To think that dcs school is totally inappropriate

[Lillyrosey]

AIBU to think that's my kids school is completely an utterly inappropriate and unprofessional in assuming I will get information about dressing up days, phonics sessions times and other important information that I need to know for my kids to settle into school nicely!??

So there have been a couple of things that I have missed sincd children have been back to school and I was quite upset over one in particular Tha was my daughter's first phonics session with parents. Now I check the newsletter and my emails all the time. It wasn't on it at all.
Then there is a fancy dress thing this Thursday my son has announced to me to which I reply well no there's no fancy dress thing as I haven't been informed! Double check the newsletter yet again nope nothing on there.
I couldn't work out what I was missing??! Nows the time to add that I do not do social media.
I Merion this morning to my daughters teaching assistant how gutted I was to miss her phonics session and she turns to me and said well then you should of been checking our facebook and Twitter sites. But I'm not on Facebook or Twitter I reply. I suggest you join she replys and walks off!!
I left the school raging to say the least but didn't show it to kids.
Drive off and thing hang on a minute it surely is the school's job to inform parents of important things through the school newsletter? And not bloody Facebook!
I'm going to phone to school tomorrow as Im not dropping kids in the morning. I just want to check your opinions before I phone up about this

I rarely use it, just check the schools fb page twice a week

Wouldn't it be easier to set it so that you are notified when anything is posted on the page? Checking is unnecessary and risks missing something urgent.

I believe the school have a duty to make sure I receive important information regarding my children

So schools have such a duty? If they do every school in the county must be failing in it as poor communication is a constant source of complaint

To those saying just get Twitter bla Bla. Yes I know I can look on Twitter, however until this morning I had absolutely no idea information was being put on Twitter and Facebook.
I don't want to be on social media and looking at Twitter all day everyday is a ridiculous idea.
I am going to speak to the head tomorrow

Facebook is a social media website not a public information service

This is spades. I hate that FB is somehow becoming an official body that everyone must partake in. They’re a money making website.

If only there were other forms of electronic communication that didn’t require people to sign up to a particular social media platform. Some form of electronic mail, perhaps 😂😂

Yes, someone should invent this electronic mail you’ve described!

OP YANBU. I’d hate this too. They need to organise their calendar and send email newsletters. My DCs schools do this.

JassyRadlett

"If only there were other forms of electronic communication that didn’t require people to sign up to a particular social media platform. Some form of electronic mail, perhaps."

I don't think you're being unreasonable.
But I joined Twitter purely so I could see if my teenage children's Saturday morning sports matches were cancelled due to bad weather. It's the only way they can communicate that information quickly and easily. I have it set up to notify me when that account posts anything. I never look at Twitter otherwise. My name is not on my Twitter account.

Should all come directly to the parent, not through social media platforms. If they want to save paper a direct email/text/comms app should suffice.
I wasn’t on fb for years for professional reasons (well, i was but in a minor way and very heavily anonymous) and I’d be very dissatisfied with a comms policy that relied on it.
YANBU op.

I'm boggling at all the suggestions that you use a false name to join a school Facebook group. Please try it and see whether the school accepts your request. And then give them absolute hell for allowing an unknown adult access to all that information about what the children are up to.

Communication from my children's school is excellent. They use parentmail. There is also a Twitter feed, but it's not used for routine announcements.

@coconuttelegraph well yes of course they have a duty! If they have decided to make a date and time for an important learning session or anything else they need to let parents know!

I struggled when one school went from texts - then huge time gap with just letters - to an app I was supposed to download and log in and check for things.

They tried to do with out letters or reminder to the kids - and I started to miss things. It was just something else to check - they have gone back to letters and the app is more a handy back up which work well.

If you can't set up twitter or face book - I'd point this out to the school and suggest e-mails as alternative if letters aren't possible.

We have everything by email and letters are uploaded to a parent portal. Absolutely ridiculous to give important info via facebook and Twitter. Surely most schools use twitter and Facebook for incidental info, reminders and for advertising.

achickencalleddahl our school Fb isn’t a closed group. The point is publicity for school apparently. Children without consent given won’t be photographed.

I think your school ABU. I can’t believe they expect you to be getting social media accounts and checking them daily just to check if there is a non uniform day/cake sale/parents session/whatever. What an absolute waste of time! That information should be on a newsletter. This doesn’t need to be printed and can be online, but you should be able to request a paper copy if you don’t have access to the internet. Our first school is excellent at communication. We already have the dates for the leavers assembly in July, trips for next year, Easter service and bonnet parade, all Christmas events etc. They are not hard to plan ahead and they go out every week at the end of the newsletter. Everyone knows what’s going on and can book work leave around these dates. Then you get to middle and high school and it all goes down hill. Two days notice for mid day concerts, that are only advertised on the website and a verbal message to the dc to pass on to check the website.
I’d complain to the school, there is no reason why the information can not go on the school newsletter.

We have parentmail and they send out a weekly newsletter.

They're being ridiculous. It's really easy to miss stuff on Facebook and twitter.

You're absolutely in the right OP.
I'm glad you're seeing the head. Hopefully they'll do what many schools do and have a submission date for the newsletter with all articles, notices and dates for that half term. Then anything smaller for individuals can go out through the come system.

I can't believe how many people think you should have to search through social media to get basic information and dates for your child's school.

I would be pretty pissed off if my children school were putting everything on face book and twitter accounts, and expected me to sign uo to one just to check what's going on. Sury that give everyone and their granny full access to information about what's going on in the school.
My kids school might have them, I wouldn't know because I don't have them. What they have is an app, you can only ky access the app with a code, which you can only receive from the school if you have a child there.

Even those who are closed groups would just message to ask which child they were related to surely? I know that’s not especially foolproof but anyone can set up an account called ‘Mary Smith’ so recognising the name isn’t foolproof either!
And how many schools know the first name of every parent? Or even the last name if it’s not the same as the child’s? achickencalleddahl

of course they have a duty

Do you mean a statutory duty? I used to be a school governor and I don't remember anything about that, it was a few years ago so of course things may have changed but notifying parents about fancy dress and phonics wasn't covered anywhere in the duties of the school

YANBU. The info should not be scattered about over three or more different types of communication so you have to check all three.

Absolutely not unreasonable at all.

Schools using Facebook/Twitter etc as their primary means of communication is irresponsible, leads to privacy breaches for both students and staff, huge numbers of parents/teachers have inadequate security settings and don't know how to engage with the platforms safely - I could go on, and on.
Schools with Instagram pages are even more foolish .

I'd feel precisely like you OP. You do not have to be on social media.

I use Facebook, but YANBU. There's plenty of people who never have, or, have deleted their accounts. I think it's extremely unreasonable of the school to put important info like that out via their social media and expect every parent to have seen it. Why the chuff do they bother with a newsletter?! My DC school email round a pdf newsletter /weekly diary via a pdf attachment every Thursday. They also post stuff on Facebook. I think you have a valid reason for complaint

prosecco I would have thought that every school has a record of the names and addresses of people with parental responsibility. It was certainly on the forms I filled in every time my children joined a new school. And I also provided contact details so they could notify me about anything I needed to know.

YANBU at all but if I were you I'd email rather than call. I work in a school office and we really have very no power over these things at all, and at my school no way you'd get through to the head or anyone with any decision making abilities just randomly calling up. Email so it can be forwarded to the people who need to see it.

They've an app at pur school they text also and send out letters. They're trying to do away with the second 2 and I dread it- I'll miss everything, it just takes a slightly dodgy internet connection ( and we're rural) and you miss something

I would take it up with the Head- they should surely realise you are unable to use social media due to safeguarding reasons - therefore they need to inform you of every event or ensure that these events are on the newsletter or in a letter home.