Use a Notification for important, time-sensitive updates, such as school closures, weather warnings or exam information. Use News for general updates and achievements.
Notifications are not private messages. When shown in the app feed, all users of your school app can see them. Choosing push-alert recipients does not make the feed post private. Use Personal Notifications for individual or confidential communication.
In this guide
- 1. Open Create Notification
- 2. Write your notification
- 3. Choose delivery and recipients
- 4. Choose a category (optional)
- 5. Add images, videos or PDFs (optional)
- 6. Set scheduling and archiving (optional)
- 7. Choose additional channels (optional)
- 8. Send SMS to non-registered contacts (optional)
- 9. Preview and send
- Need help?
1. Open Create Notification
- Log in to uniqueschoolapp.ie.
- Under Communications → Notifications, select Add Notification. Alternatively, open Manage Notifications and select Add.
2. Write your notification
- Enter a clear Title. The maximum is 280 characters.
- Write your message in Content. The maximum is 10,000 characters.
- Use short paragraphs and the formatting tools to make the message easy to read on a phone.
3. Choose delivery and recipients
Under Delivery, check the two options separately:
- Show in App Notifications Feed: Display the notification in the app feed for all users of your school app.
- Send as Push Notification: Send an app alert to the recipients you choose.
Everyone can see the post — you choose who receives the push alert. When you publish a post to the app feed, all users of your school app can see it. The App Alert Recipients selection only controls who receives a push alert on their phone. It does not limit who can see the post.
For example, if you select parents/guardians in one year group, only that group receives the push alert, but all app users can still see the post. For a message intended only for selected people, use Personal Notifications.
For a push alert, use App Alert Recipients to choose the relevant User Type and Years. For example, choose Parent/Guardian and the relevant year group.
Want a feed post without an app alert? Leave Show in App Notifications Feed selected and clear Send as Push Notification.
4. Choose a category (optional)
Use the Category dropdown to organise your notification, for example under Closures, Attendance or Parent Teacher Meetings.
Read the Notification Categories guide.
5. Add images, videos or PDFs (optional)
Images
- Expand Image.
- Drag image files into the upload area, or click Select from Cloud Cam.
- In the image picker, select the files you need and click OK. Use Browse Files if you need to choose files from your device.
Review the Add images to gallery dropdown below the attachment sections. See the Cloud Cam guide for more on managing images.
Videos
- Expand Video and click Select Videos.
- Choose videos from the library, or use Upload Video to add a video from your device.
- Check your selection and click Confirm.
If video is unavailable, check your school’s initial video setup. See the Video guides for more help.
PDF documents
Expand Document, then drag PDF files into the upload area or click Upload PDF.
Keep the main message in Content. For information your school has written, paste the text into the message where possible so it is easier to read on a phone. Use PDFs when the original document is needed, such as an official circular.
6. Set scheduling and archiving (optional)
Expand Schedule & Archive.
- Schedule Date: Choose a future date and time if the notification should be published later.
- Set Archive Date: Choose when the notification should be removed from the feed.
Check both dates before sending, especially for time-sensitive notices.
7. Choose additional channels (optional)
Under Additional Channels, select any connected channels where you also want to share the notification. The screen may include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Website and Website Video Gallery.
Check the information button beside each social channel for its current image, video and text limits. For example, the Facebook guidance allows up to 50 images in one post.
If your school needs help connecting social media or its website, email staffsupport@uniqueschools.ie.
8. Send SMS to non-registered contacts (optional)
Select Send SMS to non-registered contacts if you also need to reach contacts who have not registered on the app. This is separate from the push alert sent to app users.
Review the information beside this option before using it.
9. Preview and send
- Click Preview and check the message.
- Review the recipients, delivery options, attachments, additional channels and any scheduled dates.
- When everything is correct, click Send.
Need help?
Email staffsupport@uniqueschools.ie or book a free Zoom training session.