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?

Of course not Chatah.
But nobody is asking for a direct phone line with teachers (which is the only mean of communication which expects 'instant' answer).

Reasonable parents don't become unreasonable by e-mail. Do you have 'normal' friends/colleagues who become different on e-mail correspondence? Teachers deal with pestering parents on a daily basis. E-mail keeps a distance and a record.

Why would adding and admin person with the only duty of 'forwarding' the e-mail, be a better solution? I believe, this is a way of keeping a distance with parents. Whenever you speak with someone who requires you to go through their administrator first, you are speaking with someone who is establishing his/her status in relation to you.

As stated earlier I work at University. My e-mail and my direct line are public. It is extremely rare that students communicate with me by e-mail. I deal with hundreds of students and the few who try to communicate directly outside the classroom are more likely to drop by office unannounced and outside office hours than writing an e-mail. I find it real disruptive but I have never sent anybody off. I tried to instil in them the importance of arranging a meeting by e-mail when you want the full attention of someone. It is never nice to drop whatever you are doing to react to someone else availability. E-mails don't interfere at all in the life of someone who knows how to deal with correspondence and communication in general. I find colleagues, who are in the habit of copying everybody else in useless messages much more difficult to manage.

I wish the bulk of my correspondence and meetings was student related, but that is another story.

Sorry, Chachah, not Chatah

No we can't. my children are at infant schools. I don't mind that we can't e-mail, I think it would be very difficult for the teacher and can just imagine she'd be inundated with all sorts of emails! If i had to wait for the teacher to respond when she could find the time then it would be just as easy for me to ask for a quick chat at the the end of the day!

A lot of teachers mention having to do work in their own time, I think it's the norm in most professions nowadays unfortunately, not just teaching.

camaleon

I have always been able to make some pick ups, though not all. I never did drop off but DH did.

I guess I have been lucky because I have never had to have any big contact with school - its always been something that can wait til I was there.

Re. notes - they are often easier for us as they come directly into class, often at a time when we have't got email access. Also - then any of the staff in the classroom can deal with it, not just the one person the email is sent too, including supply teachers if it is something for that day.

We don't have constant email access at school. I would hate for a parent to be relying on email contact, especially during the school day - because often we cannot access it easily and certainly not constantly.

I have NEVER claimed to have lost a note from a child. I don't know any school staff who have. hat a bizarre way of thinking!

Medical appointments - we don't really need them in class; they go to the office. Also they have to be put into the child's file - so have to be printed off any way.

sorry it came across so wrong!

I only wanted to say that there is no difference between a note from a child and an e-mail, apart from the fact that they cannot get lost. One of my kids always forgets to give in notes, money, etc.

My life is much easier since I can pay most trips/lunch/etc on line, instead of endless traffic of envelopes that get lost/forgotten.

I also think it is a very bizarre way of thinking to see e-mails as such a threat and not to have the same view on any other written note. It is not like e-mails are something new.

Apparently reading notes in class is not disruptive if they are handwritten but reading e-mails totally changes the situation (!)

As I have said I have only used e-mails for medical appointments and addressed them to the office! if I wanted an appointment with a teacher it would be nice to be able to drop an e-mail instead of writing a note or having to ask for time off at work in order to get to speak with someone at the school gate.

In addition, e-mails are only something you refuse to deal with if they come from parents. Other interlocutors are apparently fine. I think this whole business about e-mails from parents and the 'risk' of those parents misbehaving in masse if they get access to the very secret teacher's e-mail address speaks tones on a certain view held by teachers about parents, mostly mothers. This is an issue in infant schools, not later on.

In my opinion it has a much deeper meaning about how mothers are treated and regarded in society in general. But this should probably go into another thread

Yes, can email the teacher (Primary).

By the way (it has just happened),
Teachers seem to prefer to call me on the phone for not urgent matters, which normally makes me interrupt whatever I am doing (and this includes lectures, or 5 minutes ago, a meeting).
My phone is with me in and in silence in case there is an emergency re my children. It would be so much easier if the teacher could just drop an e-mail telling me your son will get his certificate next Monday, instead of making a phone call that I am going to respond immediately when I see it comes from school.

To clarify: I don't think it is 'wrong' for the teachers to use the phone. I am just saying that most of us adapt to whatever policy the school decides. And perhaps a bit more thought should be given to the reasons to prevent communication by e-mail.

My school has finally open itself to e-mails to the office (not teachers/Heads) this year.

Our primary allows emailing. I think it's great, I hate trying to have rushed conversations in the playground when teachers are distracted and other parents are in earshot.

I imagine it probably saves the teachers time in arranging after-school meetings where a quick email conversation will do instead.

I'm conscious that the teachers are busy so only email when it's necessary. I can see that it's open to abuse/overuse, but so is any other method of communication. At least email leaves a written trail so that any abuse can be dealt with properly.

It is not common. I think some parents may abuse the privilege. It would be fine if you got a handful of e-mails but some parents would be e-mailing daily.

ZOMBIE

No we cant email individual staff members an either the High school or Primary. All emails go to a generic office email address and theyre passed on to the person its intended for.

Ive sent a few emails asking about progress when Ive been unable to get to parents evening but have never had a reply to any email Ive sent.

I do get cross because I think telephoning and leaving messages is long winded when you could just put your entire query on 1 email and they can get back as and when they have a free minute.

Its just one of those things where the school just haven't kept up with modern society.

Hmm wheres the ZOMBIE warning gone ???

Our school introduced class dojo last year. I have used it to message my eldest son's teacher about some bullying he is experiencing. I could tell her the details quickly without leaving a phone message and then missing each other.

I have used it this year to tell his new teacher that my son is finding his maths homework easy - turned out he had been given the wrong book. But I started the message by saying it did not require a response.

For my youngest son I just use it to tell the teacher who is picking him up - the school require it in writing and I do not always know in the morning who it is going to be - not because I am disorganised but my work diary often changes last minute.

There is always an autoresponse in the evening saying that the teacher may not respond until the next working day, which seems fair.

For my youngest son I just use it to tell the teacher who is picking him up - the school require it in writing and I do not always know in the morning who it is going to be - not because I am disorganised but my work diary often changes last minute
As a teacher I can say this is one of the problems with parents using teachers' email. We've had parents who have worked out a teacher's school email address (its not exactly hard once you know one) and email collection arrangements then get really cross with the teacher about it "I emailed you a 3pm" type comments. We teach all afternoon and don't have a chance to look at emails until after all the children have been collected or even later if we have a meeting straight after school. I check my school emails at 7.30am before I start my teaching day then again at some point after school, but some nights its well gone 6pm or even sometimes has to be post 10pm if I've had a hectic after 3.15pm schedule. In the example given by Temporary it would be the same with Class Dojo, so we ask parents to contact the office who have their emails open constantly and they can screen and identify messages I MUST get before end of school.

I hate it when parents email the office and it's forwarded on, as I know it's a little thing but I can't just hit reply to reply!

I much prefer being able to email parents directly and they email me directly.

It's normally after 8pm when I get a chance to check my email and I confess I don't check my school email daily.

Primary teacher. We use Class Dojo so the teachers can message me there and I can send out individual or class messages. Parents can also log in and see what points their child has received or lost that day and what for. Children can log in to change their avatar.

Very successful, parents love having contact and there's an app on the school iPads and phones so it's easier than emails and more like IMs.

Depends on your school/parents though I suppose. I have very normal and lovely parents who do not abuse the system.

Ah, a zombie thread!

Not at primary level. The head teacher likes to keep parents at arms length so I can't see it being introduced either.

I would not have a massive problem with parents emailing teachers as long as they do not expect immediate responses.
My bigger concern would be whether the email address was a school email address or a private email address. If it was a private email address then I would be starting to have significant safeguarding concerns around the teacher, especially if it was at secondary level.

SLT here. I receive between 100-150 emails per day. Probably about a quarter of these are from parents.

Email much easier, but do try to consider if your email is necessary, just as you would with a call, as you can't get much work done if you're emailing for hours.

Also, please don't email after wine. :)

Private school - email addresses of each teacher distributed and encouraged to contact them.

State - encouraged to send to head of year/admin team who then forward as needed but doesn't take a genius to figure out direct email addresses once you know the teacher's full name.

Private teachers have smaller class sizes and a lot more time (that's one of the biggest things you are paying for) but still I have found teachers in state school do respond but takes a bit longer. There have been problems with some parents expecting quick response and emailing far too often. These parents are effectively blacklisted/ignored and messages passed to head of year or deputy head.