That teachers should have templates for things that happen year in year out?

[nappychangingbag]

I'm not sure if it's just my children's school but there hasn't been the greatest communication...

No info on which classroom to drop child off at
No info on PE days
No info on school clubs
No info on anything at all really

AIBU to think that teachers should have a template for things that happen year in year out? Surely it's helpful?!

Like start at the start of the year have a checklist of things you need to communicate and then do it?

Sure you might have to tweak it year to year but I feel like schools lack such basic efficiency in admin, it kind of makes the school look rubbish.

And I definitely don't get the feeling it's because they're just "really focussed" on the actual teaching.

I feel like if you can't do the basics it doesn't really fill me with confidence that you can do the complicated stuff 🤷‍♀️

Not in my school, they are outsourced to different companies.

Probably because it's in drip feed in the format of an email per item.

So, it sounds like the school has given you the information but you don’t personally like how they’ve given it to you?

Oh goody. You're one of those parents.

FYI, the vast majority of teachers work extremely hard. I'm currently averaging 12h/day whilst being paid for 7h. ASK nicely and you might receive.

😂 I bet you spend more time whinging then actually doing your job.

My request is quite simple - have a template/checklist document that you use EVERY YEAR so that you know you have communicated all the info you need to at the beginning of the term.

Or is it a surprise every year to you that school starts in September and there's certain things that need to be in place and communicated by then?

Oh goody you're one of those posters. I haven't slated teachers I've asked that there be a checklist so that they know they have definitely communicated info to parents.

And whilst you are there, fick off some more.

Inter-school communications/emails (eg CTF file tranfsers) requests for safeguarding info have been hiting my inbox at 9,10,11pm at night over the last few days, including over the weekend. Between school admin staff. Who barely make 21/22K per annum. And are not paid overtime.

Just fuck off with your smiling fucking face.

I agree OP. Sorry, school admin folk on here. I do think it's admin rather than teachers, but my god some of the duplication of labour and odd cul de sacs we seem to go down at my school.

EC clubs - hugely oversubscribed, so an email goes out at x time with y info about how to book. Except every term, the email doesn't go out when it's promised, and at least one key bit of info is missing - football is for KS1 not KS2, science club is on Mondays not Tuesdays, French wasn't on the timetable but exists... These are paid clubs with external providers btw, with nary a staff member in sight.

I am bet-my-house-on-it-certain that stopping and checking all the info, maybe with an earlier cut off date for external providers (who presumably want our business) would save one administrator several hundred emails and phone calls.

In school hours there's similar - bring PE kit on Mondays, except it's actually one class one week and one the other. Just bloody tell me. I'm lucky my child is a reliable narrator but still.

So what you want is a lively long email.

Most people don’t have the attention span for a long email.

Start of school 100 new parents. Lots want to pop in and make appointments, medical information, school dinners, milk orders, finances, governors, school supplies, to order and unpack, things to fix, thing to rest like fire alarms, arranging for x y z to come into school, arrangements for HT stuff to do,

But hey - they should prioritize your needs over everything else they need to do!

What the get is x asking ‘can you send an email for this trip’ can you send an email for Y day we’ve planned, can you send an email to remind Yx about Z?

Get a life and get your sled organised. You aren’t in charge and you have no right to tell someone how to do their job.

Do you know school staff are hard to come by?

This makes you one of those posters.

So yes, you vilify teachers without bothering to find out who is actually responsible for communication.

Why should teachers care, though? Why should anyone be concerned with arranging things in the manner that best suits you?

@ThrallsWife I'd love to know who is responsible for the communication... except no one ever got back to me 😂

Schools don't work and the staff are vile? It's a shame you're relying on these people to provide what you're not for your children.

Schools only work at all due to expertise and good will of staff at the moment.

Chances are if you contact the head or ask in the office, they'll help you if they can answer your question at this stage. If not, you'll have to wait and receive it the info in due course.

How can they not realise that? Don't they realise they aren't teaching the same kids each year?

Do you know where admin gets the information from.........

Take a guess......

Do you know where the source of inaccuracies often stems.....

Take a guess.....

Do you know quite how much work is involved by everyone in education on starting a new academic year where, because of new staff, new students, new medical/safeguard/clubs provision issues,new IT, new govt edicts NOTHING stays the same....

I use templates and tick list.

But whilst I am waiting for x to be ready...y needs sending out....parents need it. Head needs it. Safeguarding needs it. Do I wait, just so I can use a template or just do my best.

I am waiting to find out if French is running, but in the meantime we need confirmed numbers for football otherwise we lose the booking. If there isn't enough interest in tennis we need to cancel before the 10th...or we will lose money. But I am still waiting to know if we are running French. But the French teacher has just had an operation due to a twisted testicle and now got 27 stitches his scrotum.
What do you suggest I do?

Schools have no flex. Not enough resources and not enough agency.

School admin even less.

So unless you want to do it...go join the OP

@Somaliwildass eh?

@SchoolAdminNeverGoodEnough

You do know that these sorts of things happen in other jobs? And yet people are still able to provide a smoother service.

I work in a field where no two days are the same and health and safety are of paramount importance (because you could literally die).

And yet we are able to work with the rhythm of the year, and have basic practices in place to ensure things run smoothly and important information is communicated well.

Guess what I have worked industry.
I know how things work outside of school.
I see how fucked up other sectors are.
I also know that if you have staff of say 18...having one off ill impacts everything.

But do you know what, I just roll my eyes and get on with stuff.

I don't start a thread on a public forum berating hardworking, overworked public sector staff because they are not doing the 1% of their jobs to your unrealistic standards.

Children are not a mammogram appointment. A print out with a mailmerged date and time. A template.

And school safeguarding....yep...children can "literally die" too

Oh. And have you looked at the website?

But whilst I am waiting for x to be ready...y needs sending out....parents need it. Head needs it. Safeguarding needs it. Do I wait, just so I can use a template or just do my best.

Schools have no flex. Not enough resources and not enough agency.

Yeah... this is not unique to schools. Not the complexity, not the lack of flex, not the low pay, not the zillions of moving parts, not the safeguarding and data management. I'm not hugely wedded to templates, but I really prize good communication, because it has the side effect that you don't have dozens of people emailing and calling and thereby backing things up further.

And yes, I have (with another mum) offered to step in and assist with this and we are both now involved in easing the process as far as our school will allow.

Ours get sent home with their pe lit every week. Who only washes socks at half term?!

We do get very detailed information though.

I have ASD and read the school documentation obsessively. Being hyper prepared is how I manage to function in a world built for neuro-typical people.

believe me, if I say the information is not available, it is not available. I’m the parent who contacts the school admin clarify the contradictions on the website, between emails, and between other messaging. If it’s something I have to act upon, I have to know which information is correct and there are contradictions constantly.

Important Note: I only contact to clarify information I have to act upon. I do not contact for the numerous contradictions that do not require my action, as frustrating as I find them. I know people are busy. I am too and wish I didn’t have to waste my time tracking down correct information.

Good answer. Of course you can't possibly comprehend anything I said.

You said school staff were vile. But they're looking after and educating your child, which shouldn't really be the case if they're so vile and incompetent.

Maybe you should provide all that you want the school to do (not just the list, but the actual things that will allow your child to enjoy themselves and progress, like clubs/experiences/subject knowledge/pedagogy/assessment).

They are just trying to defend the teacher you're complaining about on day 2 for something that isn't even their job.

That's an admin thing though. Teachers are not employed to complete admin tasks. In fact, in Scotland, there are a list on admin task teachers must not do in our contract.

I can only speak for the schools I taught in, it was normally the HT who delegated tasks on who sent what communication out. As I said before, ALL schools had a school handbook, the Class Dojo app and a lot of the time hard copy letters/newsletters in bags, PDF of the newsletters on the website, on Class Dojo and emailed. There was also links to the school handbook sent via text to parents. School calendars were sent at the start of the school year. There was always some parents who never bothered to read the communication sent then whined about not knowing…

No info on which classroom to drop child off at
If you don't know beforehand you'll find that out on the first day.

No info on PE days
If the kids keep the PE kit at school there's no need to know. If they need to wear them/ bring it in on PE days they'll tell you at some point or no kids would have the kit.

No info on school clubs
Ours change termly so a template wouldn't work at all.