Contact Pupils and their Contacts by Email and SMS > Send an SMS Message

Use the Pupil Manager module to send a text message to a selected group of pupils. You can also choose to send your message to pupil contacts. This is a useful tool for forwarding information quickly.

To send a text message to a group of pupils, follow the steps below:

1. In the Pupil Manager module, select the Current Pupils tab:
   
2. Use your preferred search method to find the pupil records that you want to work with.
   The Pupil Records List is displayed:
   
3. Select pupil records using the checkboxes next to each Pupil's Name. Check the box in the header bar to select all the records displayed.
4. In the pink drop down list select SMS Wizard.
   Step 1 of the SMS Wizard is displayed:
   

5. Choose to send SMS messages to:

   • Pupils.
   • Pupil contacts.

Send an SMS Message to Pupils

1. Select the Selected students checkbox and click Next.
   A popup window is displayed. You are prompted The wizard is complete based on your selections. Do you want to continue with these choices?
2. Click Yes.
   The Send SMS window is displayed:
   
3. Select the Message tab:
   • Message Body. Enter the body of your text message. You are limited to 160 characters per text message. If your text message exceeds the character limit it spans across a number of separately sent messages.
   • The Message Total box shows the total number of separate text messages sent.
   • Outbound Sender Identity. SMS message recipients see the selected Sender Identity as the caller ID. If a virtual number is selected here, the recipient only sees the number in caller ID (the message may need to be clear that it is from your school). Use virtual numbers if you want the recipient of the message to reply.
4. Select the Recipients tab. Use the checkboxes available to select the recipients of your message. A key is displayed in this tab to help you.
   An example of the Recipients tab is shown below:
   
5. Click Send SMS. A Communication Summary is displayed for you to check that your message has been sent.
6. Click Cancel to return to the pupil records list.

Send an SMS to Pupil Contacts

1. Select the Contacts for the selected students checkbox and click Next.

   You can also additionally select the Selected students checkbox to send the SMS message to pupils.

   Step 2 of the SMS Wizard is displayed:

   

2. Use the tabs displayed to select the groups of pupil contacts you wish to include in the text message correspondence:

   Tab	Explanation
   Relation Type	Select groups of pupil relatives.
   Contact Group	Select pupil contacts in Custom Contact Groups.
   Filter by Address Type	Select groups of contacts by their address types, such as 'Home' contacts.
   Filter by Contact Type	Select groups of contacts by their contact types, such as 'Billing' contacts.

3. Click Next.
   Step 3 of the SMS Wizard is displayed:
   
4. Use the checkboxes available to select the recipients of your text message.
5. Click Next.
   A popup window is displayed. You are prompted The wizard is complete based on your selections. Do you want to continue with these choices?
6. Click Yes.
   The Send SMS window is displayed:
   
7. Select the Message tab and enter the body of your text message. You are limited to 160 characters per text message. If your text message exceeds the character limit it spans across a number of separately sent messages. The Message Total box shows the total number of separate text messages sent.
8. Select the Recipients tab. Use the checkboxes available to select the recipients of your message. A key is displayed in this tab to help you.
   An example of the Recipients tab is shown below:
   
9. Click  Send SMS. A Communication Summary is displayed for you to check that your message has been sent.
10. Click Cancel to return to the pupil records list.