When looking at phone systems for education institutions, consider the specific features you think you’ll need as a first step. The “best phone systems for schools” can be highly subjective, and many alternatives come with a variety of features that facilitate the day-to-day running of a school.

Beyond improving communications and student safety, an education phone system can also improve record-keeping internally and externally. In the first case, VoIP phone or cloud communications platforms give you the option of recording conversations—in case you need to log a student’s information or a formal complaint, for example. Just be aware of the legal guidelines around call recording before you start recording any call.

More generally, school phone message systems can (via call routing) help direct incoming calls and messages to the school more effectively. You can use pre-recorded messages to guide callers to the right department, or even record answers to common questions such as opening hours, which can save administrative staff a lot of time.

When a school’s staff need to talk with each other (or with external parties), video conferencing is another essential feature of a school communication system. The barrier to entry is very low thanks to the relative availability of modern hardware, and being able to speak face-to-face can speed up communication and reduce misunderstandings.

Since specific feature lists can vary between cloud communications and VoIP providers, you might want to consider a product demo or POC (proof of concept) as you're choosing the right cloud phone system for your school.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and refers to communication over the internet instead of conventional phone lines. Not only that, this technology also lets you make phone calls using a mix of hardware and software, such as smartphones and laptop computers.

To get a VoIP phone system for school, you should check out the different leading cloud communications and VoIP service providers. Typically, you'd sign up for a free trial or a product demo, and once you've chosen a provider, you'll pay a subscription fee on a monthly or annual basis.

While phone systems for schools are used for a slightly different purpose compared to typical business phone systems, most unified communications and VoIP providers will give you similar overall features that let your staff communicate with each other from anywhere, even across multiple campuses.

A private school cloud phone system is for all intents and purposes pretty similar to a public school's phone system. In almost all cases, both school types need to send out announcements, handle incoming calls, and communicate easily with people outside them.

If you're looking at phone systems for private schools, you might consider an online faxing feature. If you’ve scanned a paper document or created one digitally, online faxing (which some VoIP phone systems and UCaaS platforms, like Dialpad, have) lets you easily send it to other people. You can also transfer large file sizes (a common problem with spreadsheets or visual media) and send files to multiple people simultaneously, or sign important documents remotely.

Another handy feature of a private school hosted VoIP system is voicemail-to-email integration. If someone leaves a voicemail for a staff member, that voicemail can now be sent to an email inbox for easier access. Some VoIP providers can even transcribe the text, letting you see what’s being said as easily as possible.

If a private school has a lot of board meetings (or high interest in them) conference bridging is another essential feature. It allows large numbers of people to listen in on a call without having to travel; some devices can even show you who’s participating or speaking during a meeting.

Conference bridging, too, is compatible with a variety of hardware and software, including conventional landlines. With Dialpad, for instance, you don't need hardware at all, and attendees can join conference calls just by clicking a link in their web browsers.

VoIP phone systems and cloud communications platforms can improve school safety by making it easier to communicate with external and internal stakeholders. Intercom systems are important as an internal type of announcement-based channel that let staff share announcements with the whole school, particularly in emergencies. Today’s VoIP phone systems in schools are generally compatible with digital intercom systems, so you get the best of both worlds.

In extreme scenarios, you can use a group paging feature. This allows you to dial one number and contact multiple specific lines (e.g., classrooms) rather than making a wider announcement. Alternatively, group paging or texting can work as a backup in the unlikely event an intercom can’t be used.

Robocalling is another unique feature in VoIP solutions for schools, which you may not need in a phone system for other industries. These allow you to send messages to multiple people simultaneously (if a school has closed early or a teacher is absent, for instance). Features like this are ideal for keeping students safe.