The phone stays in the locker. The message still gets through.
TAG is a pocket-sized e-ink device with two buttons, owned by the school. Phones stay locked away all day, and parents can still reach their child, one message at a time.
Try the device: tap the yellow button to answer. Hold it for 3 seconds to ask for help.
TAG parent app
Phone-free schools are the right call. They also leave a gap.
Since June 2026, schools in England must be phone-free for the whole school day, breaks and lunch included. Heads agree, and most parents do too. But plans still change during the day, and every change ends up as a call to the school office.
Pick-up changes
Who's collecting, where and when. The messages that really matter.
Yes or no
"Can you go to Jo's after club?" One press answers it.
Reassurance
Parents see when a message has arrived and when it's been answered.
Message for a pupil, taken by reception
"Can you tell Sam that Grandad's picking him up, not me?"
Today that means a phone call, a note, a runner and an interrupted lesson. With TAG it goes straight to Sam's device, and his parent sees the moment he taps Got it.
Illustrative examplePhone in at the door. TAG out. Back at home time.
The school owns and looks after the devices. Each one pairs with a child in the morning and is released automatically when school finishes.
Everything you need to say. Nothing to scroll.
The TAG app on your phone pairs with the school's device each morning. After that it's one message at a time, and you can see exactly where each one has got to.
Send
Write a notice or a yes/no question. It shows under the name you choose, like Mum.
See it land
You'll know when it's on your child's screen and when they've answered. Nothing is guessed.
Hear if they need you
If your child holds the help button, you and the school are alerted at the same moment.
A notice tells your child something is happening. They press Got it. No pretend choices.
A question asks for a real decision. They press Yes or No, and the answer is final.
Deliberately the least interesting gadget in the building.
TAG is designed so there is nothing to do with it except read a message and answer it.
Paper-like, readable in any light, and nothing glowing in class.
Only the latest unanswered message. No inbox, no history to scroll.
Got it, Yes or No. Hold the yellow one for 3 seconds to ask for help.
One when a message arrives, then two gentle reminders if it's unanswered.
A version with its own mobile connection for the journey to and from school. The school model runs on school Wi-Fi only.
Designed around safeguarding from the first line of code.
Children can't start conversations
There's no free text from the device, only set replies and a help request. That leaves no room for group chats and no room for bullying.
Only the right adults
Parents only see their own child's messages. Staff accounts are managed by the school, and every action is logged.
Hosted in the UK
TAG runs on UK servers and keeps personal data to a minimum. Each pilot school agrees its own retention period.
Honest about what it isn't
TAG supports your normal procedures but doesn't replace them. It isn't an emergency service, and a help alert isn't a guaranteed response.
The sensible questions.
Who is TAG for?
Pupils who bring a smartphone to school and hand it in for the day. TAG keeps that pupil reachable by their parents while the phone is locked away.
Who owns the devices?
The school. The devices stay on site, can pair with a different child each morning, and are handed back and released every afternoon.
What happens if a device leaves school?
This is planned, not built yet. If a paired device drops off the school's Wi-Fi for more than a short grace period, staff and the child's parents will be alerted. Any device not handed back after home time will be flagged too.
Can the school message everyone at once?
Yes. The dashboard can send to the whole school or to any year, class or custom group, and shows acknowledgements live.
Where is TAG at today?
The software is built and working end to end on real phones. We're running live demonstrations and recruiting our first pilot schools. The physical device is designed but not yet built: its parts are chosen and costed and its case is drawn, and prototypes come next. Until then, a phone running the TAG device app stands in for it, using the same messaging protocol the device will use.
Be one of the first TAG schools.
We'll bring a live demo to your school: a parent's phone, a phone running the TAG device app and the dashboard, all talking to each other in real time. It takes about 20 minutes.