Parental communications policy
Example
School details
School name: St Edward’s School
Location: Dorset
Type: Secondary
Number of pupils: 1000
Contact details: Email Headteacher Michael Antram at m.antram@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk
Impact and outcomes
Our parental communications policy has led to:
- a reduction in the demands to respond to parental emails in the evenings and weekends, so that work and home boundaries are clearer
- parents and carers better understand the context in which teachers are working, and can modify their expectations of an immediate reply
- communication is distributed and directed more appropriately across the staff team
Background from Michael Antram, Headteacher
We developed this policy by asking teachers about the factors that added to their workload. A key finding of this consultation was that the need to communicate with parents and carers placed a significant demand upon our teachers within a busy teaching day. As a school we decided that we had to manage both parental expectations of teachers and ensure high standards of home-school communications.
We also looked at using electronic tools that assist communication to parents through text, email, and newsletter and can facilitate paying for trips or resources.
The parental communications policy
It is very important to us that we work closely in partnership with parents and carers, and communication between home and school is key. We recognise however that it can often be difficult communicating with teachers because they have a very full timetable; and we recognise that parents and carers also have very busy lives.
Contacting the school
Communication by email or student planner are the preferred method.
Notes in student planners are by far the best way to get a message to a teacher promptly and should be used for the majority of everyday communication. The student is responsible for showing the note to the correct teacher. This is the best way to ask them to contact you if you require a more detailed conversation.
Teachers want to respond to parental queries at the earliest opportunity and will do their best to do so. However, the majority of teachers’ time is taken up teaching and preparing for lessons. Teachers’ responsibilities extend beyond the classroom, and they may be unable to respond to you on the day a query is made. We have also agreed with staff that there is no expectation to respond to queries during their personal time.
Phoning school staff
Please use the main reception number to leave a message for a teacher to contact you.
Reception staff will relay messages to teachers as soon as possible.
If a call is urgent, please inform the receptionist who will attempt to find a senior member of staff to speak to you.
We will try to respond to you within three working days, if not the same day. Please note lessons will never be interrupted for teachers to take calls.
Emailing school staff
Please use staff email addresses if you need to contact staff directly.
Teachers are not in a position to check emails consistently throughout the day and the school does not expect work email to be checked during a teacher’s personal time.
We aim to respond to you as soon as possible and within three working days. Part-time staff may take longer to reply.
Scheduling meetings with school staff
The day-to-day care, welfare and safety of your child is managed by the person who is placed closest to them.
In the first instance, please approach the following members of staff who are responsible for your child in the following order:
Form Tutor or Classroom Teacher (if query is relevant to a specific subject)
Year Leader or Subject Leader (if query is relevant to a specific subject)
Assistant Headteacher
Deputy Headteacher
Headteacher
Meetings should always be pre-arranged with members of staff.
If you urgently need to see someone, for instance if there is a serious family emergency or a child protection issue, please phone ahead and the reception staff will do their best to find a senior member of staff to see you.
For non-urgent meetings we will aim to meet with you within five working days. The school will determine the level of urgency at its discretion, to enable it to manage multiple demands.
Receiving contact from the school
Our preferred method of contacting you is via [insert contact system here].
Finding the school’s social media
We use our social media channels to promote student achievements, subject information and generic educational information. You can find these by searching [insert social media profiles].
Following up communications to the school
If you have not received a response from the school within three working days, please contact the school by emailing [insert school email] and we will chase up your enquiry.
Communication with parents and carers is important to us, and we will continue to monitor this policy and our approach to improve the process further.
Share this resource
Share your ideas
You can help other school leaders by sharing what has worked in your school.
Help improve our service
Your feedback will help us improve our service on workload and wellbeing for all school staff.