letters from school

[agnesf]

Is it unreasonable to expect schools to get into the digital age? I don't know anyone who hasn't either got a home computer or smartphone yet our school still persists in sending home a printed out newsletter which gets scrumpled up in a heap at the bottom of the bag.

Even more annoying are important additional letters such as those needed to book appointments at parents evening/ get tickets for school concerts ("donation" of £3 required). These have often not made it home or even worse not even been given out by the class teacher.

Is mine the only school that still thinks its in the 1970's. Its really annoying plus in these days of increasingly short resources seems to be really inefficient.

Parliamo it's all a pain though, if you look at it like that. Checking book bags for crumpled letters, asking other parents if you've missed a letter, going into school to get the missed letter.

I actually think some of the communication is a bit 'junky' as well. Even with computerised newsletters, they are not always on the website promptly and notice given for events is not always good.

I do not remember communications being so awkward, years ago when I was at school. Even at secondary we were packing up lessons 5 minutes before the bell went and the teacher would make sure letters went in bags.

Now the lessons seem to be right up to the last minute and after than it is all a mad dash with children coming out with letters in their hands, along with coats, jumpers and whatever massive junk model they've made. Many dropping piles of debris along the way....

I'm a Governor at a Primary School and we would love to send more messages electronically. IME, as a parent - I think the letters are more likely to get lost if they are in hard copy etc We are looking at starting texting parent reminders and then hopefully we can move to electronic forms of communication (email/text/website) with only paper copies going to parents who request them (they obviously wouldn't receive the reminders, or messages as quickly as parents who take them electronically).

A large proportion of the letters require a signed return slip to be sent back. Are you prepared to print them all from emails? Our school sends out hard copies of anything with return slips but not every school would be able to.

At DS2's last school they didn't need the signed slip-just a reply by email. It was great.

We get texts saying there's a letter, why can't they email us the Damn things. DD2 is a great crumpler and DD1's tutor is a waste of space (he never gives out stuff and doesn't pass on individual messages off the internal computer, DD1 gets the SENCO to email her direct).

Our parent portal crashes

How much does a text to 300 parents actually cost as a matter of interest? I assumed it was one text-to a group?

our school send things out via paper, email and newsletters also go on the website.

I like having paper letters. I can put them on the pinboard or somewhere i won't forget to action what is on them. I would read the email and then forget about it until it was too late

How hard is it to get your dc to check their bag for letters a couple of times a week?

We tried sending text messages - we had a lot of parents claim never to receive those either. You'd be amazed how often mobiles aren't working or numbers are changed and the school isn't told.

The school sends one text to a group, but ParentMail then deducts one credit for each member of the group.

I can't remember exactly how much it is, Sparkling (I could probably find out tomorrow if you really want to know and no-one else has posted it before then) but the business manager and the administrator were talking the other day about changing from ParentMail because of the high cost of texts.

Parents who don't use email for work can go weeks without checking their emails

Our school has just changed to email. i get the messages, but as sirzy says, prefer having a letter to pin to the notice board.

I forgot a non-uniform day last week- i had read the email, but there was no letter on the notice board so I forgot.

Yes, i know I could print out the email, transfer the date to the calendar and all other sorts of organised things- but I like a
letter!!!!

I hardly ever write letters as a teacher as it's a right faff getting them checked by the Head etc. I only send them out if I have to for some reason (ie needs a reply slip signed by a parent). The rest of the time I send out group emails to the relevant parents, these come from the school office and can't be replied to which is good for me! In my last job we were encouraged/forced to communicate directly with parents via email, and had to reply to parent emails within 24 hours. (Including evenings and weekends). My new school is the direct opposite, we are not advised to give out our individual email addresses and all communication comes through the front office. I can see pros and cons with both systems tbh.

With ParentMail2, the parents have to edit their email/phone number on the ParentMail site if it changes, so a parent can still register to get emails even if, for some reason they don't want to give the school that email address.

I've just topped up 10000 texts for 300 with parentmail which sounds reasonable but they don't go very far with 300 children in school and you still have to send the paper letter anyway for the reasons I've stated above.

Texts cost money too.

Parent mail can use texts or email.

DS2s school uses text to forewarn us that an email is coming
DS3s school thinks we all check emails all day every day and refuses to use texts because of the prohibitive costs

We get paper & electronic & texts. I think I need that many reminders.

The thing is, whichever system the school uses, it's still the responsibility of the parent to check either email or book bag. If you only check your email every few weeks, then don't give that email address to the school!

after much debate on this at our school it was concluded that, despite the ONE mother who claimed that she didn't check email every day because she didnt have a smartphone, everybody else was capable of receiving a timely text if not email. so now I get everything by text and email, times 3 for the number of kids, but to placate that one woman I also get paper copies when I get home.

so by the time I get home I have been informed about a school related item 6 times by email and text, which I get instantly as I have a smartphone. then the message is reinforced by 3 bits of paper

I much prefer this even though it is overload as I work it is reassuring to know I am getting all the info. they are gradually phasing out the paper as even that one silly woman has conceded she has a work email address and has now got a computer at home. I refuse to believe there is anyone in the UK who can't receive a text message in the space of a couple of days, sorry, if not email.

Holy Cow! £300 for 10,000 texts? that's nothing, that would be less than 5 communications to parents at my childs school

Really? £300. Blimey-what a swizz.

That's what the poster above said. I knew it was expensive. At sons school, 1200 pupils x 2 parents, 1400 messages out per communication.

I wonder what emails cost, I have 4 email addresses registered (home and work for both DH and myself) but some will have steps and grandparents too.

So it is a prohibitive cost, compared to a fiver for a ream of 500 sheets of paper

I don't get the texts. Just log into the website. Anything important, such as school evacuation and parents would be phoned before the (centrally sent out texts) are received anyway.

Don't get the emails either...it is as easy to log onto the website as check my email.

I don't see why I should log into the ParentPortal just in case the school has communicated with me. That is ludicrous in my eyes. If you wish to communicate with me, then do so, but I shouldn't have to look for the communication.

At our school, we get a paper newsletter each week, but it can be read on the school website too. I did register for email ones but that was never reliable enough. Urgent messages, such as school is closed due to gas explosion just up the road or x club is cancelled tonight, are sent through text, but again that is not always reliable as they seem to have 2 data bases for it and some parents are missed on one or the other.