Most of it is a push notification
Schools encourage parents to turn on app notifications for new messages. Handy on the day, but a notification is gone once you swipe it away.
MyChildAtSchool (MCAS)
Another MCAS notification. Sense keeps only the dates.
Messages, letters, trips, clubs, parents' evenings, INSET days. When one has a date, screenshot it or share it to Sense and it lands on your family calendar, with a reminder for anything you need to pay, book or reply to.
Notifications 8 from MCAS this week
- MCASNew message: Year 8 Geography trip to Malham
- MCASBehaviour: 2 achievement points
- MCASPayment due: Malham trip
- MCASAttendance: late mark recorded
- MCASLetter: Year 9 options evening
- MCASNew message: Lost property reminder
- MCASAnnouncement: INSET day Monday 4 January
- MCASClubs: spring term places open
In Sense
Event: Malham trip - Thu 12 Nov Reminder: Pay for Malham trip - by Fri 6 Nov Event: INSET day, no school - Mon 4 Jan Trip notes: walking boots, waterproof, packed lunchThe volume
Why MCAS never goes quiet.
MyChildAtSchool is the parent app for schools that run Bromcom. Depending on what your school switches on, the same app handles messages, letters, attendance, behaviour, clubs, trips and payments, and each one can notify you.
Some of it is email, some is not
Schools differ. Some send behaviour alerts to the app if you have it and by email if you do not, and send other letters by email that never appear in the app.
Trips, clubs and payments
Where schools use it for payments, MCAS covers trips, clubs, wraparound care, dinner money and the school shop, each with its own due date.
Attendance and behaviour on top
Late marks, achievement points and detentions arrive in the same place as the trip letter you actually need to act on.
What parents try
The usual fixes trade one problem for another.
Turn off notifications
Quieter, until the INSET day nobody told you about.
Check the app every evening
Works for a week. Then it is half-term, and the trip payment was due on Friday.
One parent has the login
The notifications go to one phone, so the other parent finds out about parents' evening on the night.
How it works
You share it. Sense keeps the dates.
Step 01
Screenshot or share it
When an MCAS message or letter has a date, screenshot it and share the screenshot to Sense. Letter PDFs work too.
Step 02
Sense reads it
Sense picks out the dates, times, what to bring, and anything to pay, book or reply to.
Step 03
Events and reminders
The trip goes on the family calendar, the payment becomes a reminder with its own due date, and what to bring goes in the trip details.
If your school emails it, forward it
Letters and notifications that come by email can be forwarded instead. Verify your email address in Sense once, then forward them, attachments included, to share@getsense.ai. Premium also lets you set up a Gmail or Outlook filter that sends them to your personal Sense address automatically. How to set up auto-forwarding.
What it costs
The free plan covers 10 screenshots, emails or PDFs a month for the whole family, which is enough for the trips and dates that matter. Premium is unlimited, and adds chores, meal planning and the Sense Hub. See pricing.
A week of MCAS
What lands in Sense, and what does not.
In Sense
- Event: Malham trip - Thu 12 Nov
- Reminder: Pay for Malham trip - by Fri 6 Nov
- Event: Year 9 options evening - Wed 18 Nov
- Event: INSET day, no school - Mon 4 Jan
- Trip notes: walking boots, waterproof, packed lunch
Left in the app
- Behaviour: 2 achievement points
- Attendance: late mark recorded
- New message: Lost property reminder
- Clubs: spring term places open
Getting MCAS items into Sense
Because so much of MCAS arrives as an app notification, a screenshot is usually the quickest route. Open the message or letter in the MCAS app, screenshot it, and share the screenshot to Sense. Sense reads it and adds the dates. If your school sends the letter by email or as a PDF, forward or share that instead.
FAQ
Common questions.
How do I get MCAS messages onto my family calendar?
Screenshot the message or letter in the MyChildAtSchool app and share it to Sense. Sense reads the date, time and details and adds it to your family calendar, with a reminder for anything you need to pay, book or reply to.
Can I forward MCAS emails to Sense?
Yes. If your school sends letters or notifications by email, forward them, with any attachment, to Sense. Many MCAS notifications only arrive as app notifications, so for those, a screenshot is the quickest route.
Will Sense remind me about trip payments and consent?
Yes. A pay-by or consent date becomes a reminder, separate from the trip itself. You still pay and give consent in MCAS. Sense never logs in to MCAS or pays anything.
Is Sense part of MCAS or Bromcom?
No. Sense is a separate family organiser that reads what you send it, so the school does not need to change anything.
Other school apps
More UK school apps Sense reads.
MyChildAtSchool, MCAS and Bromcom are trademarks of their owner. Sense is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bromcom.
Let the school send it. Sense keeps the dates.
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