willing to assist

Thanks to the Firbank team.  We love working with everyone at Firbank and appreciate your constant support as we continue to evolve the CareMonkey system.

Tiqbiz and CareMonkey working together

CareMonkey is dedicated to ensuring schools, clubs and businesses are equipped to meet their duty of care requirements and giving carers access to the right information at the right time, regardless of where they are.

For this reason, CareMonkey is excited to announce our new technology partnership with Tiqbiz.  A fantastic app for parent communication for schools and clubs.

Tiqbiz is flexible and can be used to replace instant messages, send updates, newsletters, events, photos, videos and more. All posts are sent with a push notification. 

As we start to integrate our two systems, access to CareMonkey information will sit neatly within the Tiqbiz App (see screen shot)

To find out more about Tiqbiz visit their website or to click here to submit a CareMonkey enquiry.  We look forward to hearing from you.

School Administrator Survey Results

Thanks to many of our school administrators who recently provided feedback via a survey asking them what they think about our system, and where it can be improved.

Overwhelmingly our school administrators are enjoying the time saving and benefits that CareMonkey provides.  

What school administrators are saying...

"I like how the responsibility falls back on the parents to keep their contact details up to date as well as any medical issues for their children"

"The saving of that very important commodity...TIME!"

"I like that is is very quick to organise an excursion"

"I like the fact that MOST parents will now reply with permission quickly and paper free...better than permission slips of the past"

There is also room for improvement, so we are working closely with our school customers to make incremental enhancements to our system, with the ultimate goal of making administrators lives easier.

To organise a demonstration for your school or club or to simply find out more contact us today.

Customer Profile: St Josephs Primary, Elsternwick

St Joseph’s is a small Catholic Primary School in Elsternwick Victoria. 

As one of our foundation customers since November 2013, St Joseph’s has helped shape the CareMonkey system we provide today, and will continue to help us guide and improve this system for future applications. 

Modules used: 

• emergency contacts and student care profiles

• communications tools including email and sms

• online permissions forms

• excursions

We spoke with Principal, Simon Collis about the system. 

1.    What do and your team like most about the system?

Emailing and Permission Slips

2.    What has been the biggest benefit in using CareMonkey? 

Timesaving, parent control, reduced paperwork, convenience, permission slips.

Quick identification of student profile concerns.

Admin staff really embraced this program. This was made easier with the in-house PD visit.

3.    Do your teachers use the CareMonkey App and have they found it helpful, particularly when on excursions?

Our teachers are okay with the app.  We simply need to change a habit

4.    How has it been received by the parent group? 

Parents love it! They simply respond within 24 hours rather than admin staff chasing up forms. It is being very well received, but we did a particularly good sell via newsletters and other communications.

Thanks St Josephs!  We are thrilled to you on board and encourage you to keep providing feedback and insights that help us improve the system.

CareMonkey success at iAwards 2014

After presenting among the best and most innovative solutions in the ICT industry in Australia, CareMonkey was presented with two awards at the National iAwards competition in September. Pictured is CareMonkey CEO Troy Westley receiving the awards in the health category and start up category.

Thanks to our fantastic customers who support CareMonkey, and are already enjoying the great benefits that come from implementing the product in their school, club or business.    Click here to enquire today

CareMonkey Electronic Permission Requests

Electronic permission requests or permission slips...one of the main reasons schools are using CareMonkey.



So much time is saved, so much paper and toner saved. It's easy...for admin staff, teachers and parents, CareMonkey solves a massive problem...check out this video and please share it with your school.

CareMonkey Mobile App

A quick demo of the CareMonkey mobile app. Instant access to emergency and medical details for teachers, coaches and other authorised carers.

70+ schools are now saving time with CareMonkey

Welcome on board to Mentone Grammar, a large independent school of 1300 students in Melbourne's Bayside area.

Mentone Grammar join us hot on the heels of Penola Catholic College in North Western Melbourne, and Port Macquarie Adventist School four hours North of Sydney.

At CareMonkey we are determined to work alongside our customers and provide them with a platform that complements existing systems and makes their lives easier.

Our customers are already seeing the time saving benefits, reduction in paperwork and less double handling as a result of implementing the system.

Parents are enjoying not having to fill out as many forms and Carers responsible for the students, now have an increased level of comfort knowing if they are offsite with the students, they can easily access each child's critical health information on their smartphone or tablet.

If you want to learn more about how CareMonkey can help your school or club manage its duty of care, send us an enquiry today.

USA schools 'amazed' at what CareMonkey can do!

From June 28 to July 1 2014 more than 16,000 people attended the ISTE Conference and Expo in Atlanta USA.

The conference has been the premier forum in which to learn, exchange ideas and survey the field of education technology. This year CareMonkey was one of the more than 500 technology vendors exhibiting and demonstrating solutions for schools. 

Troy Westley (CEO) and Martin Howell (CTO) demonstrated the CareMonkey system to hundreds of principals, school administrators, sports coaches and teachers.

"We learned that schools in USA are struggling with the same issues as the are in Australia" Troy remarked, "...it's a hefty task to keep medical records up to date, teachers don't like carrying paper forms around...and the process of sending home and then collecting permission slips for field trips and camps is horrendous, it's just a massive job to obtain consent from parents".

Attendees were amazed at what CareMonkey can offer with many schools asking to be the test case for their district.

CareMonkey was named as one of the highlights of the conference: http://technorati.com/top-7-edtech-highlights-iste2014/

EduTECH Expo 2014: Spotlight on CareMonkey

Here's CEO Troy Westley at EduTECH explaining what CareMonkey is about and how schools are benefiting from the productivity of automated medical and permission forms.

CareMonkey launches in QLD at EduTECH

EduTECH is the largest education technology expo in the APAC region with more than 5,000 attendees and 200 exhibitors showcasing everything from cutting edge classroom technologies to the Queensland launch of CareMonkey!

Tim Ambler (Regional Sales Director) and Troy Westley (CEO) represented CareMonkey at the event and manned the CareMonkey stand at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on 3rd and 4th or June.

"This was the perfect forum for us to meet new clients and show them how CareMonkey can help reduce risk at their school, how they can reduce paperwork and help to provide a safer environment for students" remarked Troy Westley of CareMonkey..."Tim and I were run off our feet. It was exhausting and remarkable at the same time. People haven't seen this type of solution before and it resulted in great exposure for CareMonkey...we'll definitely be back next year".