Social Schools

What Social Schools does

Social Schools International B.V., headquartered in Almere, Netherlands and founded in 2008, operates a modular, cloud-based communication and collaboration platform purpose-built for Dutch primary education (basisonderwijs). The platform centers on the School App — a closed, secure messaging environment that replaces consumer tools (WhatsApp, Facebook groups) with school-controlled group messages, one-to-one conversations, parent-meeting scheduling, absence notifications, and a shared calendar — and is delivered via native iOS and Android apps plus a web application. Around the School App, the company has assembled an integrated suite including a digital student Portfolio App for tracking learning progress, a Schoolwebsite CMS, a Bestuursuite for cross-school coordination by boards and foundations, CPMLive Onderwijs for management information, Vertalingen for translations, Virtuele Tours for website visual content, Vacaturebank for recruitment, and an Educademy-based Begeleiding implementation service; all modules share a single login and are sold modularly.

The technology stack is hosted across AWS and Microsoft Azure within the European Economic Area, with ISO 27001-certified data centers, SSL transport encryption, two-factor authentication, and daily vulnerability scanning plus monthly penetration testing. Integrations with Dutch school administration systems Parnassys, ESIS, and Dotcomschool enable automated student and parent provisioning, while Google Drive, OneDrive, Facebook, Twitter, Google Calendar, and Outlook integrations support multi-channel publishing and file sharing. The company is a participant in the Dutch Privacy Covenant for education, affiliated with branch association VDOD, and processes data under AVG/GDPR with processing agreement model 3.0.

Commercially, Social Schools sells primarily through annual subscriptions with a product-led plus inside-sales motion: schools can self-service signup, request free pilots, or book 20-minute online advisory sessions. Schoolwebsite is publicly priced at €350 per year; the core School App is custom-quoted based on school size and modules. The customer base exceeds 1,900 Dutch primary schools and foundations, including named clients such as ROOBOL, SKOH, Tabijn, Delta de Bilt, Klasse, KSU Utrecht, and Delta Onderwijs, with segment focus split between individual schools and multi-school boards. Since July 16, 2021, Social Schools has operated as part of the KidsKonnect group, a Dutch childcare software provider, with the management team and brand retained and a stated strategic intent to bridge childcare, primary education, and parents via integrated children's centres (IKCs).

Name

Social Schools

Legal name

Social Schools International B.V.

Website

https://socialschools.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Social Schools provides a modular, GDPR-compliant communication and collaboration platform for Dutch primary schools, anchored on a closed School App for parent-teacher messaging and extended through portfolio, website, board-suite, analytics, and recruitment modules used by 1,900+ schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Communication Software

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Communication & Family Engagement Platforms (Messaging, Portals, Translation) (EDAJAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Communications, Parent/Guardian Engagement & Notification Systems (EDAJAHAM), Parent/Student Portals, Communications & Consent Management (EDAFAEAK)

Keywords

• Primary school communication
• Education collaboration platform
• Parent engagement software
• Student portfolio app
• School website builder

Headquarters

HQ city

Leiden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. School Website Subscription: Annual subscription for school website CMS including software updates and new features
2. School App Subscription: Modular subscription model where schools start with School App and can add additional modules like Portfolio, Website, and Bestuur Suite
3. Implementation and Training Services: Team workshops and implementation support services to help schools adopt the platform successfully

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Social Schools provides a modular, cloud-based communication and collaboration platform suite for Dutch primary schools (basisscholen). The core School App delivers group messaging, 1-on-1 conversations, parent meeting scheduling, absence notifications, and calendar functionality in a secure closed environment, with add-on modules including a digital Portfolio App for student learning progress, a Schoolwebsite CMS with drag-and-drop editing, a Bestuursuite for cross-school board communication, CPMLive Onderwijs for management analytics, and adjacent services (translations, virtual tours, recruitment job board, implementation training).

Product overview

Social Schools is a modular communication and collaboration platform suite for Dutch primary education, consisting of a core School App for school-to-parent communication, a Portfolio App for student learning progress tracking, and a Schoolwebsite builder. The suite expands through integrated modules including Bestuursuite for board-level management, CPMLive Onderwijs for management analytics, Begeleiding for implementation support, Vertalingen for translations, Virtuele Tours for visual content, and a Vacaturebank for recruitment. All products share a single login and modular architecture, allowing schools to start with the School App and expand as needed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• School App: Communication app for primary schools with group messages, 1-on-1 conversations, parent meeting planner, absence notifications
• Portfolio App
• Schoolwebsite
• Bestuursuite
• Educademy

Products and services

• School App Core communication application for Dutch primary schools enabling group messages, 1-on-1 conversations, parent meeting planning, absence reporting, and calendar management in a secure, closed environment. Used by teachers, parents, and students; targeted at Dutch basisscholen.
• Portfolio App (Leerlingportfolio) Digital student portfolio enabling children to track learning progress, set goals, share achievements, and communicate with teachers and parents. Supports learning lines and self-directed learning, designed for Dutch primary education.
• Schoolwebsite Professional primary school website builder with drag-and-drop front-end editing, extensive plugins, SEO optimization, and automatic content syndication from the School App. Priced at €350/year. Designed for Dutch primary schools.
• Bestuursuite (Bestuur App) Cross-school management platform for school boards and foundations managing multiple primary schools, offering knowledge sharing via working groups, a staff photo directory, and a shared calendar.
• CPMLive Onderwijs Management information and analytics tool for primary education, providing budgeting and insights into finance, HRM, and absenteeism data across schools.
• Begeleiding (Educademy implementation support) Implementation support and training services (powered by Educademy.nl) that help Dutch primary schools successfully onboard and optimize their use of the Social Schools suite.
• Vertalingen (Translation services) Translation add-on service that helps Dutch primary schools communicate with parents who speak different languages.
• Virtuele Tours Visual content creation services including virtual tours for school websites, helping Dutch primary schools showcase their facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced teacher administrative burden - estimated 5-10 minutes per week for complete parent communication
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KidsKonnectcoreOthers · 16 July 2021Social Schools became part of KidsKonnect group on July 16, 2021. KidsKonnect is an innovative software company for childcare with over 100 employees. The acquisition aims to bridge the gap between childcare, primary education, and parents. Together they work towards providing integrated communication solutions for IKC's (integrated children's centres) in the Netherlands. The entire Social Schools team remains actively involved under the KidsKonnect flag.
• Amazon Web ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for Social Schools platform. AWS is used as sub-processor for data storage and infrastructure.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for Social Schools platform. Azure is used as sub-processor for data storage and infrastructure.
• Dr. Eddie DenessenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate professor at Behavioural Science Institute of Radboud University Nijmegen. Engaged as knowledge partner for Social Schools Seminars series on school communication and parent engagement. Contributed research insights on parent involvement in education.
• CloudwiseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented at Social Schools Seminars on practical possibilities for schools regarding internet connectivity, cloud working, and affordable Chromebooks as essential prerequisites for online working.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Google Classroom: Google Classroom is a free, widely deployed classroom and assignment platform included in Google Workspace for Education. It overlaps with Social Schools on teacher-to-student-and-parent communication but is broader and free, bundled with productivity tools.
• Seesaw: Seesaw is a digital student portfolio and family engagement platform with strong adoption in elementary schools. It directly overlaps with Social Schools' Portfolio App and parent-engagement features and competes internationally with similar functionality.
• Remind: Remind is a K-12 messaging and communication platform that connects teachers, students, and families. It competes with Social Schools' core parent-messaging use case in primary education globally, though without the Dutch-specific primary education positioning.
• ClassDojo: ClassDojo is a widely adopted classroom communication and behavior-management platform used in primary schools globally. It overlaps with Social Schools on teacher-parent-student messaging and portfolios, though it does not target the Dutch primary-specific regulatory and language nuances.
• Microsoft Teams for Education: Microsoft Teams for Education offers chat, meetings, and family engagement features bundled with Microsoft 365 Education. It competes at the broader collaboration layer that Social Schools targets in primary schools, especially for school boards wanting enterprise tooling.

Regional players

• SchoolMessenger: SchoolMessenger (PowerSchool) provides parent notification and communication tools for K-12 districts primarily in North America. It is comparable to Social Schools on parent communication and notifications but operates in a different geography.
• ParentSquare: ParentSquare is a unified school-home communication platform widely deployed across U.S. K-12 districts. It is comparable in product scope (messaging, mass notifications, parent portal) to Social Schools but is regionally focused on the U.S. rather than the Dutch primary market.

Emerging players

• Bloomz: Bloomz is a parent-teacher communication and engagement platform with portfolio and translation features built for elementary classrooms. It is more niche than ClassDojo but overlaps with Social Schools on messaging, parent portal, and translation-driven engagement.

Others

• Iddink Group: Iddink Group is the Dutch educational service organization that owns Parro and provides broader administrative, SIS, and educational resources to primary schools. It is relevant as the parent of Social Schools' most direct competitor and as an indirect school-services peer.

Direct peers

• Parro: Parro is the main Dutch primary-school communication app used by Heutink/ROVC schools and now part of the Iddink Group. It directly competes with Social Schools' School App on parent messaging, class groups, and calendar features in the same Dutch basisschool market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SocialSchools
• Facebookfacebook.com/socialschools

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Schools