Home time shouldn't be the most stressful part of the school day
One live queue for home time. Parents wait nearby and drive up when it's their turn, with their child ready at the gate. No hunting for a space, no crowd outside school, no cars across neighbours' drives.
School Pickup is a virtual pickup queue. Parents wait nearby and drive up when it's their turn, with their child ready at the gate. No hunting for a space, no blocked drives, no standing in the rain.
“Saved parents hours of waiting around outside school.” Danielle, parent
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15:20Queue opens. Parents park up somewhere quiet nearby.
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15:22Mrs Thomas joins from her car, 400m away, for Jacob (Y3).
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15:30Home-time bell. Children wait where they normally do.
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15:33Mrs Thomas reaches the front and drives up. Jacob is ready at the gate.
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15:34Collected by an authorised adult. Logged automatically.
From the 3pm scrum to a quiet, orderly handover
School Pickup was built by parents who'd had enough of the 3pm scrum.
- Parents arrive long before home time just to find a space
- Double parking, blocked drives and complaints from neighbours
- A crowd at the gate, and parents searching it for their child
- Staff matching children to adults by eye
- Parents join the queue from nearby, whenever suits them
- Cars drive up in turn, collect and drive off. Nobody parks
- Children wait where they usually do until they're called
- A clear record of who collected each child, and when
Your routine, without the queue at the gate
Set your geofence
Draw a zone around your school, once. Parents can only join the queue from inside it, so when they're called they reach the gate in a minute or two, and the queue keeps moving.
Parents join from nearby
Parked up somewhere quiet, parents join the queue for all their children in a couple of taps, then watch their place.
Drive up, collect, drive off
At the front, parents drive up to the pickup zone and staff have their child ready at the gate. Nobody needs to park or get out of the car.
Taking the parking scramble out of home time
Parking around the school had always been tight. Parents drove in up to an hour early just to get a space, cars ended up across neighbours' drives, and when Barnet Council brought in a controlled parking zone, parents started getting parking tickets.
Now parents join the queue from anywhere within 550 metres and drive up to the pickup zone on Orange Hill Road when they're called. Their child comes out of the gate and hops in. Nobody needs to park.
Read the full case study (PDF)
School
Pickup zone
550 m geofence
© OpenStreetMap contributors
This has saved parents hours and hours of waiting around outside school. I can't imagine ever going back to our old pickup.
“School Pickup has really improved school–parent relations, and lets us clearly track which children are being collected by whom.”
“With a newborn in the back, not having to get everyone out of the car in the rain makes every afternoon easier.”
One queue, from the car to the gate
Built for both sides of the school gate
Run home time from one screen at the gate
See the whole queue as it happens: which cars are next and which children to have ready. One tap when a car has gone calls the next one forward, and every handover is recorded.
- One member of staff runs it at the gate
- No extra work for class teachers
- Fewer complaints from neighbours
- Works on the devices you already have
Wait in the warm, not at the gate
No arriving early to find a space, and no getting little ones out of the car in the rain. Join the queue for all your children in a couple of taps, hand pickup to another adult when you need to, and always know about early finishes.
Small details that make every afternoon easier
Geofenced queue
Parents join from close by, so they arrive within minutes of being called.
Authorised adults
Each child has an approved list of who can collect them.
Early finishes & closures
Shared with every parent, straight from the school calendar.
Cover and exceptions
Parents can ask another adult to cover. Staff see it instantly.
Real-time updates
Parents know the moment their child is on the way out.
Pickup insights
Trip history and queue times to fine-tune home time.
Simple pricing, everything included
No setup fee · billed termly
Start with a free trial. We'll set it up with you on the call.
- The staff dashboard and the parent app for iPhone and Android
- Setup of your classes, children and geofence
- Onboarding help for your staff and parents
- Ongoing support whenever you need it
A clear record of every collection
Children leave only with an approved adult, and every handover is recorded: who, which child and when. All data is encrypted, stored in the UK and handled in line with UK GDPR.
- Approved collectors for every child
- Full, time-stamped handover log
- Encrypted, role-based access
- All data stored in the UK
- Data processing agreement on request
Good questions
Will it change how our school runs home time?
Very little. Children wait where they normally do, in class or the playground, and are simply called when their grown-up reaches the front of the queue. Most of the change is outside the gates.
Does it create extra work for teachers?
No. One member of staff runs the queue at the gate and class teachers carry on as normal. If you'd rather keep children in class until they're called, each teacher gets a simple view telling them who to send out.
Do parents need to download an app?
Most will. The parent app is free on iPhone and Android: parents add their children once, then join the queue in a couple of taps each day.
What about parents without a smartphone, or who aren't confident in English?
Parents without a smartphone, or with patchy mobile data, can join the queue by text message instead, so nobody is left out. The app itself is short on words: a couple of taps to join, then your place in the queue. We'll help you get every family on board.
What happens when a parent turns up without joining the queue?
Staff ask them to join from nearby and wait their turn, so nobody jumps ahead of families who have been waiting. Parents see quickly that the queue is the fastest way to collect, and it soon becomes habit.
How do walkers, taxis and minibuses fit in?
Children who walk home carry on as they do today. Parents collecting on foot can tap that they're at the gate, and their child is sent straight out without joining the car queue. Taxis and minibuses can keep their own arrangement or join the queue like any other car; we'll set it up the way that suits your school.
What equipment do staff need?
Nothing special. Staff use School Pickup on the tablets, phones or computers the school already has.
Why the geofence?
You draw a zone around your school. Parents can only join the queue from inside it, so everyone in the queue is close by and reaches the pickup zone within a minute or two of being called, rather than joining from home and holding everyone up.
What if a different adult is collecting?
Parents can ask another approved adult to cover in the app. Staff see the change immediately, and children only leave with someone on their authorised list.
Is School Pickup GDPR compliant?
Yes. All data is stored in the UK, encrypted, access-controlled and processed in line with UK GDPR. We can provide a data processing agreement.
How long does it take to set up?
Days, not weeks. Onboarding takes a couple of hours: we set up your classes, children and geofence with you and show your staff how it works, and you're ready to go.
How do we get our class lists in?
Upload a spreadsheet exported from your MIS. Direct imports from Arbor, SIMS and Bromcom are coming soon.
How much does it cost?
From £145 per term, depending on the size of your school. There's no setup fee, billing is termly, and setup, onboarding and support are all included.
How do we get started?
Book a call. We'll talk through how home time works today and set you up with a free trial: your classes, children and geofence, plus help getting parents on board.
Let's talk about your school's pickup
Tell us how home time works today and we'll show you how School Pickup fits, then set you up with a free trial.