To expect to be able to directly contact teachers?

[Fallingrain]

Just that really. My school doesn’t give out email addresses or phone number. If we want to get in touch, we have to send a message to the school office. They pass it on then inevitably we get phone tennis because I’m working when they try and call back and they never arrange a fixed appointment to speak. I understand why they do it but in this day and age, I’m not sure that shielding teachers to that extent cuts it any more. I don’t know any other profession where that happens but I wonder if there is some half way house. How do other schools deal with parent/teacher comms?

Also, just imagining, for example, the day before sports day. My work phone ringing off the hook asking for a weather prediction and if its going to be cancelled.
Or the days running up to a Christmas concert, asking if there's spare tickets when its been announced there are none for that particular show.

All the things the school office have to deal with, whilst trying to teach too.

We have always had teacher email addresses for dd. We try to use them sparingly because we do understand they have many students, but I absolutely expect to be able to contact teachers.

Why so parents need to contact the teachers so much? Did our parents have this much contact with our teachers?

But also teachers should not be checking work emails/messages late at night or on weekends either

What strikes me is how outrageous the parents are. Some (most) of these things should be dealt with by the school office, some by looking on the website or asking friends/other students or asking teacher before or after lessons. I'm an involved parent and think I only messaged the school three or four times for each of my children's entire school career.

Are people really this needy/entitled that they need to be spoon fed every little thing? No wonder teachers get burnout. If it's really important OP send a note to the teacher or make an appointment, otherwise just leave the poor teacher alone.

But also teachers should not be checking work emails/messages late at night or on weekends either

There speaks someone with no idea of the workload.

YABU. Parents can’t control themselves, so the schools have to do it for them.

The other thread is ridiculous, as is this one to an extent.

There’s absolutely no reason to restrict when parents can email, most can’t email during school hours because we are at work ourselves and personal email in work time is frowned on.

At the moment we aren’t allowed to ask a quick question at pick up or drop off.

I know that some parents would abuse email, just as some customers do, but teachers need to manage that, as other proofessionals do.

When my school introduced direct emailing staff were apprehensive about the deluge, but it soon settled. Now that such communication is backed up by a separate system that holds all lesson plans, attendance, reports, homework, whether work has been submitted, etc. it has calmed it all down.

The system also allows staff to check if a parent or student has actually looked at anything we post. A revelation. I can tell you.

@Feelingconfused2020

this bollocks about how impossible it would be for a teacher is bolllcks, a teacher can write a standard email telling you that they have a lot of work and may take X days to be back in touch. At least a physical.acknowledgement would be something.

Why should the teacher be expected to write a standard response if they’ve received an email, which needs no response at all? They have teach in the day, carry out assessments, mark and set homework, plan for the next lesson, weekly and monthly planning etc. On top of this they should write generic responses because little Johnny forgot his PE kit today so please don’t give him a detention or demanding to cancel the 10 minute detention given to little Petra because it’s not her fault she forgot to do her homework, okaaaay ...

At my school we get 2 hours a week in which we might be available to contact parents. During that time we have to get all our planning and assessments done.

You aren't going to get a quick reply from a teacher unless something is very urgent. That's why schools have other staff to deal with enquiries.

If you want a system where teachers have more time to liaise with parents and deal with pastoral issues (I know I do) then you need to write to your MP.

I know that some parents would abuse email, just as some customers do, but teachers need to manage that, as other proofessionals do.

The other two proofessions manage it the same way teaching does, by having admin staff who field queries while the proofessional is busy.

Do you seriously moan you can't email your GP directly?

this bollocks about how impossible it would be for a teacher is bolllcks, a teacher can write a standard email telling you that they have a lot of work and may take X days to be back in touch. At least a physical.acknowledgement would be something.

Secondary teachers teach HUNDREDS of students a week. I teach a core subject and I'm HoD so I teach fewer Classes and I see them more often. And even I teach about 150 students a week. But if you teach music, or drama, or PE etc you could easily teach nearly a thousand students a week. If every parent thought that they should have direct access to teachers, teachers would spend nearly all
Of their time responding to parent emails rather than actually, you know, teaching or planning or marking or all the other parts of our actual job.

Do you seriously moan you can't email your GP directly?

This.

Well I teach 25 different classes of 25+ children, even a small percentage of parents with queries would generate hours of work. Thankfully there is a system like you describe. (students themselves are allowed contact through certain channels and that takes hours too).

@Feelingconfused2020

this bollocks about how impossible it would be for a teacher is bolllcks, a teacher can write a standard email telling you that they have a lot of work and may take X days to be back in touch. At least a physical.acknowledgement would be something.

And you're a shining example of why I wouldn't parents having my email address 🙄

We can either email or ring the school office or send a message via class dojo. Dojo messages are only read 8-4 on school days. It works fine- the dojo has only been part of it this year as we can no longer catch the teacher for a short chat at drop off or pick up due to social distancing.

It’s good that parents can’t email directly. Parents:

• can have an unreasonable expectation of when emails are responded to (sent 6pm Friday, then chase emails Sat and Sun, and then nasty aggressive messages Monday before and during school time. Over a homework task that hadn’t been handed in).

• send emails after a glass of something late in the day (accusing me, and other teaching staff of not understanding GCSE spec because of something read in a newspaper. We were right, newspaper wrong. Shockingly. Wine made normal parent hysterical).

• send emails to any old teacher about subject subject information (because they haven’t figured out that the English teacher is unlikely to know about assessments in Maths, or setting in Science. And then they get narky because I’m not going to find the information for them. They complained to my HoD).

All true examples. Having a filter via other staff means a buffer.

I've been waiting 3 months for a reply from the school - it has been chased and despite the first email with a response saying they'll pass this to the head teacher absolutely nothing since.
Sometimes parents can be an arse, sometimes it's the school/ teachers.

@Bridecilla I’m in FE too and Teams does my head in for this, although it’s my issue not the students, I hate seeing that there’s a message and not reading it but if I read it they can see I’ve read it and will be expecting a reply, I had three messages late last night (although pop up notifications are off during non working days) and I’m slowly training the students that I don’t work certain days so not to expect a reply till I’m back at work. The worst was the student who rang me THREE times in one evening because apparently he thought that my teams status saying I work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday meant that I was available at any time on those days.

Love this, when I was in school 20 years ago parents didn't have email addresses or phone numbers for teachers. Everything was just fine. Parents abuse this completely, well done to the school for taking a stand

Phone numbers? What phones do you think teachers have? Can you imagine a phone going off in the classroom all day long in the middle of lessons?
You do understand that during the school day teachers are busy teaching? And then after that often in meetings?

Last week I had a parent complain that I hadn’t changed their child’s reading book that day. Due to me and my TA being in meetings all day as well as teaching neither of us had any chance to do it. The only time I had when I wasn’t with children was 15 minutes to eat lunch. Then I was in a meeting from 3.30 until 5.

We have a range of message levels available to parents at my infant school / many set up since March.

Teachers don't have j ficus all work phones but we do have work emails. These never go out to parents.

General enquiries - school phone or email

Year group specific query about home learning etc - year group email account. Year groups teachers and an admin have access to these and they're checked once or twice a day in school hours only.

Online app - direct messaging between parents and teachers linked to their class. This is the newest addition and its use is being monitored. It's been set up to be used for the quick fire message that parents would normally have time for at drop off. Staff are supposed to check it a registration times only / so could be things like x is going home with y today, j's granny is collecting him, d has forgotten his book bag today, etc. On the whole this is working fine, though we have 2 or 3 parents misusing it and taking advantage of to send, quite frankly, inappropriate and potentially aggressive messages to staff. These are not being responded to and simply based on to management. One parent has now been threatened with having their access to it removed.

It's a balancing act and a learning curve for all. We've set things up since March and also since September as we have lost some of the natural daily contact with parents.

Why do you need to contact the teacher and about anything other than something gravely serious.

Can the child not advocate for themselves in class or hand in a letter written by the parent?

I think those insisting possibly don’t know just how aggressive some parents are- a tiny minority but enough to mess with your mental health if you pick it up on a Friday evening.
We often have to be on our work account at weekends/during the evening because we are working. This shouldn’t have to include fielding emails from parents who want to find out if it’s PE tomorrow.

@raddledoldmisanthropist

I know that some parents would abuse email, just as some customers do, but teachers need to manage that, as other proofessionals do.

The other two proofessions manage it the same way teaching does, by having admin staff who field queries while the proofessional is busy.

Do you seriously moan you can't email your GP directly?

I can’t email but I can message, and I can ask for a call back and it actually happens. I can email my consultant directly.