The Orah Family App shows how your child is getting home each day, lets you change the plan (if your school allows it), and lets the school know when you've arrived.
Getting set up
Accept your school's invitation and install the Orah Family App from the App Store or Google Play.
Connect to your child. Brothers and sisters can all be on the same account.
Open your child's profile. Under Student Default Dismissal Schedule you'll see each school day: how they're getting home and where they'll be picked up. The pickup spot can change from day to day. It's part of that day's plan, not one place for the whole week.
If nothing has been set up yet, you'll see "No default dismissal schedule has been set for the student."
You can tap any day here to change that weekday's usual plan, including the transport and the Expected Pickup Contact(s). It works the same as choosing Recurring Schedule below.
Your children, and anyone you've saved as a contact, are listed on the Family tab under My Family.
Changing your child's plan
Open today's pickup from the task list on the home screen (or open your child), then tap Change dismissal. The screen is titled Dismissal Plan • [your child's name].
Choose a transport option.
Under Apply transport change to, choose:
• Today only: just for today.
• Recurring Schedule: from now on. You'll then choose Repeat on, either All scheduled days or specific days like Monday and Wednesday.Tap Save, then Confirm.
The same screen also lists your child's Expected Pickup Contacts: the adults who are allowed to collect them.
Your change is saved straight away. There's no waiting for the school to approve it. (If your school has switched off parent changes, the app will tell you to contact the school instead.)
You can't make same-day changes after your school's cutoff time. The app will say "Changes closed at [time]. Need a change? Contact the school directly."
At pickup
Please do this while you're parked, before you join the moving car line. You shouldn't need to touch your phone while driving.
Depending on how your school has set things up, you'll either:
tap I have arrived, which lets the school know you're here. You'll see "School notified! Your student is heading to pickup." After that you can also show your QR code, or tap Cancel arrival, or
tap Show QR code to staff and keep the code on screen. A staff member will scan it from the line.
Either way, this tells the school you're here. It doesn't sign your child out. A staff member does that when your child gets in the car.
These buttons only work once the school has started the dismissal. Before that, you'll see a message like "You can announce arrival from [time]". If that time has passed and the button still isn't ready, the school just hasn't started the dismissal yet. If you have more than one child on the pickup, tick the children you're collecting first ("Select students to continue").
You can also open your QR code from the home screen: tap the + button, then QR Code. The QR screen shows where to collect your child (for example Front Gate) and their live status.
Following your child's progress
Your child's card in the app updates live as staff move them along. The words are a little different from what staff see:
What you see in the app | What it means |
Waiting for pick up | The school hasn't sent your child out yet. |
On the way | Your child is on the way to the pickup spot. |
Ready for pickup | Your child is at the pickup spot, ready for you. |
Picked up | Your child has been handed over. You'll see who collected them and when, for example "Pickup completed by You · at 3:24 PM". |
For children who walk, cycle or take the bus, the card shows Self dismissal or School managed transport, then Dismissed once they've left.
If your child has a pass or activity that day (for example an absence or early pickup), its name and time show on their card.
Choosing transport when you request a pass
When you request a pass that changes dismissal (such as an early pickup), you may be asked to choose a Dismissal Transport: how your child is getting home that day. You'll only see the options your school allows for that kind of pass. Once sent, the school reviews it.
My Contacts
Under Family → My Contacts you can save people who regularly help with pickups (grandparents, a nanny, carpool parents), with their photo and details. Tap + next to My Contacts to add one. They're then quick to choose when you designate someone to collect your child. Anyone you add with Save to My Contacts while designating also appears here.
Someone else is collecting your child
If a friend, relative, nanny or another family is picking up today, you can send them their own one-time QR code. They don't need the Family App or an Orah account.
When you can do this: for today, when your child is being Picked up, and before the school starts the dismissal or the cutoff passes. If you don't see the option, one of these isn't true, or your school has switched it off. Contact the school in that case.
Open today's pickup and tap Change dismissal, then Designate to another contact.
Pick someone from My Contacts, or tap Create a new contact.
Choose the type:
• Carpool / Playdate: your child goes home with another family. You'll also enter the other student's name.
• One-off Pickup: someone else collects your child this once.Fill in their details: photo (optional, but it helps staff recognise them), first name (last name and relationship are optional), email or mobile number (at least one, so you can share the code), and licence number (optional). Switch on Save to My Contacts if you'd like to choose them quickly again next time.
Save. You'll see "Designated contact added successfully" and their Pickup Contact screen with the QR code.
Getting the code to them
If you entered an email address, Orah emails them the code. You'll see "A copy has been sent to [email]."
If you only entered a mobile number, nothing is sent automatically. In the app, tap Share QR Code and send it yourself, by text or WhatsApp for example. (On the parent web link there's no share option, so enter an email address.)
The code only works for this one pickup, today.
Checking, changing or removing them
They now appear under Designated Pickup Contact on the Change dismissal screen. Tap their name to see the QR code again or to Edit Contact. Tap the bin icon to remove them. Orah confirms: "[Name] will be removed from today's pickup. They will no longer be able to collect [child] today."
You can't edit or remove someone after they've announced their arrival, or if the school added them for you.