Sir Terry Leahy is to invest in Parentapps, a venture, which he believes will revolutionise communications for schools.
The Speke-based company has come up with an app-based system to do away with the “forgotten crumpled letter at the bottom of the school bag.”
“Parentapps operates in a really big area, which is schools and parents, and so it touches upon everybody. That is a big idea and if you can make a useful contribution to the day to day lives of nearly everybody then that is something that matters,” he said.
Bill Currie, a former retail analyst for Barclays and Charterhouse is also backing the firm. He’s previously invested in Caffe Nero and The Perfume Shop.
“The traditional form of communication is giving children letters to take home to their parents. Those letters contain all kinds of important information about school trips, changes in policy, consent forms, events and so many more things,” explained co-founder, Kevin Clayton.
“Such important communications are often put in the hands of very young children who would often stuff them at the bottom of their school bags and forget about them – it is a serious weakness in the chain. With the new laws around data protection, and the safeguarding of young children, sending out information via a paper letter poses a number of risks.
“Our app, which can be individualised for each primary and secondary school, and nurseries, does away with that process in an instant saving the school time and money and reducing its carbon footprint.”
