Parent Connection App

Question

Parent Connection App

Francis González (He/Him) 0

Hi

I am headteacher of a school in London and we rely on parent connection app to communicate with our parents through chat.

I understand that the Parent Connection App is no longer available after 30 September. IS there a way we can continue to chat with the families of our pupils after that date?

Also, assuming we can continue to chat with them if the thread is started, how do we then onboard parents of new pupils after the 30th September?

Thanks

Francis

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Vicky-I 6,210 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear Mr. @Francis González (He/Him),

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

Let me answer your two questions one by one:

1. Is there a way we can continue to chat with the families of our pupils after that date?

Yes, but only within existing chat threads that were started before September 30th. Those conversations will remain active and accessible within the main Microsoft Teams application (based on this reference: Parent Connection sunset FAQ - Microsoft Support

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You just not be able to start any new chat threads with parents using the old Parent Connection App method after that date.

2. How do we onboard parents of new pupils after the 30th of September?

In short: Chatting continues in the main Teams app. However, starting new chats requires your parent data to be synced from your school's database to Microsoft 365.

To chat with new parents, you must start the chat directly within the main Microsoft Teams app. The process is:

Open Microsoft Teams.
Go to the Chat function.
Click New Chat.
In the "To:" field, type the parent's name or email address.

Critical Requirement: This will only work if the new parents have already been imported into your school's Microsoft 365 system as "Guests." This is typically done by your IT Administrator by syncing your school management information system (MIS) with Azure Active Directory.

So, I recommend your immediate action: Contact your IT Admin to confirm your system is set up to automatically sync new parent data to Microsoft 365. This is the essential step to enable teachers to find and start new chats with parents of new pupils.

3. My additionally recommend alternative solutions available from Microsoft partners

You can check this article: Parent Connection sunset FAQ - Microsoft Support

This part said some alternative solution you can consider:

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I hope this provides a clear path forward. This change is ultimately about streamlining the tools into one platform, but it requires a quick administrative check to ensure a smooth transition.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Francis González (He/Him) 0 Reputation points

2025-09-02T13:19:46.2933333+00:00

Hi - thanks for this - when we add parents as guests in Azure do they need to be attached to a pupil or can they just be regular guest accounts?
Vicky-I 6,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-02T13:44:25.5033333+00:00

Hi Mr. @Francis González (He/Him),

Thank you so much for your reply!

About your question, when adding parents as guests in Azure AD (Azure Active Directory), they can technically be added as regular guest accounts without being directly attached to a pupil.
However, for educational scenarios, I recommended to associate guest accounts with specific pupils or student records for better visibility and communication.

If not linked, parents can still receive meeting invites and messages if added to Teams groups, but they won’t automatically show up in class rosters or receive pupil-specific updates.

Best Regards.
Francis González (He/Him) 0 Reputation points

2025-09-02T15:03:03.9433333+00:00

Thanks for your response. Afraid I don't know how to directly attached parent guest accounts to pupils. (And I am the tech support - and headteacher).
Vicky-I 6,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-03T14:52:23.17+00:00
Hi Mr. @Francis González (He/Him),

Thank you for your follow up!

I understand linking parent guest accounts to pupil records isn't always straightforward, especially when you're both the headteacher and tech support!

You can try to research my suggestions below:

Option 1: Use Microsoft School Data Sync (SDS)

If your school uses SDS, it can automatically associate parent guest accounts with their child’s profile. This setup allows for more structured communication and visibility in Teams. You may want to check with your local authority or IT provider if SDS is already in use or can be enabled.

You can read this article: School Data Sync Welcome Page - School Data Sync | Microsoft Learn

Option 2: Manual Tagging via Teams or SharePoint

If SDS isn’t available, you can manually organize parent accounts:

Create Teams channels or groups named after classes or pupils.

Add parents as guests to those groups.

Use naming conventions or notes in Azure AD to indicate which pupil each parent is linked to.

You can refer to the following articles from Microsoft Learn to understand better.

Define your naming convention - Cloud Adoption Framework

Azure Resources Naming Convention and Tagging

Organize your Azure resources effectively

Additionally, for further and deeper step by step assistance, I strongly recommend you submit a Support Ticket (Admin account request) to escalate this to Microsoft via https://admin.microsoft.com/#/support/requests because our technical team can contact you directly via call or meeting to help you attached parent guest accounts to pupils faster.

I really hope my information helpful for you!

Best Regards.
Vicky-I 6,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-05T14:17:38.01+00:00

Hi Mr. @Francis González (He/Him),

Just checking in to see if the above information was helpful. If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back.

At last, if the information we provided give some direction for the issue, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it, with your vote, other users who are facing same query can easily find this thread and check suggestion when they search on community. Your vote helps other user to resolve their queries.

Warm thanks.
Vicky-I 6,210 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-09T08:06:36.67+00:00

Dear Mr. @Francis González (He/Him),

I hope this message finds you well.

This is my second follow-up to check whether your issue has been resolved. I truly want to ensure your experience is as smooth as possible. If your problem is still ongoing or if you have faced any new difficulties, please share more details about the current steps you are stuck on. I am here and happy to provide further help whenever you need it.

While waiting for your response, I will continue tracking other customer questions on the forum to ensure everyone receives timely support. If you have additional questions, please feel free to tag my name in your reply so I can assist you promptly and more personally.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

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