Review: The School Directory

The School Directory is a new service for schools to search for and find substitute teachers and SNAs. It enters a market where text-a-sub is king and the INTO Sub Search is not far behind it and both of them are completely free to teachers and schools. Text-a-sub from IPPN allows schools to ask for a substitute teacher and the system texts any registered subs. The sub can then call the school and a match is made. The INTO sub search allows the school pick a locality and all available subs are shown ready to be called. What makes The School Directory Different?

The School Directory is similar to the INTO offering in that a school can look for a substitute teacher or SNA by county. However, teacher/SNA profiles are much more detailed. A teacher or SNA can create a bio with their CV, Garda Vetting and references attached.

The whole website is very easy to navigate and it looks very sharp and user friendly. The picture in the background is a wee bit clichéd and it might be a good option for the site to allow a school to personalise that image to something else.

As there isn’t really a lot more that the web site does, it’s no surprise that it runs very fast. Searching for a substitute is easy but is not as powerful as the INTO’s search engine which uses Google Maps. It might be good to be able to search by name if you have a sub that has worked out well before.

The package is entirely free to schools and is currently free to teachers but there is a possibility that it will collect an annual fee from teachers. It’s a brave move for someone to nuzzle in to the stronghold of the IPPN and INTO and for that reason alone, it’s worth checking out!