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?

Independent primary (Y1) - email is encouraged (trying to have a detailed conversation with teacher at drop off / pick up time is not). We email the TA about admin things (E.g. "Little Sunny has a doctor's appointment"), office cc'd to TA about absence, and the teacher about academic / emotional issues (I don't use this very often, maybe twice a term). Big issues are followed up with a meeting. The teacher sends a weekly round up of what the class have been doing, and sometimes sends out specific things to parents she thinks it would interest (e.g. She recently sent me an academic article about helping children whose technical reading skills far outstrip their comprehension; this is relevant to my DS). I really love being able to use email in this way, it has helped to create a great relationship with DS's teacher.

Independent Secondary - yes.

i dont see the relevance of independent or state here

Email goes through office to keep an audit trail in case of more complex queries, but all email is forwarded to us and then replies get forwarded back from teacher to parent via office.

I wouldn't phone.
I don't think you should use your personal phone for work stuff. You can get into all sorts of difficult situations if you do that.
I have seen it happen to quite a few people.
On friend is still getting calls 8 years on.

Email is different. There is a buffer. You have time to respond. You can deal with 10 emails in one admin session.
You can send one word answers if appropriate.

You are in control of emails.

Is that why the reply always has '[scanned]' in the heading Panzee?

meh - its only a few, has never been an issue. All sorts of people have our phone nos - yet we dont trust it to anyone who would find it useful

for many illiterate parents texting is the best way.
that would help

I have a work phone and I do use text a lot. It suits parents whose English is not great and its a cheap way for them to contact me if they don't have much phone credit.

I wouldn't give out my personal number thought Troy.
But you shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place.

Surely if a parent is illiterate they would be unable to read the text or respond to it. The only way to communicate with an illiterate parent is verbally.

They are not illiterate if they can read a text.

Oh I don't know Sparkling. Maybe!

We can, primary . But usually about something prearranged (son has SEN so it happens sometimes)

We can email at secondary - works really well.

Not at primary, though you can email the office for them to pass on. But it is a small school with the class teacher accessible at the start and end of most days.

Secondary, yes and the teachers generally reply very promptly and are very helpful.

Primary, not officially. DH did end up with Y6 teachers home email, but DD1 is dyslexic and we fetched up organising special arrangements for SATs on the deadline.

Small school, HT is the SENCO and remote log in to school was rocket science.

you should see the texts we get back!

er.. there are levels of illiteracy

Yes, at (indie) primary we can, although only within office hours.

There are levels of literacy. Illiteracy is the inability to read or write.

i think you are being a smidge black and white there

anyway - that is off topic.

We don't have parents emailing teachers direct at our school. They could email the office and it would be forwarded to us, along with all the other emails that might come in from County etc. But the secretary weeds out things that we don't need to see first.

I rarely remember to check my email and, unfortunately, the internet system in county is far from reliable at the moment so sometimes email don't get through (my class were waiting for squash instructors last week - at 1pm we realised they weren't coming. They'd emailed at 10 o clock to say they weren't coming but it hadn't got through til much later that day.)

I suppose I could get into the routine of checking my emails daily, but it would eat into my planning, marking, preparation time a little (every minute counts, it really does!)

But.... as a parent I can't think of anything that I would want to address to the teacher in written form that couldn't wait until I wrote it on paper and sent it in the next day. Anything more urgent I would deal with by phoning school myself and leaving a message at the office. I've never wanted or needed to email my own child's teacher about anything.

But don't you and your colleague email each other work, letters policies , everything? I can't imagine not using email for work

at the risk of seeming pedantic I agree with Owl
Calling someone illiterate is really offensive if they are not, in fact , illiterate.

It is dismissing the skills they do have.

I have my email open in the background pretty much all the time. I have to check it at least twice daily as staff pass messages to pupils by emailing form tutors to pass on during registration. So a parent email would be seen first thing in the morning or at lunchtime and I can deal with it when I'm not teaching. Much easier than getting a phone message to "ring x's mum/dad" and then finding a phone and time to ring them.

well - you'll just have to deal with that Devere.