Are teacher messaging apps reasonable?

[Elendel]

I am a teacher in a secondary school.

I started in a new place a few months back. In this place, parents have an app on which they, and students, can message us 24/7 and we are expected to reply as soon as possible, but latest within 24h. The app filters out swearing, but other than that it can be a free-for-all.

I do not have time to respond within a typical school day as I am either teaching, in a meeting or on duty, and with briefings as well, responding to parents either falls within the 15min lunch I get (unpaid) or outside of those hours. Time is fully directed between 8.15 and 4.30 each day and PPA is the absolute minimum school can get away with.

Messages arrive any time between midnight (some students messaging at 1am!) and midnight again, but parents most often message after work (understandably) and will expect us to have responded by mid-day. Some are messages about reasons why homework isn't done, some are asking me about what happened in other subjects, yet others are to challenge detentions given.

Is this level of communication acceptable? It just feels like I'm never off work, because I spend a considerable amount of time responding to the messages of the 1200 students and their parents on top of doing my actual day job to keep up with communication demands.

YABU - get on with it, it's your job

YANBU - that's ridiculous

Why are some parents messaging you multiple times a day? Surely the school needs to tell them to back off a bit.

Huh?

Do you think I'm looking down on state schools? I've taught in them for a couple of decades. There are many, many problems with academies.

Absolutely appalling- one of the dozens of reasons I left teaching. You are so not being unreasonable. Find a new job!

Good question. I tutor Y7 so some parents are used to daily contact with the teacher I guess.

But it's just little things, mostly. To ask about extracurricular offers. To ask about letters sent out. To ask about a registration mark in someone else's class. To challenge a behaviour point. To tell me the dog ate the homework and I must excuse the child. To tell me their child lost a planner, and to ask me to find it. To tell me their child felt sick and to keep an eye on them, even though I only see them for 10min a day.

Not reasonable at all, especially if SLT have not given parents some guidance of what is reasonable use of the app.

I would use the 24 hour window and ignore any parents who expect a quicker reply, do only one reply to parents who e mail more than once a day and only give meaningful replies when you feel it is necessary. For other e mails, I would send a standard form reply: ‘Dear Mrs Flossy, many thanks for emailing. Your concerns have been noted, Best Regards, Ms Elendel’.

And never forget, there are lots of teaching jobs out there if it is still a major issue.

And just to add- I was asking if it was a state school as I was wondering whether, as parents are 'paying customers' in private schools, it might be one of those. But no- I think they actually want to retain their staff.
Do parents want a messaging buddy or someone to actually teach their child? They can't have both, and honestly the way things are going they may end up with neither. If this happens at your child's school and you want teachers to stay: complain.

If I only reply during my actual hours I can't get it done. We get a lot of complaints. Replying automatically falls within my non-contact time, which is outside of 8.00-4.30 (all of which I have specific tasks for).

I plan all my lessons at home, 2h a day. I do all communication from home. I do all paperwork from home.

I guess, in a way, I am broken. @noblegiraffe You usually know more?

Contact time is until 4.30 everyday? I feel sorry for the kids and teachers!

Weve sent one email in the past tear to DDs school... and that was to admin not a teacher!

Yes, contact time is 8.00-4.30

We have an app for my daughter’s Academy. Doesn’t matter who you contact on it, you never get a reply. I have only messaged twice and neither time was my message even acknowledged.
Perhaps the school could send out for some parent/pupil feedback that may highlight the problems that you and us have with such apps?

"Unfortunately, unions mean Jack shit in academies if they don't recognise them."

Ironic in view of which union funded party was responsible for giving us Academies in the first place. Hint: it wasn't the Tories.

Not reasonable.

I teach. I also have been known to email teachers in the evenings, but I FULLY expect them not to be on their emails or respond until working hours. That's just when I am able to get around to dealing with my own children's issues.

I wouldn't want that as a parent, never mind as a teacher.

That isn't normal and there is currently a teacher shortage - go to a different school.

Completely ridiculous and frankly abusive.

I’m used to a school where all communication goes via the office and the HT has been known to send out messages reminding parents that staff are primarily there to teach and look after children not respond to trivial parental issues. Anything actually urgent or safeguarding related obviously gets actioned immediately, anything related to lost jumpers and the like I think gets auto deleted!

I do wonder how we all survived - I went to school pre email. My parents went to parents evenings and I think phoned school once about a bullying issue. That was it. They probably couldn’t name my form tutor. It’s completely unnecessary for the parents of most children to be exchanging regular messages with secondary school staff.

That can get in the bin. Move schools if you can!

I retired nearly 9 years ago before this became a thing. I'm so glad

Definitely not acceptable, is it your personal phone? I would remove the app if so.

I'd advise going to your union, but if your school doesn't recognise them then that's difficult. Have you brought it up with your HOD? Does your school have any sort of workload/wellbeing group? (hah!)

I'd collate the number of messages being sent and the number of complaints about lack of replies and use it as evidence that the service is being misused and eating into your actual job.

This would drive me mad!

Its a nice idea for parents who need to ask a question and it saves them having to ring up and try and catch you but so many parents will take advantage of it and just ask stupid questions constantly or worse become threatening!

I’ve lost count how many phone calls I’ve been screamed and sworn at. I imagine they’re 100x worse when behind a keyboard!

The turnaround time is insane.
The only chance I had to read my emails or reply to my colleagues would be during break times or after school or on weekends, even that I felt was a lot. There is absolutely no way I’d want to be replying to numerous messages too!

I have now left teaching because I could not juggle being a single parent and the workload which would end up taking away my evenings and weekends.
If this had come out in my school I would have left a lot sooner.

I would complain about the lack of GPDR on an un monitored private mobile phone.

If the school wants this they should be providing a phone and charging facilities.

HOD has the same issue, plus any complaints about staff to deal with.

Head doesn't see an issue, unfortunately

They get around that by making you sign a thing saying they can take complete control of your phone. Needless to say, I declined.

Is that the app or the school?

That's crazy ...when I was in secondary school my mum classed me as old enough to look after myself (i.e. plead my own case if homework not handed in, or find my own lost belongings) ...the only contact she had was parents evening. Obviously would have contacted office if there were any major issues / worked with school if they raised any issues but there was no need as no issues occurred