Can parents email teachers at your school?

[OvernightOats]

A recent Ofsted inspection at my DCs primary school highlighted that parents would like improved communications. A parent-survey followed, which indicated parents would like to be able to communicate with teachers using email. However, the school responded that teachers don't have the time to do that during class.

How common is it for teachers to use email communications, and how does it fit into their working day?

I answer emails in the evening because I'm still working then. Most of my colleagues are active on email through the evening. It would be unusual to email a parent during the working day as q classroom teacher as we don't use email while teaching a class. I prefer direct contact with a parent to going through an intermediary most of the time, although there are some parents where I would deal with then as a senior leader rather than the classroom teacher, as they can be... challenging....

I definitely email my students, and they email me.

Ruddy so do I. I'm questioning whether emails from parents - some if which will be very important but others may be about missing homework or (with some parents) comments/complaints that would be better dealt with by a head of year. I don't have time to get into dialogues with parents, given I teach about 400 students a week.
I know the address of my ds's teacher (you can work them out) but I have never used it and contact the school office/head teacher instead.

I've been teaching primary for years and have never had a parent ask to email me! I probably wouldn't remember to look even if they did as we rarely use our school email addresses. We all seem to just use our personal email addresses as we cannot access the school email system when not at school!

At our secondary all the teachers have their own, published, school email addresses. It is the best way of contacting the teachers. I generally get a reply by the next school day. Occasionally it's an acknowledgement with the promise of further replies/action, which generally does happen as promised.

Our primaries don't publish individual email addresses, but I often email the teachers c/o the school's admin@ email. That works very well, too. Sometimes a teacher either emails me directly, or gives me her personal email or her work email, in which case I may use that rather than the admin@ address.

Email IMO has 100% improved our communication with the schools.

The Parentmail email service is useful, but is not two-way, and does not replace being able to email individuals.

We have on line access (secondary) to things like grades at the children's school.

I would prefer the school put more on line and had more submission of work on line as sometimes the children forget things which had they simply been on the website would not have been forgotten. Some parents though are an utter nightmare and want to contact the school about every last thing and I am sure other parents like I am do not want the poor teachers burdened by constant emails from those kinds of parents.

Your email system sounds very antiquated. No cloud mail?

(Penguin)

Fwiw parents don't email all the time. Just when they need to

Secondary and yes. Has been great for liaising with guidance team helping Ds through issues in S1.Neither the head of guidance nor I can easily get to the phone during the working day so it has been an invaluable way of communicating ( along with one to one meetings now and again)

TroyMcClure I am not sure what cloud email is

We have a system where you have to log on to the computer to access your desktop (word etc), I think it's all on a network! Apparently we can't log on at home as we'd need a special link and our computers arn't verified?! I have no idea either

If parents want to communicate with our school, they can email the office or HT.

Knowing the kind of trivial nonsense that a lot of parents email about, then teachers definitely wouldn't have the time to deal with it if it was sent directly to them.

They don't though Lesley. It's " jasons grandad died can you keep an eye on him"
Ranging to "we are getting divorced "
Or "miss I'm struggling in your subject please can I see you privately "

None of which I'd dismiss.

In Secondary though, I'm not the appropriate person to inform of a divorce/bereavement. I'll nelly have to pass it on to Guidance teacher anyway. There's a risk a parent might think because they've told one person that this info has got out to all staff, gone on student's records - it may not have. Guidance teachers I think will be emailable - they seem to work all hours for little thanks.

I don't have kids but I'm wondering why would you need to email teachers instead of contacting the school office? Have things changed that much from 20 years ago when I was at school and parents called in (which wasn't that often)?

School is 6months to 18years we have e-mail addresses for every single member of staff. DD is in year 5.
If I e-mail a teacher I understand it may take them time to reply. However, I work full time I only pick up two days a week and one of those DD goes to an after school club.
An example of how I use the e-mail
Dear Teacher
Is there any chance I could pop in and see you either Monday or Friday next week there are a few things the kitten is in a stew about.
Cat

Reply came a few hours later
Dear Cat
Thank you for your e-mail. How would after school on Monday suit you.
Teacher.

I have. When I forgot to mention they would be off the following day and when they were planning a trip and I had a place that people aren't aware of to suggest although I had already mentioned in person. Once because DS1 got up at 6am and did a presentation and asked me to email it because he wanted to show it, it was the last day of term! I felt bad about that one and was very apologetic.

I teach, and parents can e-mail me. It's a mixed blessing. I like the improved communication, especially with parents that work a schedule that makes it difficult to see me in person. I like the format, as I can send links and attachments to resources and so on.

What drives me absolutely batty are the parents who get really, really angry when I do not reply immediately. There is always a noisy minority that seems to think I should be available to them at every hour. I had one parent storm into the office in tears to complain that it had been five hours and I had not replied to her (non-emergency) e-mail.

agree Dalek - and some parents need to watch their tone

Email is a lifesaver for communication between parents and teachers.

Our school has a policy that teachers will respond within 48 hours (I think) and usually I get responses well within that time frame.

If anything is truly urgent, the school receptionist will take a message and pass it on. Some parents do seem to forget that a lot of the time, the teachers are....well, teaching lessons and may not immediately receive an email.

I'm a secondary teacher and both parents and kids can email me. I also email parents and students.

I'm a secondary teacher and I wish parents would email me rather than try phoning. If they phone, it's never at a time I can talk to them, because I'm in a lesson. So then I have to ring them back, but they aren't in when I can talk to them because they're at work/school run/shopping/anywhere but at home right next to the phone. Sometimes it takes a few days before we can find a time when we're both available to talk. It would be so much easier for them to send an email, then I can read it and answer it when it suits me, and they can read my reply when it suits them.

I do give the students my work email address and they use it sometimes, so they email me their work sometimes (if done on computer) or if they're off for a while then I can email them the work that the rest of the class are doing so they don't fall too far behind.

On the rare occasions that I do want to speak to the teacher, its usually something complex or delicate or difficult to explain. I get nervous about what I'm going to say, and sometimes fluff it up.and they get the wrong end of the stick. However, I can explain things succinctly, confidently and clearly in writing, especially if I'm able to spend time on wording it just right.

So, for me, email would be a good way of explaining a problem upfront, and then asking for an appointment to discuss.

I'm sure I'm not the only parent who gets nervous about approaching teachers. And our Office Mgr is a dragon, so I certainly wouldn't want to route sensitive emails through her.

The current communication device is a diary that both teachers and parents are supposed to sign weekly. Lots of time is spent by everyone signing empty pages, and you can be sure that if you do want to communicate something, your DC will either forget to bring it home, or forget to hand it in to the teacher. Or, they will object to what you've wriiten and refuse to take it in until you've torn it out and reworded it. All very inefficient compared to email.

Why would we email? Well, I've just had a quick look at what I've sent recently:

Form teacher and absence officer to advise of medical appointment
Music teacher about lessons
Drama teacher to say thanks for a trip she'd really enjoyed
Head of Year -- because she's lovely, and we'll miss her when older child leaves next week
TA about exam arrangements...

Yep, we use email a lot.

How else are you supposed to communicate with teachers?
You can't phone them, they are teaching,
You can't talk to them face to face because you don't see them and they certainly don't have time to talk to you at the beginning and end of each day.
Are we supposed to wait until parent's evening to let them know things that will make their and our lives easier?

This reluctance to allow effective communication is ridiculous and at odds with the the way parents are being expected to be fully engaged with their child's education.

We have to attend all parent's evenings or we get letters telling us off
We have to agree to our five year old completing their homework
We have to sign contracts to promise we will do all the things the school want us to do.
If we don't want to be involved in PTAs we are disengaged.
If we can't make it to assemblies with a couple of day's notice we are disengaged

This engagement seems to be entirely on the school's terms.

Good forbid the parents want to drop a quick email asking a teacher to confirm something that a five year old thinks might have happened or might be happening or they can't quite remember but anyway Mr Jones said it was really important.

One of my children goes to a special needs school. I only got an email contact a few months ago after 5 years at the school. Even at a SNS with a child who has severe language issues and who goes to school by bus.

All of my families have my email. I don't answer emails at 10pm but I don't mind them being sent at that time.
I reply to emails during my working hours.

There are ways of managing this form of communication and boundaries can be set. Rules can be made and adhered to.

Do schools want parents to be involved in their children's education or not?

I agree - teachers really boring and un forward thinking about email and phones

I asked my bosses for a cheap work mobile to be able to call parents or text them, and they were all work life balance - I can turn a bloody phone OFF

So I use my personal one