The problem
When a pool closes or a teacher is off, someone phones and texts every affected family. If a school with 150 swimmers has 3 changes a month and each takes 40 minutes of calls and messages, that's 120 minutes, 2 hours.
What the AI does
Brevo is an email marketing platform with a drag-and-drop editor, sign-up forms and contact segments; its FAQ says the Free plan sends up to 300 emails a day once approved. Keep a list of parents' email addresses with the lesson group each family belongs to, using a segment per group. When a closure or change happens, write one short email, say what is changing and what happens to the lesson or fee, and send it to the affected group. Updates about lessons a family has booked are service messages. Special offers and promotions are marketing and need opt-in consent under PECR. Keep the two lists apart. Do not put children's names in the emails.
A worked example
A swim school in Cambridge teaches 150 children across 12 lesson groups. Pool closures and teacher illness mean about 3 changes a month, each currently handled by phone and messages.
Before
3 changes a month at 40 minutes of calls and messages: 120 minutes, 2 hours
After
About 10 minutes each to write and send one email: 30 minutes, 0.5 hours
What it's worth
About 1.5 hours a month saved (90 minutes), worth about £30 at £20 an hour. A few emails a month to about 150 addresses is inside Brevo's Free plan of up to 300 emails a day; Free emails may carry the Brevo logo, and Starter is £6 a month.
How to set it up
- Collect one parent email per family and the lesson group they belong to, and tell parents you will email about lessons.
- Create a Brevo account and import parents into one segment per lesson group.
- Write a template with the school name, what changed, the new arrangement and a phone number.
- When something changes, write one email, check it and send it to the affected group only.
- Keep a separate, opted-in list for offers and promotions.
What goes wrong
- Email is not an emergency channel; for a same-day closure also phone or text families who need to know.
- Don't mix service updates with promotions in one list. Marketing needs consent under PECR, with an unsubscribe link.
- Children's names, photos and swimming levels don't belong in emails to a group.
- A wrong date or pool in an email creates more calls than it saves; check each one.