11 July 2024
Once we had improved the web content for school admissions, we turned our attention to the call handling system and online forms.
The team receive approximately 40 calls per day on the public phone line. These calls were answered using existing call software, but this had limitations:
- difficult and slow to put messaging on for key events such as accepting school places
- no call recording to monitor and improve user experience
- no call queuing so users did not know how long they would be waiting
- limited reporting which was not accessible by the service
At the same time, we looked at creating an online contact us form. Users had the option of emailing or phoning, but often emails did not provide all the information needed upfront leading to additional contact.
There were also several different ways to accept school places (phone, email, Citizen’s Portal, online form) depending on the type of application adding to the confusion.
Phones
We started by capturing requirements from the service. For example, who needed access, phone numbers to migrate, reporting requirements and if they needed queue capping etc.
Next, we worked with the service to produce the call mapping and wording for each of the options. This was another opportunity to signpost users to the website. Once these were finalised the scripts were sent off to be recorded. In the meantime, IT installed the required software.
One of the main challenges was that the existing phone rota would be time intensive to implement in the new system. The team had to revise their rota to deal with this.
Staff were trained and given access to a troubleshooting guide and IT moved the phone lines across.
We went live at the end of the day so we could test everything worked ok before the team started answering calls the following morning. We were available to support the team the following morning to deal with any issues.
Contact form
To decide the categories we needed to include on the contact us form we:
- looked at the two-week call log from 2019
- reviewed where email addresses were mentioned online
- held a workshop with the team to identify the areas users frequently contact them about
This gave us the following categories – chase status of an application, update information / provide evidence / school spaces in my child’s year group / Citizen portal application log-in issues and 11 plus exam.
We added an “other” category because we did not want to cut off users that may need to contact us for reasons we hadn’t identified. Once the form went through several versions of testing / improvements it went live.
The form provided another opportunity to signpost users and manage their expectations. Users often call School Admissions to chase the status of an application so we were able to remind users it can take up to 15 working days to process and application. If users still needed support after this, they could submit their enquiry.
Accept or decline a school place
Next we focused on re-designing the accept a school place and adding in the option to accept an in-year transfer via the online form. We removed out of date information from the form and worked with the service to map out the process for each of the application types – in year, secondary and primary.
The new accept /decline a school place went live in April 24.
The combination of changes to the website, online forms and phone lines has made a significant impact. The phone system provides an improved user experience. Calls no longer drop out, users know where they are in the queue, and it is easier for us to put recorded messages onto the phone line.
The volume of calls has reduced by 46%. At the busiest period in March for secondary schools offer day the reduction is 71%. The reduction in calls on secondary offer day will also be in part due to the positive changes made by the service to increase the number of school places. There is also no longer a peak on offer days when users often called to accept their place, even when they had often confirmed online.
The answer rate for public calls has more than doubled.
The contact us form has been used over 300 times since it went live. Feedback on both the contact us and accept or decline your school place has been positive:
“User friendly”
“The online service is very easy to access, no complication with the form.”
This means the team now have more time to focus on the more complex enquiries.
“It was a pleasure working with the project team. They listened to our views and implemented them where possible. The changes that have been made have made things easier for parents/carers to access the information they require”
School admissions Team Leader
We could not have completed this work without working very closely with the School Admissions team and getting their thoughts on how to improve the service.
We will continue to monitor the data. We are continuing to make improvements. For example, adding a post code field to the contact us form so staff can provide tailored responses to school space enquires based on schools within that area.
Anyone interested in helping us to improve our online services can join our Digital User Panel.