Pymble Ladies' College

‍

Pymble Ladies College is a leading girls’ school in Sydney with over 2,300 students and is well known for its extensive co-curricular programs. Clipboard has been integrated into Pymble’s internal systems for the last four years as an end-to-end solution for managing their extracurricular activities.

‍

This case study delves into how Clipboard transformed Pymble Ladies’ College's extracurricular management from the perspectives of Greg Meagher (Executive Director of Co-Curricular), Monique Zahra (Head of Co-Curricular Administration) and Jack Pennington (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and Rugby Coordinator).

‍

‍

Streamlining Processes with Clipboard:

From the automatic input of student information, to the management of extracurricular rolls, activity selections, scheduling, and timesheets to incident reporting, Clipboard offered a comprehensive solution that saved time, ensured data integrity, and prevented information loss. Greg Meagher highlighted the value of Clipboard's end-to-end solution. 

‍

“The thing we love about Clipboard for running all our co-curricular programs is it's an end-to-end solution for us. It starts with the input of student information and we can do rolls, activity selections, scheduling, and timesheets right down to incident reporting.”

‍

Monique Zahra emphasised how Clipboard's granular features, like automatic session cancellation notifications and parent-entered absences, simplified their administrative tasks.

‍

“Session cancellations are automatically sent to parents so we don't have to send a follow-up email. Parents can log  absences directly into the system as well, which saves a lot of time in our emails. ”

‍

Clipboard's streamlined communication for coaches and staff, reduced the need for back-and-forth emails, making it easier for activity coordinators to communicate changes and updates to sessions. This efficiency was particularly important when managing diverse activities like sports, which often required swift adjustments. Jack Pennington highlighted the positive impact of Clipboard on activity coordinators. 

‍

“Being able to cancel sessions, having visibility over sessions that have moved or had times change because the girls have got exams; it's definitely been easy to put all that information out relative to whoever needs it.”

‍

‍

Time-Saving with Clipboard

According to Monique, Clipboard's implementation had saved the College an estimated 50 to 70 hours per week on administrative tasks. This drastic reduction in manual workload was attributed to the seamless integration of processes within the Clipboard platform. 

‍

“Clipboard probably saves us 50 to 70 hours a week on the manual, really admin-type pieces. Other systems that we've had in that time haven't really brought together that end-to-end piece, so we've had to transfer data between systems which causes a lot of problems when you're trying to do that manually. So it's made it a lot easier for parents to use and particularly for us on our end, that everyone's on the same system. ”

‍

Greg further elaborated that Clipboard's integration with their student information system (SIS) Edumate and finance/payroll system eliminated the need for manual data transfers, resulting in not only time savings but also an efficient workflow.

‍

“One of the things I like about Clipboard is it can talk to our master student database (SIS) so we can pull information into that. So there's nothing manual about that and then along the process, when it comes to managing timesheets and paying casual staff, it talks directly to our finance and payroll system. That sort of efficiency and the end-to-end piece that saves not only time, it's just an efficient use and there's no gaps.”

‍

‍

Implementation and Support with new features

Both Greg and Monique commended Clipboard's support during their recent Activity Selection implementation phase. 

‍

“We've had a lot of trouble over the years finding a solution that from a parent, or customer point of view, makes sense. Clipboard is a usable, user-friendly system that works for parents, but also for us, behind the scenes. About 12 months ago we tried the activity selection module, and from my perspective, it's been the final piece of that puzzle, it's fantastic.” said Greg. 

‍

“In terms of the implementation, it has been quite seamless. I know that in the past we've had trouble trying other systems we've used, trying to implement them and trying to figure out how it all works. Whereas I think because we were already using Clipboard for a number of our areas,  that movement into the activity selection, we really didn't need a lot of training on it.” said Monique. 

‍

Monique praised Clipboard's user-friendly setup, which minimised the need for extensive training. The availability of instant support through the platform's chat feature ensured that any questions or issues were promptly addressed, contributing to a seamless transition and user adoption.

‍

“Whenever we have a question or an issue, we are just straight onto the chat, send it through and usually, it's fixed within a couple of minutes. We always get a response back in a timely manner. Sometimes it's our own error and the team is great in showing us, here's how you do it, or here's the information where to find it. So we've always found that fantastic with Clipboard in that support is always readily available and quick to come back. “

‍

‍

Impact on Parent Satisfaction and Visibility

Monique emphasised how Clipboard's integration with the Pymble portal improved parent satisfaction. Parents could conveniently view their daughters' schedules, activity cancellations, venue changes and fixture information in one consolidated platform. 

‍

“We've had lots of positive comments about the parents being able to see their daughter's entire schedule because it's handy for them to see their child’s timetable, as well as all of their co-curricular programs in one spot. 

‍

It's been really good with things like cancelled sessions because the parents can go straight in and see that something has been taken off or a venue's been changed. Particularly for things like Saturday sports, that are uploaded as well, so they can see their fixtures and it's just made it a lot easier.”

‍

This real-time visibility increased parents' confidence in the program and allowed them to actively engage in their daughters' co-curricular activities. This enhanced transparency also enabled parents to spot discrepancies and errors, promoting accurate information sharing.

‍

‍

Clipboard’s Timesheet Module

The Timesheet module automated processes not only saved a significant amount of time but also ensured accurate tracking of hours worked and streamlined payments. This level of automation was vital for a complex co-curricular program with 200 plus casual staff members. Greg acknowledged the pivotal role of Clipboard's Timesheets module in managing a high volume of casual staff across various activities. 

‍

“This saves an enormous amount of time, but more so than that, it gives you a really quick and simple way to have an overview of everything that’s happening, particularly with casual staff as it automatically flags if people have worked additional hours. So it's a really good way from where I sit, that you can have your various program managers, but you can come in and have a look to see how things are going. You can't do that on a manual timesheet! It also takes out human error and all the paper shuffling that goes with that. I don't know how we could run a co-curricular activities program, the size of Pymble’s without the Timesheets module. At any one time we have almost 200 casual staff who are all putting in time sheets for a whole range of activities. It'd be a nightmare trying to manage that on paper or even on an old-school spreadsheet.”

‍

‍

Enhanced Student Safety with Incident Reporting

The Incident module allowed quick reporting and dissemination of information about student incidents, enabling timely interventions and support. The structured reporting process enhanced communication among various stakeholders, ensuring that students received appropriate care and attention promptly. Jack emphasised how Clipboard's Incident module contributed to student safety. 

‍

“It's definitely helped us across the board. Just how clean and crisp it is with being able to report a student and how much information you can access straight away. A coach puts it in straight after an incident happens, and then that email goes straight out to the people who need it, who are our Heads of Sport, our Directors of Sport and our Coordinators. 

‍

It means that everyone's across the board because we've got girls here who play a huge  variety of sports at one time. So like you've got one girl who rolled her ankle yesterday morning and then she's supposed to be turning up this afternoon for training, and she might not turn up, and then you will have that information already from just being able to read that email.”

‍

Positioning Clipboard to Other Schools

Coming from a different system that just wasn’t working for Pymble due to not being fit for purpose, that couldn’t encompass the complexities of their vast co-curricular programs, Clipboard was a welcome change. With the launch of Clipboard’s Activity Selection module, this centralisation streamlined processes and facilitated cross-department collaboration had not only improved co-curricular management but also brought together various departments and activities under a unified platform. 

“It's definitely one of the best products. I don't think we'd be able to run our program as effectively, and I don't think it has ever run as effectively in the past as it does now t since we've had Clipboard on board, and we love it” Monique said. 

Jack emphasised that Clipboard's impact was profound and enabled them to manage a diverse range of co-curricular activities smoothly. 

“I don't think we would be able to run all of our sports programs without Clipboard. We've got so much sport going on at Pymble, with so many girls wanting to play and do co-curricular activities. We wouldn't be able to run as smooth a ship as we do with the number of girls that we have here and Clipboard is a big piece of that”

Greg echoed their sentiments, endorsing Clipboard's scalability and efficiency for both small and complex institutions.

“Certainly from my perspective, having worked in schools and sport for so long, it's not often you find a product that just works and fits the purpose that it's trying to do. Often you have parts of it that work and you have to live with the others.

So what struck me with Clipboard, even before that activity selection piece, was this product works really well for what it's trying to do. If I was advising or talking to a school that's still doing any of what we've just described in a manual form, I'd be encouraging them to look at something like this that's scalable.”

The success story of Pymble Ladies’ College and Clipboard serves as an example of how a comprehensive software solution can revolutionise extracurricular operations and contribute to the success of educational institutions.

‍