- schools, according to IRIS
- 3,000+
- parents, according to IRIS
- 1M+
- languages for messages and forms
- 130+
- on Trustpilot, 445 reviews
- 1.7
About ParentMail
ParentMail is a UK app and website that schools use to send messages, forms and payment requests to parents. Parents log in at pmx.parentmail.co.uk or in the free IRIS ParentMail app, after the school sends them a registration link. The company started in 2001, and IRIS Software Group bought it in October 2017. IRIS says more than 3,000 schools and 1 million parents use it. Schools pay for modules on a quote, and parents pay nothing to use the app.
ParentMail puts school messages, consent forms, parents’ evening bookings and payments in one parent account. The school sends a message once, and ParentMail delivers it by app, email or text. Parents top up dinner money, book school meals and clubs, pay for trips and report absences. The school chooses which modules to buy, so parents see only those.
ParentMail was formed in 2001 and was the first UK service of its kind, according to IRIS. The company behind it, 123Comms Limited, was registered on 7 December 2001 as Peoplewiz Limited and took the name 123Comms in December 2012. Its registered office was in Peterborough. Paul Hughes was CEO in 2017, when ParentMail had more than 4,500 organisations and 4.5 million parents on it.
IRIS Software Group bought ParentMail on 4 October 2017 and renamed it IRIS ParentMail. From October 2022 parents began moving to IRIS Identity accounts. In February 2023 card payments moved from Pay360 to Barclays. In January 2024 Leonard Green & Partners took a co-controlling stake in IRIS next to Hg. The same year the app added Apple Pay, Google Pay and automatic top-ups. 123Comms Limited was struck off in April 2025.
History
- 2001 ParentMail is formed. Its company is registered on 7 December as Peoplewiz Limited.
- 2012 Peoplewiz Limited takes the name 123Comms Limited on 18 December.
- 2014 The ParentMail iPhone app is released on 14 November.
- 2017 IRIS Software Group buys ParentMail on 4 October. ParentMail has more than 4,500 organisations and 4.5 million parents.
- 2019 IRIS Capital Limited becomes the registered owner of 123Comms Limited on 30 April.
- 2022 From October parents move to IRIS Identity accounts, one login for all IRIS products.
- 2023 At the end of February card payments move from Pay360 to Barclays.
- 2024 Leonard Green & Partners takes a co-controlling stake in IRIS next to Hg, at an enterprise value of about £3.15 billion.
- 2024 App version 4.6.8 adds Apple Pay and Google Pay on 8 May. Automatic top-ups for dinner money follow in November.
- 2025 123Comms Limited is dissolved by voluntary strike-off on 22 April.
- 2026 App version 6.0 with a new design rolls out from 3 February.
How ParentMail works for a school
- languages for messages
- 130+
- cash range at PayPoint
- £5–£149.99
- to recover a deleted parent account
- 7 days
- App, email and SMS messages
- Read receipts
- Attachments
- Translation
- Online forms and consent
- Surveys
- Parents’ evening booking
- Video appointments
- Meetings and events
- Online payments
- Dinner money top-ups
- Automatic top-ups
- Absence reporting
- MIS integration
Video, blogs and resources
Products
- Messaging Schools message groups or single parents by app, email and text at the same time, with replies on or off. Messages translate into more than 130 languages. Texts use paid SMS credits, app messages do not. IRIS ParentMail
- Payments Parents pay for meals, clubs, trips and shop items by card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay in the app, or in cash at PayPoint. Dinner money accounts can top up automatically below a set balance. IRIS sells payments as IRIS PlusPay. Payment methods
- Parents Evening Manager Schools run face-to-face, video or hybrid parents’ evenings. Parents book slots in their account and join video appointments from a computer or phone at the start time. Book appointments
- Forms and surveys Permission slips, consent forms and surveys from templates or a writing assistant. The school sees who has answered, and parents get an app notification for each new form. Forms help
- Meetings and Events Bookings for school events, plays and meetings, with places and payments in the same account. IRIS ParentMail
- IRIS ParentMail app A free app for iPhone and Android. Parents see every child and every school in one account, report absences and get push notifications. The Android app has 1M+ downloads. App Store
How much is ParentMail?
- All modules Premium Package £3,779/year example for 500 pupils, all five modules, quoted for 3 years
- Messaging £1,413/year £2,204 for 1,000 pupils, example for 400 pupils
- Online Forms £851/year £1,489 for 1,000 pupils, example for 400 pupils
- Parents Evening Manager £577/year £1,139 for 1,000 pupils, example for 400 pupils
- Online Payments £1,033/year example for 1,000 pupils, bank set-up £250 one-off in this example
- SMS credits £606 one-off 10,000 texts; 60,000 for £2,686
- Set-up and training £500 one-off half day; extra training £500 to £700 a day
Is ParentMail free?
No free plan for schools. Parents download the IRIS ParentMail app for free, and ParentMail adds no charge to credit card payments.
School prices from IRIS’s G-Cloud 14 pricing document of May 2024, in pounds, per year unless stated, checked on 15 October 2026. The figures are IRIS’s worked examples for 400, 500 and 1,000 pupils. The document does not state VAT. The G-Cloud listing headline is £9.87 a user a year, with education pricing on request. Parents do not pay these prices.
How to cancel ParentMail
IRIS terms- School subscription ↗
- Check the end of the Minimum Commitment or Renewal Term in your IRIS order
- Send written notice at least 90 days before that date for a licence of 12 months or more
- Send notices to IRIS Software Group, Legal Department, 4th Floor Heathrow Approach, 470 London Road, Slough SL3 8QY
- Parent account ↗
- Open Settings and choose Delete Account
- Type the word Delete as shown
- You have 7 days to recover the account
- Parents do not pay for ParentMail. The school holds the subscription.
- An order renews for a period of equal length unless either side gives notice.
- IRIS may raise charges at each renewal and tells the school before or at the start of the new term.
- An account with no connected school that is unused for 30 days is deleted automatically.
Refund rules
- Early exit
- A school that cancels before the term ends still pays the charges to the end of the term.
- Refunds
- Charges for services are non-refundable if cancelled or not attended.
- Payment
- Invoices are due within 30 days unless the order says otherwise.
From the IRIS General Terms and Conditions, version FY27 effective 4 May 2026, and the ParentMail parent help centre, checked on 15 October 2026.
ParentMail for schools
Request a demo- 01Schools buy modules: Messaging, Online Forms, Parents Evening Manager, Online Payments, Meetings and Events, or Text Only.
- 02Changes in the school MIS sync to ParentMail, so staff do not keep a second contact list.
- 03Price is a one-off set-up fee plus a yearly licence that includes helpdesk support. SMS credits are bought in bundles.
- 04Phone and web chat support run from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, according to the G-Cloud listing.
Quote only on iris.co.uk. IRIS’s G-Cloud 14 examples of May 2024 run from £3,947 for the first year at a 400-pupil school to £12,387 over 3 years for the Premium Package at a 500-pupil school.
ParentMail app ratings
- Parent loginpmx.parentmail.co.uk, email address, then password
- Parent Portalparents.parentmail.co.uk, linked from the 2026 getting started guide
- iPhone and iPadIRIS ParentMail app, iOS 15.0 or later
- AndroidIRIS ParentMail app, Android 5.0 or later
- MIS syncChanges in the school MIS sync to ParentMail
- Card paymentsProcessed by Barclays since February 2023
IRIS ParentMail, App Store UK
- Current iOS version
- 6.0.32, released 13 October 2026
- First release on iOS
- 14 November 2014
- Requires
- iOS 15.0 or later
- Price
- Free
- Android
- Updated 13 October 2026, 1M+ downloads
Is ParentMail worth it?
What parents like
- A parent with children at a primary and a secondary school says the app does what it promises.Mr Steven Adcock, Trustpilot, November 2025
- 81% of all Trustpilot reviews give 4 or 5 stars.Trustpilot, 445 reviews
- The app is free, and ParentMail adds no charge to credit card payments.ParentMail parent help centre
- One account covers several children at several schools, clubs and nurseries.IRIS ParentMail on the App Store
What parents criticise
- A parent writes that it takes 6 clicks and 20 seconds to reach the landing page.Ed Dawson, Trustpilot, January 2026
- Parents cannot search old messages and forms.Si, Trustpilot, January 2025
- A parent writes that registration failed for years before it worked.Mike Emmott, Trustpilot, June 2024
- A parent writes that the school chooses the app and parents have no other option.Joel Davison, Trustpilot, July 2026
- IRIS does not answer parents directly. Parents must ask the school, and the school contacts IRIS.ParentMail parent help centre
What parents write in reviews, not our rating. Most older Trustpilot reviews are positive, and most recent ones are negative. The TrustScore is 1.7, and Trustpilot says ParentMail has not invited customers to review recently. The Android app has 2.1 stars on Google Play.
ParentMail reviews
- Great app
“Great app, used at our two children’s primary and secondary school.”
Mr Steven Adcock · 18 November 2025 · App Store - No search facility!
“ParentMail is missing an absolutely essential and basic feature which is the ability to search emails.”
Si · 8 January 2025 · App Store - There’s definitely a gap in the market…
“There’s definitely a gap in the market for someone to develop an app that is straightforward, user friendly and doesn’t provide an infuriating experience.”
Mark Savage · 25 March 2026 · App Store
Latest news
Contacts and company data
- Parent help centreparentmail.help-hub.com
- Schools supportIRIS support contact
- IRIS phone0344 815 5555
- Feedbackfeedback@parentmail.co.uk
- Public sector bidsBidteam@iris.co.uk
- Legal entity
- IRIS Software Limited, Heathrow Approach 4th Floor, 470 London Road, Slough SL3 8QY, United Kingdom
- Contracting company
- IRIS Software Limited, 03196054, England and Wales, incorporated 8 May 1996
- Former ParentMail company
- 123Comms Limited, 04336436, incorporated 7 December 2001 as Peoplewiz Limited
- Status of 123Comms
- Dissolved by voluntary strike-off on 22 April 2025
- Control of 123Comms
- Blue Minerva Limited from 4 October 2017, IRIS Capital Limited from 30 April 2019
- Group top in the register
- Elements Holdco 1 Limited, Jersey, since 20 March 2024
- Data protection
- ICO registration Z8936949
Alternatives to ParentMail
-
ParentPay🇬🇧 United Kingdom Online school payments from London, used by more than 10,000 schools according to ParentPay. Its group also owns Schoolcomms for school messages. → -
Weduc🇬🇧 United Kingdom The ReachMoreParents app and portal from Loughborough for school messages, forms and parents’ evenings. → -
Arbor🇬🇧 United Kingdom A cloud MIS from London whose Arbor Parent App takes payments for meals and trips. → -
Bromcom🇬🇧 United Kingdom A cloud MIS from Bromley. Parents pay for dinners, clubs and trips in the free MyChildAtSchool app. → -
Satchel One🇬🇧 United Kingdom School software from London for homework, behaviour and messages to parents. →
How we built this profile
- Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
- Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 15 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
- Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
- Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.
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<a href="https://kinescope.com/edtech-map/parentmail"><img src="https://kinescope.com/images/edtech-badge.svg" alt="Featured on Kinescope EdTech Map" width="220" height="56"></a> ParentMail FAQ
Go to pmx.parentmail.co.uk, enter the email address your school has for you, choose Continue and enter your password. On a phone, use the free IRIS ParentMail app from the App Store or Google Play. IRIS’s 2026 getting started guide also links to the Parent Portal at parents.parentmail.co.uk. You can log in only after you have registered from the link your school sent.
Choose FORGOT PASSWORD or Forgotten your password? on the login screen and enter the email you log in with. Follow the link in the reset email. If you use an IRIS Identity account, the new password works for every IRIS product you use. If you do not remember your email address, ask the school which address it holds.
The school sends a registration invite by email or text. Select Register and follow the steps to confirm your details and set a password. IRIS cannot send an invite for a school. If the link has expired, an account already exists for your details, so log in or reset the password.
Schools, nurseries and clubs use ParentMail to send messages, forms and surveys to parents. Parents also book parents’ evening slots, report absences, book meals and clubs, and pay for items in one account. Each school buys only some modules, so menus differ between schools.
ParentMail takes credit and debit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay or Google Pay in the app. Cash works at PayPoint with a barcode, for items from £5 to £149.99, if the school allows it. Barclays processes card payments, and ParentMail adds no card charge. The school decides which methods it accepts.
IRIS gives prices on a quote. Its G-Cloud 14 pricing document of May 2024 shows a first-year total of £3,947 for a 400-pupil school with Messaging, Online Forms, Parents Evening Manager and 10,000 texts. The Premium Package with all modules was £3,779 a year for 500 pupils. Parents use the app for free.
IRIS Software Group owns ParentMail. It bought the service in October 2017, and IRIS Software Limited in Slough now holds the school contracts. Since 2024 Leonard Green & Partners and Hg co-control IRIS, with ICG as a minority investor.
Parents contact their school. IRIS says it cannot answer queries from parents, and the school can contact IRIS for help. The parent help centre at parentmail.help-hub.com covers login, registration and payments.
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