Stupid rule about sending school an email

[Winebomb]

So preparing to write an email to my sons school about snack times (see my other thread) but just remembered we got a newsletter the first week of school stating:

"If you want to email the class teacher it must be sent between the hours of 8am and 5pm, any emails sent outside of this time will not be responded to"

Now I get there are some parents who are batshit, and think that if they email the teacher at 11pm they will have a response personally at the school gates the following morning, when they drop off their precious little snow flakes.

But isn't sending emails like writing a letter. I will write it at a convienient time, it may have been written at 11pm at night. But I am not batshit and expect it to be read either the next working day or at least the next working day afterwards after it's been delivered.

I work in the private sector and receive/send loads of emails post 5pm, and the same rules apply. Who are these parents who are just being bonkers???

All I can think of is writing my email and timing it in Outlook to be sent within the allotted time. But it just seems pointless.

Sorry probably answered my own AIBU and this is turning into more of a rant! But really!?!? Who are these people...

What a pathetic rule. Are these teachers so inept they're unable to manage their own work-life balance? My guess is they wouldn't last 5 mins in the real world.

The problem isn't the teachers, it's parents who think it appropriate to email teachers at all hours with such inane nonsense as posted earlier in this thread by RainyApril.

How do those parents cope "in the real world"?

I did work in the real world before teaching and I walked out of my job at the end of the day and back in the next morning without giving it another thought. Now I get complaints/chasing emails if I don't answer emails on my weekend and non working days.

Yes luckily for me its a minority but I am secondary so not necessarily first point of contact.

Referring to 'the real world' = twat

I could never imagine emailing for reasons described by MrsHathaway. Totally ridiculous. Don't know how you have any hair left receiving mails like that.

Really? I'm genuinely surprised. How would you prefer me to (1) let the teacher know I'm available and when for their fundraiser or (2) arrange a 1-to-1 meeting with the teacher as she has requested, other than by sending emails they can review at their leisure?

And I know for damn sure teachers like receiving thanks by email.

I wonder if the poster was mixing you up with RainyApril Mrs H?

I guess? It was such a deliberate tag but I guess we've all stuffed those up before.

If you are a doctor, you generally cannot have your mobile phone with you while you're on a shift. Same for nurses. For some reason, its discouraged. It also applies to barristers, judges, retail workers, drivers, other teachers, factoruy jobs and many office jobs. It is a luxury to be able to use a mobile phone or do home emails in the working day.

A teacher does not have access to their mobile during the working day. What make you think that they do? Like a doctor or retail worker they can log on IF they get a break at any point during the day (for a primary teacher usually less than 20 minutes at lunchtime)

I don't think teachers have access to their mobiles during the working day.

Equally, I think it is not reasonable of a school to require emails only to be sent during a normal working day when that is impossible for many working parents, including teachers.

It doesn't mean teachers should have to respond in non work time, but they shouldn't imo restrict when emails are sent.

Well this escalated quickly. Page 9 before the 'real world' came out though. (Though I think I've dealt with more email nonsense since teaching than I ever did in my pre teaching career!).

Maybe the school having a sending time limit isn't the best way, because people who work may need yo send later. But their principle is good.

Common sense rules should be:

1. Does this require an email? Will it sort itself out? Is it a stupid thing yo email over? If so, don't send it.
2. Is it urgent? If so, don't send it and call the school directly
3. Is it linked to making excuses for something e.g why your child hasn't done homework / why they can't attempt the homework they've had a week to do? If so, don't send it.
4. It is a reasonable query that is being politely raised with the correct person and you are a decent individual who understands that 2-3 working days is a reasonable turnaround? If so, send it.

I've had emails asking what intervention I'm running for a KS3 students 'because he is behind'. I'd only met the child 4 times by this point!

illustrated

I dont think that poster was saying teachers have access to their mobile phones

In fact she said 'other teachers' in her list of people who can't access their phone

Well thats how i read it anyway

Back for good, but why does your need to do your correspondence at 11pm trump a teacher's need to have an evening free of communication from parents?

Er - it doesn't. No-one is suggesting it does. there is no 'trump card' to be played. One of the advantages of e-mails (as I said originally) is that they don't intrude into the life of the person receiving them. The person receiving them has to actively choose to go and look at their e-mails - which I would not expect any teacher to be doing at midnight. The massive advantage of e-mail correspondence is that the 2 people don't have to find a mutually convenient time. Each reads and replies when it is convenient for them.

I am a teacher and have Work email on my phone. It’s my choice to do so and it’s useful if I’m out on a course or at a meeting and get a few minutes to check if there’s anything major going on at school.

I one had a parent email me 26 times in total re an arrangement for a school event that her son (with ASD) was involved in. I had already spoken to her lad and checked with him that he knew exactly what the arrangements were and he was happy with it all. He was. The issue was all hers and her unrealistic demands on my time - she worked so her emails were frequently sent around 10pm. I spoke to my link DHT about it, he agreed it was totally out of order and excessive so called her to say as much. Radio silence from her since then. Result.

Most parents are super sensible and realistic about the demands on teachers’ time. If we are dealing with trivial demand from
Parents then we are unable to spend time with the most important folk, the kids.

My guess is they wouldn't last 5 mins in the real world.

I think teaching is probably more real world than most of us ever experience.

Anyone who mentions the 'real world' isn't worth listening to in teacher threads. More interested in making snide digs than discussing the issue.

Mummyoflittledragon why were you bloody pissed off that others children had bigger roles in the assembly than your dd?

Each time the children went on stage, it wasn't as a character, it was to present something individual either in a speaking or miming role. So it would have been easy enough to tell the children they would be allocated a maximum of one speaking role and 2 stage appearances each and not 4 to some and 1 to another. I obviously don't expect everything to be completely even. Just balance. With plays, this can never happen and that's understandable and a different scenario.

Moreover, she was told she could read her poem then she couldn't. This is very unfair. My dd was pissed off. She's 9.

I worked in the 'real world' for ten years before teaching, so am able to make a comparison.

Emails in the real world tended to be professional and courteous and important.

Only in teaching that emails can contain such trivia as the examples I posted earlier.

I've said it loads of times now but people just keep bleating on that they can't press the send button on their phone between 8am and 5pm : you can email the school office at any time. Yes, any time. Midnight if you want. Any. Time. You could mark it for the attention of the teacher and it will be forwarded. At any time.

But if you want to email the teacher directly, well this particular school would like you to confine those emails to the usual working day.

In many ways it doesn't matter if you agree, or if you think it's a stupid rule, it is of absolutely no inconvenience to you so why not just do it?

The alternative is them withdrawing the direct emails completely, as many schools do. 8-5 is better than 'not at all' isn't it?

And not wanting to deal with inane trivia that takes me away from my job or my family doesn't mean I don't welcome polite, timely, purposeful communications from parents in all forms, which pp has insinuated.

I don't think it's 'bleating' to point out that some people cannot press the send button on their phone between 8 and 5. Most teachers couldn't.

The op didn't say that the office could be emailed at any time. It may be that it is perfectly okay to do so in her child's school and she's being a bit unnecessary, it may be that parents are supposed to email teachers directly.

Email to the office outside those core hours would be another sensible solution.

Rainy it's all very well being exasperated and superior but the OP hasn't confirmed your version.

It would indeed be a simple solution if emails outside 8-5 went to the (then-empty) office instead.

I can't think of any correspondence that could possibly be urgent and needing reading overnight. The school's shut, after all. Even urgent safeguarding notifications couldn't be dealt with until 8am anyway, surely?

And since this particular email is about snacks, it might fail the "is it urgent, is it even needed, isit the teacher's job, can the teacher solve it even if they want to" test with a resounding 4 noes.

Am I right in thinking the OP’s son is in either Reception or Year 1? Think I remember that info from a previous thread?

If so, and the wee one’s only been in school for a couple of weeks and we are hearing about stuff twice in that short timescale, the School and its staff are in for the long haul here.....😉

Yes, reception.

😕 thought that.

I thought that too.

And it's lots of silly pointless emails that lead schools to having to have recommendations (which should be common sense).

I have had them about misplaced planners, why I didn't make sure their child ate lunch (I'm a secondary form tutor!) and even asking me to sort fallings out that occurrd at sleepovers when they were in the care of parents. Even been reported to senior leadership for not replying to an email within a couple of hours but I bet they wouldn't want me to ignore their child during class to email.

Most people are reasonable. Sadly, rules have to accomodate the daft ones.

'If you want to email the class teacher it must be sent between the hours of 8am and 5pm'

You're right that op didn't confirm it, but I've never come across a school that hasn't got a central office/reception business email address that can be contacted at any hour.

I am very interested in this delayed sending function in Outlook. How do I do it, please?