E-mail Communication Guidelines
Polite Guidelines Regarding Parental E-mail Communication for Class Teachers
These simple guidelines are offered in a spirit of partnership and respect. We believe that if everyone is kind enough to follow them the strong, positive relationship we enjoy will continue.
The perspective of the class teacher
Class teachers think that at least 95% of parents use e-mail communication appropriately and reasonably. Thank you.
They are very happy to respond to parents who send occasional e-mails to them communicating a query, important information, or a low level concern.
Class teachers are busy, their job is an intense one and they work long hours. Their priority focus is educating children and they only have a small amount of time available to read and respond to emails.
Please do:
- Use e-mail to communicate information about children’s learning, homework and any upsets or concerns that class teachers need to know about.
- Keep your e-mails succinct and to the point: less than 8 lines is appreciated.
- Understand that if an e-mail is sent in the evening, early morning or within the working day, teachers will not always have the time to read and respond to it, until possibly the end of the school day, the following day or even later (2 to 4 working days) dependant on their calendar availability.
Please don’t:
- Expect e-mails to be read and responded to by teachers at the weekend. They are not at work that time.
- Send long, highly detailed e-mails relating to a concern – simply send an email requesting a face-to-face meeting is required with a brief reason why.
- Send highly emotive e-mails (containing words in bold: in capitals: with multiple exclamation marks) or e-mails that contain sarcasm or threats. If you feel strongly about something (and you may have a good reason for doing so) a politely constructed face-to-face meeting is required.
Please know that if a class teacher has any concerns about an e-mail that they have received that fails to follow this polite protocol they will not respond, but instead forward the email to Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher who will make a decision regarding what course of action to follow.
