Comparison

iParent App vs Arc Pathway

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

iParent App

Access real-time school information for your child, including attendance, exam results, reports, and timetables. Stay updated with school news, events, and receive timely notifications about your child's academic performance and behavior.

Highlights
  • Real-time attendance records
  • Exam results and assessments
  • Timetables and teaching groups
  • Reward and detention notifications
  • School news and bulletins
  • Calendar and event invites
  • Contact detail management
Features
Read full description

Similar in nature to the iStudent app, the iParent app offers parents quick access to real-time school information about their child. This includes everything from attendance records to exam results, reward and detention notifications, access to reports and assessments, teaching groups, timetables and more. The official iSAMS Parent app links directly with the iSAMS Parent Portal. It has been designed to offer parents a quick and easy channel for keeping up-to-date with their son or daughter’s performance and any relevant school information, including last minute calendar notifications or event invites. It is aimed at enhancing the information flow from your school/teachers to parents ensuring greater engagement between all parties. The iParent app offers parents a useful and configurable dashboard where they are able to view information and activities about all children at the school. Quick links are provided for: The timetable of each child Information about any sanctions and rewards School news and bulletins The school calendar The photo galleries More detailed information can then be located about the following: Teaching groups The school timetable Internal exam details (entries, timetables, results) External exam details (entries, timetables, arrangements, candidate details, results) School reports and assessments Attendance Activities Detentions Reward and conduct details Parents can use the app to view and subscribe to your school communications including emails, SMS messages and push notifications to the app. Push notifications will advise parents about any timely updates for each child, including information such as recently released reports or exam results, any rewards or detentions and pastoral records. They can also view the contacts linked with their child and request changes to any contact details, thereby ensuring the data is accurate and up-to-date. As with the iStudent app, there is full access to all school news and bulletins (both current and archived news), the school calendar and the school directory. The data used by the iSAMS Parent app is encrypted to ensure that confidential information cannot be accessed by unauthorised personnel. Your school also controls the level of visibility of information and communication subscriptions offered to parents. Please note: The iSAMS Parent app must be installed by your school in order for it to be accessible to parents. It will only work as part of the iSAMS management information system and Parent Portal.

About

Arc Pathway

This app supports early years education by allowing school staff to profile children's development, create observations, and manage learning journals. Families can view shared content and add comments, fostering collaboration between home and school.

Highlights
  • Profile and assess child development
  • Create and edit observations
  • Manage learning journals
  • Share progress with families
  • Add comments to observations
Features
Read full description

This companion app is for those school staff and families who are already using Arc Pathway early years software. To have access to this app, you will need an Arc Pathway account. With this app teachers can: • Profile/assess children’s development using six monthly milestones. • Use the prioritised next steps/create their own to support each child’s pattern of development. • Create, view, edit observations. • Access/share and edit each child’s learning journal with families. With this app families can: • View all shared items in their child/children’s learning journal and add comments to observations.

Screenshots

iParent App4 screens
Arc Pathway4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Arc Pathway at 83% against iParent App's 14%. Arc Pathway also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iParent App ships an update every 2 months, Arc Pathway monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
iParent App versus Arc Pathway: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriParent AppArc Pathway
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (817 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews13.8% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings817 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiSAMS LimitedArc Pathway

Customer experience

iParent App

All ratings817 ratings
Positive81.5%
Neutral6.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive13.8%
Neutral12.5%
Negative73.8%

Arc Pathway

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

iParent App

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent log-outs and password reset issues
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices and app versions
  • Inability to access certain features or information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow switching between schools without logging out
  • Save password and enable Face ID/Touch ID
  • Improve layout and organization of information
  • Provide better notification system for updates
  • Enhance search and filtering capabilities

Arc Pathway

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iParent App

No in-app purchases

None

Arc Pathway

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iParent App free?
iParent App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Arc Pathway free?
Arc Pathway is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do iParent App or Arc Pathway have ads?
Neither iParent App nor Arc Pathway shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iParent App or Arc Pathway?
iParent App ships an update every 2 months, and Arc Pathway monthly. Most recently, iParent App was updated on October 8, 2026 and Arc Pathway on October 4, 2026.

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