School asking parents to only email teachers during working hours

[cautiouscovidity]

We've had a message from DCs' (primary) school respectfully asking parents to only email the head and class teachers between 8:30-5:30 on school days and not during the evenings / weekends / holidays, for staff well-being reasons (they deserve protected downtime etc.).
AIBU to think that this is ridiculous? I work in a job where I don't always have access to a phone / computer during the working day and so, on the rare occasion that I need to contact a teacher, I tend to email in the evening at home or first thing before I get ready to leave. Obviously I don't expect them to reply out of working hours, or even to read it there and then, but I had never considered that it would be intrusive. In my job I get loads of emails at all times of the day and night and they just sit in my inbox until I am working!
Surely if it's impacting on their downtime so much, then they should just not check their emails in the evening and turn off notifications etc.

@OchonAgusOchonO You might want to read the response I've already given. If a child in your child's class tested Covid positive and their parent emailed at 6pm to say so then I bet you'd expect to know before the next school day - correct? So, how do you think that will happen unless teachers check their email outside of school hours?

Perhaps they mean don't expect a response before 8.30am or after 5.30pm. That would seem more reasonable.
I don't see how they can stop parents emailing at anytime.

My guess is that the school has had aggressive emails fired off by parents at all times. Maybe they have introduced this as a way of getting some parents to have a breather before angry emailing. Although from the sounds of it a way around it has been figured out.

I sincerely hope teachers just stop responding to urgent emails outside of school hours so the people on here saying teachers are to blame start to realise how dumb they sound.

@BuddyRun but they haven't said it's because they're missing important emails about little Bobby having covid.

They've said it's for staff wellbeing reasons.

In which case they should be telling the staff to manage their own email use appropriately to protect their own wellbeing.

[quote BuddyRun]@MrsTerryPratchett Because it would take each parent literally ten seconds whereas teachers get dozens of emails all evening with no way to know which ones are urgent and which ones aren't.
For example, if a teacher gets 20 emails every evening, they have to read all of them to find the one urgent one that says Bobby has tested covid positive. They need to act on that out of hours to inform their close contacts not to come into school the next morning. If the parents only emailed during working hours except the one urgent email, then the teacher would read the one urgent email.
So, if parents can't be bothered to spend ten seconds setting up a delayed send, teachers are forced to either read every email out of hours or miss important emails. That's why parents should stop being lazy.[/quote]
Frankly, outside paid hours they shouldn't read or answer any emails at all.

If the schools need responses outside these hours, they should set that up.

I work in housing and get hundreds of emails, including at night. I have work boundaries unless there is a current emergency.

And then what about safeguarding issues that happen outside these hours?

Our school has recently requested the same. I expect it’s because one or two parents are being demanding. Sending emails on say a weekend and expecting a response before Monday morning.

@BuddyRun

I sincerely hope teachers just stop responding to urgent emails outside of school hours so the people on here saying teachers are to blame start to realise how dumb they sound.

I have never once had a response to an email to the school immediately when I've sent it in the evening.

And never would expect it.

[quote LiveFromHome]@BuddyRun but they haven't said it's because they're missing important emails about little Bobby having covid.

They've said it's for staff wellbeing reasons.

In which case they should be telling the staff to manage their own email use appropriately to protect their own wellbeing. [/quote]
Eh?
Teachers need to respond to urgent emails outside of school hours (i.e. emails about positive covid cases). In order to find out which emails are urgent, they need to read ALL the emails that come in (because teachers don't psychically know which emails are urgent without reading them). So, if parents email constantly about every tiny little issue all the time, teachers have to read dozens of emails just in case they're urgent. They can't ignore the emails because they MIGHT be urgent. Having to read all those emails all the time impacts their wellbeing.
Would you think it's ok for the school to not respond to urgent emails outside of work hours? If not, don't email them with non-urgent emails because they aren't magic beings who can determine what's urgent and what isn't without checking.

I suspect what they mean is do not expect a reply from teachers out of those hours. I know teachers who have had emails at 10:30pm and the parent has been raging at SLT about not having a response at 8am the next morning.

So, if parents can't be bothered to spend ten seconds setting up a delayed send, teachers are forced to either read every email out of hours or miss important emails. That's why parents should stop being lazy.

Yeah, right. That's simply not how email is intended to be used. How do you think the rest of us manage? I work with people on 3 continents, I get emails at all hours of day and night, some more important than others. Somehow I manage, how amazing is that?

I'm bowing out of this thread. Too much stupid for me to handle before lunch.

@SparklyLeprechaun

So, if parents can't be bothered to spend ten seconds setting up a delayed send, teachers are forced to either read every email out of hours or miss important emails. That's why parents should stop being lazy.

Yeah, right. That's simply not how email is intended to be used. How do you think the rest of us manage? I work with people on 3 continents, I get emails at all hours of day and night, some more important than others. Somehow I manage, how amazing is that?

Yes, it is amazing that you can know what's in an email without reading it. That is amazing. Genuinely, truly amazing.

This is ridiculous as pps have said. Also, how does a school tasked with educating children not understand how email works (you only see emails when you log in) and how to work within boundaries (just dont read or respond out of hours). They're being silly.

Strange.
Surely teachers should have Out of Office turned on for parents emailing out of hours so they know when to expect a reply?

Yahoo doesnt have a scheduled send option, afaik.

Sorry, but I'm with those saying emails shouldnt be opened until you want to deal with them. And people shouldnt have work accounts linked to personal phones. DH used to work somewhere that prevented personal devices accessing the internet (including personal data packages), and sending stuff from his work email would be a complete no. Should he never be able to contact the school?

@BuddyRun

I'm bowing out of this thread. Too much stupid for me to handle before lunch.

We'll only post on MN threads after lunch then. To save you having to read them.

I think at the moment its that we have to check email regularly outside of our working hours. So we can see it all piling up and waiting for us.

I'm part time - 4 days, but have to check today, tomorrow, sunday about any positive cases in my bubble so I can start isolation if needed. Three in my class were awaiting results yesterday.

Last Friday I had one awaiting a result and so on. It's constant communication at a very anxious time for many in school.

Teachers need to respond to urgent emails outside of school hours (i.e. emails about positive covid cases).

But that wont happen as the parents are being told not to contact the teachers outside those fixed hours. The policy doesn't say only email of its and emergency it says odnt email at all. Therefore they should receive no emails no matter how important. That's why it's such a shit policy.

I also think you're not giving teachers much credit. It honestly doesn't take that long to check emails and assess which are the most important ones.

@MrsTerryPratchett If you could use common sense then that would be fine in the morning. I can't understand how so many people on here think teachers should know what's urgent and what isn't without reading it. Teachers should just stop responding to you outside of work hours and you can have fun panicking all night when the school don't respond when your child is missing...

Surely you should be able to send it when you like but teachers shouldn’t be expected to read or respond except within certain hours- at our school it’s 8-4.

Our school has introduced the same policy. I think it's a load of tosh as well - if I need to email a teacher, I often do it in the evening as that's when I get to sit down and actually think about what I want to write.

I don't expect it to be looked at there and then and I certainly don't expect it to be responded to. I do, however, want to write and send an email when it is convenient for me.

why dont they just not read any emails til school hours then

The school has misjudged this. Possibly they've had a shitstorm of emails. Better to say that emails will be responded to in X time.

I've had one shirty email since March. Even that was group. I've never assumed that anything sent by anyone: me, colleagues, parents or students after hours required a reply until hours started again.