A News item is used to highlight positive events and achievements within the school community, such as:
- Bake sales
- Charity events
- Sports results
- Awards and achievements
- School trips
- Creative projects
These are “nice to know” PR-style posts designed to promote the school in a positive light.
Keeping News and Notifications as separate feeds helps parents clearly distinguish between important, urgent announcements and positive, “nice to know” updates, making communication easier to prioritise and more effective overall.
News items are public posts within the app.
This means:
- They are visible to all registered app users
- They are not private messages
If you do not have the News section on your School App and you would like to have it added, please contact reach out to us directly via email.
Creating a News Item
1. Go to Manage News
- Go to uniqueschoolapp.ie and log in
- Under Communications, click News
- Click Manage News
- Click Add
2. Enter Title & Message
- Add a Title (headline of the post)
- Enter the Message content
3. Add to a Category (Optional)
- Click the Category dropdown
- Choose where the News item should appear
The notifications feed can be split into sub-categories e.g. Sports, Trips, PTA etc. to display only relevant content in each category.
4. Add Images (Highly Recommended)
Adding images significantly increases engagement.
To add images:
- Click Choose Files
- Select images from the Gallery and click OK
To upload new images:
- Click Browse Files
- Select images from your device
- Click Upload
- Select the newly uploaded images and click OK
If no images are added, the school crest will display by default.
5. Add Video (Optional)
If the Video is unavailable, you must complete the Vimeo integration here first.
To add video:
- Click Choose Videos
- Select images from the Library and click OK
To upload new images:
- Click Browse Video
- Select from your device
- Click Upload
- Select the newly added video and click OK
6. Add a PDF (Optional)
To upload a PDF:
- Click Upload PDF
- Select the file from your device
You can upload up to 2 PDFs per News item.
7. Schedule or Archive (Optional)
You can control when the News item appears and when it is removed.
To Schedule:
- Click Schedule Date
- Select a future date and time
To Archive:
- Click Unpublish Date
- Select the date the item should be removed
If no Unpublish Date is selected, the item will automatically unpublish after 60 days.
8. Post to Social Media (Optional)
You can automatically share the News item to:
- Facebook (up to 50 images)
- X (Twitter) (280 character limit)
- School Website
Contact us directly via email if you wish to get your social media/website integrated.
For X (Twitter) use:
- Copy Title
- Copy Message
To quickly populate your posts.
9. Send as SMS (Optional)
Tick SMS to notify non-app users.
They will receive:
- The Title via text
- A link to download the app
10. Send as Push Notification (Device Alert)
- Tick Send as Push Notification
- Select who should receive the alert, e.g. Parents of 2nd Year
- Only selected users will receive the alert, but the notification will still be visible to all app users.
If you untick this box:
- No one receives an alert
- The notification still appears in the app feed for everyone to see
11. Click Save
Click Save to publish the News item to the app & socials if selected.
Feel free to reach out to us directly via email or book a free Zoom training session via the button below