Do your kids' teachers have individual email addresses?

[zajzaj]

Are you able to contact your kids' teachers by email?

[PastSellByDate]

Sort of - we can contact through something called Moodle.

Very useful if homework set doesn't work on-line or wasn't uploaded.

also useful if you find something that may be of help in class - you can just copy link and e-mail it through.

[bigTillyMint]

At Primary we just went in - quite a few of the class teachers appeared to be technologically challenged and told us that they do not read emails!

[OldBeanbagz]

Yes, we've always had email addresses for my DC's teachers.

DD has just started at high school and whilst i don't know her class teacher's email, i know the protocol for their email addresses so i could get something to her.

[Iheartcustardcreams]

Yes, we have the email address for DCs teachers.

[Periwinkle007]

no - I wouldn't expect to either. they are only R and Yr1 and the teachers have enough other stuff to do so the best way for communication is a note in the bag.

[insanityscratching]

No we don't have teacher's email addresses but we can speak to them before and after school or make an appointment through the office. We have HT's email and he always answers the same day even out of school hours and we have his mobile so we can contact him that way too.

[ercoldesk]

DD1 - yes
DD2 - no, but one to the office will be forwarded
DD3 - no, and the office don't want anyone to e-mail the school, it is "just full of junk"

[NeverKnowinglyUnderstood]

yes and I find it invaluable.
they are in yr2 and yr 5

[Pancakeflipper]

Yes but they are not common knowledge to all parents.

[MrsPnut]

Yes, the teachers all have ipads and it's an effective method of communication.

[pokesandprodsforthelasttime]

Nope. You can't email any of the teachers or the head teacher. Communication by letter or talking to them in person only.

[PastSellByDate]

Periwinkle007

Let me guess - you're a teacher.

I'm just going to come out and say this - can't teachers realise parents are busy too. Oddly enough you aren't the only people who are working hard and may be busy early in the morning.

Parents around here often are off to work in the wee hours of the morning (many work hospital shifts or have long commutes here) - so in fact it is very common that the parent will remember well after leaving for work that they need to tell the school something (doctor's appointment tomorrow/ can't pick up send them to after school club tonight/ ex-DH is picking up children tonight, etc....).

Several parents are surgical nurses and frequently due to the nature of their work miss pick-up times so text/ e-mail school (often directly to teacher) to notify them of change of plans and what to do.

Our school also uses a group text system to let parents know things (e.g. Year 1 will be arriving back at school from field trip around 6:30 p.m., etc...).

Personally I find if I have a query (bordering on complaint) having it in writing is jolly useful. It provides a record that I've raised a reasonable query & politely and means the teacher can't say otherwise - I've stopped having chats, because of how bristly and defensive the allegedly 'professional' and 'dedicated' teaching staff at our school have been, when it really is quite reasonable for any human being (let alone a mere parent) to query whether books will be sent home this year or not? After all it is October 10th and nothing has come home yet? (hopefully this hasn't outed me - but that was the content of today's e-mail)

[RustyBear]

Doctor's appointments, changes in pickup arrangements etc should go to the office, who can then make sure the teacher gets it - teachers often don't have time to check emails during the school day.

[Quangle]

No. It's irritating. Also discouraged from speaking to them in the morning or afternoon. I understand the afternoon bit as they are managing the departure of the right kid with the right parent but the morning thing is irritating as they are usually in the class room, sorting stuff out for the day and I may only need to pop up to have a look for a lost coat or mention that one of the DCs has XYZ minor issue that would take one sentence to express. This happens maybe once a quarter - but it is not allowed. Actually right now DS (Reception) has been sent home with a reading book but I'm not sure what reading programme they are following or which day we are supposed to send it back and would like to check what approach I should take. It's a two minute conversation. In order to get an answer to this I need to resort to written notes in bags - whereas in the rest of the world you just email or talk.

And agree with Pastsellbydate. I have enough other stuff to do without doing non-statutory communication with my clients as well - but that doesn't really cut the mustard these days.

Think our school is behind the times on this to be honest. I understand where it comes from - we all laugh at the hilariously pushy mum who asks for extra meetings literally every single week. If she had email addresses for teachers, no doubt she would abuse it. But that again is the same as for everyone - providing a good service to everyone without pandering to the demanding ones.

[PastSellByDate]

Rusty bear I think it depends on the 'office staff'.

Ours are lovely but not the brightest sparks in the box. I know two urgent phone messages were never passed on.

We parents have after years of failed lines of communication (leaving messages/ etc...) just found e-mailing easier.

An e-mail saying DD2 is sick today and won't be in - takes seconds to read and given teachers have daily 'prep' and 'break' times/ there is time in the working day to read e-mail (as many of us do - my load is up to 300 - 400 a day sweetie).

HTH

[mrz]

I really don't have time to read emails during the school day ...my own children know it's pointless texting or trying to contact me between 8am and 5pm (and no PSBD I don't have daily "prep" or break times as I do playground duty 5 days a week as does the Y2 teacher).

[juniper9]

I wouldn't mind being contacted by email as long as the parents weren't expecting me to read it or respond to I to the same day. For urgent messages, it's far better to hand a note in or call the office, in my opinion.

[minniemagoo]

Yes, [email protected] Very convienent and I gather they must forward them to their own e-mails or access from phones/laptops at home as I've had e-mail replies on for example Sunday nights.

Communication in our school is excellent though, teachers very approachable at collection time and all will ask for communication by e-mail rather than notes via kids/journals as these can get lost/missed.

[doggiedog]

Teachers have daily "prep" and "break" times do we? News to me.

I really really don't have time for emails, cannot stress that enough, especially before and during school. After school, maybe, if I'm not in meetings, but by that point presumably it'd be too late to talk about something that was happening that day.

[missmapp]

as a teacher, our school gives parents teachers emails, but they are used for homework queries, questions about work etc. They are not expected to be checked during the day ( when we are teaching ) , but only after the children have gone home.

Parents can email the office with daily messages though.

At my sons school, no such system exists, but I can phone their teachers anytime and they are happy to talk ( fulltime work, so I can't do the playground)

[clam]

Our email addresses are not given out - even when a certain piece of whole-school homework was to be emailed in, it had to go to the office, who then forwarded it to the relevant class folder on the system. Any emails coming through "for the attention of..." will be screened by the office. As daft as it seems, we had some incidences of abuse of the system previously, with a couple of parents bombarding teachers with "ishoos," that really the HT needed to deal with.
Notification of, say, a doctor's appointment would go to the office, as the children have to be signed in and out from there anyway. They will tell us, if necessary.

[clam]

Oh, and I too would like to know what this "daily prep" time is.

[toomuchicecream]

Me too clam. I get to school at 7.30 and work flat out for the next hour and a half getting everything ready for the day, before the children come in because I certainly won't get any time during the morning to open up websites, find my smart notebook files, sort out books, resources etc etc etc. And our email addresses are also not given out due to previous abuses. Parents email the office and then the messages are forwarded to me (to make sure I know it's there). I can then log onto the office system to send a reply from the office address. I MIGHT check my emails when eating my lunch, but otherwise it will be after I've cleared up in the evening, before I go home.

[stardusty5]

I find the idea that people are 'too busy to check emails' thing a bit strange! Handwritten notes get lost so easily, at least if it is an email i can flag it up and respond to it at a convenient time.

I don't think people expect an immediate reply do they? Probably same or next day depending on what sort of information you were after.