Herefordshire Council Takes School Closures Online

Published on Tuesday, 10 January 2012 05:36 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

LONDON, Jan. 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Herefordshire Council recently announced a new capability on the Council's website that allows Herefordshire residents to stay up-to-date on school closures and transportation modifications. The launch directly supports the Council's focus on providing school closure and related transportation information in a more accessible and efficient manner, prior to the onset of this year's winter season.

Using GovDelivery Digital Communication Management, Herefordshire Council can now simply and cost-effectively disseminate critical school closure information to its residents through a fully automated process. Prior to using the GovDelivery system, managing incoming inquiries from schools, staff, parents and other residents wanting service updates created challenges and inefficiencies for the Council. Now, with the help of a digital communication management solution, the various schools in Herefordshire simply send an email to the Council with details of their closures and all related information, and the email contents are automatically distributed to parents, school and Council staff, and local media simultaneously through email and social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the list of closed schools is created automatically and displayed on the Council web site.

Rob Reid, from the council, said: "The new system will make it much easier for schools to notify the local authority and their school community in the event of unexpected school closures or disruptions to school transport. It puts schools in charge of the messages they wish to issue, provides parents and pupils with instant access to information, and best of all, is a far more efficient way of communicating this information thereby saving time and money in the long term."

"Herefordshire Council sought to improve a cumbersome and costly process to distribute critical information, and GovDelivery is the platform driving that improvement," said Dave Worsell, Director of Government Solutions with GovDelivery. "Our services provide cost-effective means for government agencies like the Council to better connect with the public and dramatically improve the delivery of information."

Signing up is easy, and secure. Visitors to the council website at http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/allschoolclosurealerts.aspx can enter their email address on the top left of the page and select subscriber preferences.

About Herefordshire Council

Herefordshire Council works in partnership with central and local government to help support the citizens of the county. Herefordshire Council is responsible for many key services including education, highways and planning, social services and economic regeneration. As a unitary authority it also manages a large number of additional services, most prominently council tax collection and domestic refuse collection.

About GovDelivery

GovDelivery helps governments maximize direct connections with the public through digital communications. Our digital communication management solution is a comprehensive government-to-citizen email and digital communication solution designed specifically for the public sector. GovDelivery serves more than 450 government organizations worldwide including more than half of major U.S. federal agencies, as well as state, county, and city governments in the U.S., and local authorities and central government agencies in the United Kingdom. Government organizations use GovDelivery to optimize effectiveness, efficiency, and engagement in communications with the public. GovDelivery is a partner company of ICG (Nasdaq:ICGE). For more information, visit http://www.govdelivery.com. 

The GovDelivery logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8030

CONTACT: John Cook
         Director of Marketing
         651-757-4146
         
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.