Communications best practice for schools, your help needed!

[BeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

As you're no doubt aware , the education boards on MN are full of discussions about schools and the different ways in which they operate, and the great (and - ahem! - less than great) ways in which they communicate with us as parents. Given there's all this fantastic feedback spread across the boards, we thought we'd have a go at corralling it all in one place and see if we could come up with tips for schools on communications best-practice, and how we'd like them to engage with us about all things, both good and bad.

We'd love to hear your views on the really brilliant things your schools have done when it comes to communication - and, obviously the not so brilliant things, too. Below are a few idea questions you might like to have a think about - but obviously feel free to tell us anything: we're all ears

If you have a complaint about your child's school, do you know what to do?

Have you ever posted online about your school, either positively or negatively?

How would you like schools to engage with you?

Do schools have a place on social media?

Would you find it useful to have a live Q&A session with your school's Headteacher?

Many thanks all.

DS School use SchoolPost for email which is horrendous - if more than one message goes out it comes into my gmail with the helpful subject line 'new publications' it's a pain in the arse to then work out what is important, file things etc.

The school are also incapable of filtering/targetting communication properly - I'm keeping tally and it averages one mail per day every single month of which far too many are info about events or other schools in the foundation that are of no interest to me. They're also apparently unable to remove me from communications like this .

Good things are use of the website, twitter and social media to update you on fun things like events, days out etc.

Another one who has issues with lack of notice for rustling up outfits. It's not unreasonable to expect two weekends notice - I work full time and do not have a 'stash' of materials I can whip up a roman toga from - I need to get in my car, drive to town and buy some cheap material (and probably more wundaweb as well!) - that's not always possible at short notice if we have plans. My own personal low point was receiving instructions the week before a trip that started off 'first make the smock' - FFS!

Also whatever Heads/Principals might like to think - we notice that bad news comes out in the name of the more junior members of your SMT 'after hours' (if it's really bad news you send it just as the office closes for a number of days in the holidays); just like we notice that the 'good news we won x/y/z prize' comes out in your name during the school day.

Alfieisnoisy/catfordbetty

fairly tongue in cheek, as he live about 1/4 from my house. could fire bomb him.

we have a really good relationship with the school and great access to the teacher as and when required.

Seconded!

Two way thing, particularly with regard to significant changes in children's lives, or important medical information.

Good- the HTs regular weekly letter- same day each week so you know to ask sprogs for it.
A good website ....with the thursday letter on it but for goodness sake update it with the next term's dates inc the occasional day at the start of term before the term ends.
Phone if there's a problem.

I agree catfordbetty!

Its clear this is a mind field and you can't please everyone. At our school people complain because we get endless emails.
Complaints are pointless because board of governors have the school's back and will minimalise everything.

I'd echo timely communication. DD's school is awful at this, often only giving a day or two of notice for something we need to action. It drives me potty that there seems to be an assumption that no one works or has other commitments and can just drop everything.
The worst was 10 children being ramdomly picked for an inter-schools sports thing held in a different town in two days time, oh and you have to get them there and back in the middle of the day yourself. More than one parent had to take emergency leave from work to do this as the kids were so excited to be picked. Not on.

I really like texts as I don't have time to check email as often as I should. Texts are useful to give parents quick reminders of dates and you have the info with you when arranging other things. I think texts are also useful when used to let you know a letter is being sent home with the pupil. I agree with earlier post that a generic text re lunch money or maybe lateness could be very annoying and I think there should be a last sentence asking you to call in or reply if you have any concerns or feel it has been sent in error. Also completely agree that bold type should only be used in letters to highlight dates, otherwise it comes across as patronising and even a little bit aggressive.

I have two DC in first school, fairly small school with around 150ish pupils including the attached nursery.

Things they do well:

• they send out text messages for this that need noting but aren't worth doing a letter about. So a notice that nits are doing the rounds, or a reminder that the Christmas show starts at 1.30, that sort of thing.

• letters are colour coded by year group so I know which child each letter applies to.

• the office is always staffed and they're happy to answer queries

Things that aren't so good:

• when a letter is issued school - wide and doesn't need any sort of reply, e.g. a reminder about the Christmas fair, why can't they just give one of my children the letter instead of both (and eventually all three). The extra copies get binned and it seems such a waste of time putting them in the book bags and paper/ink in printing them.

• the class teachers come into the yard each morning to let the children into the classrooms and are instantly swamped by parents wanting to tell them random bits of news or ask questions or whinge. It delays the start of school and, quite often, they block up the doorway so the children can't actually get in! They need a better system.

• sometimes the text messages relate to a specific child or to a specific class and will say things like "your child has bumped their head, please see the teacher at home time" or "your child's class is going to the library tomorrow, please send their book in with them" but they don't actually say which child it is or which class. Is it so hard to insert a name when it's a specific child or the class number for a specific class? I have my two at the school and I'm a childminder so listed as the secondary contact person for three other pupils. I get at least three of these texts each day and have to play Cluedo at home time trying to figure out which child belongs to which text message.

And oh yes, timely communication.

Our school dropped the bombshell two days before the Christmas show that the children needed to be provided with specific costumes. Who has time to make a costume mid-week with no materials to hand and only 48hrs notice? I had to go buy one and felt it was really unfair on any of the children whose parents didn't have the time to make one or the money to buy one. Especially galling as tacked onto the end of the letter, like a huge fuck you, was a note that they'd raised nearly £1000 at their recent fair. Couldn't they have used that to buy at least some of the costumes!?

Agree with letters being sent by email or available on school website, that would be so much better than the raft of papers that come through (4 DC in 3 schools)

Also if you use text messaging say which school it is from/what child/class/year it refers to - I get loads of 'please send your child in with 50p for whatever' messages and I don't know which one of them needs it!

Really like that the juniors has at least one member of SLT on playground every morning and afternoon and that they are genuinely approachable.

Although, would love schools to remember that we don't all do drop off/pick up so posters/signs on playground don't get seen.

My school communicates through all possible channels, randomly and with wild abandon. Please note:

Assume at least 2/3 of paper letters put in DDs hand don't reach me

I like texts and emails, I definitely get them. Texts I get instantly, it's the same as a 121 phone call for me

I have for personal and ethical reasons cut Facebook and Twitter out of my life altogether this is not a reasonable medium to communicate important and formal messages about my children and I'm not going to go back on fb to suit the school, my dislike of it runs deeply and I find the assumption 'everyone's on fb' offensive and ignorant

Pick a communication channel and stick to it. Consistency is everything in this game.

Please try and proof read what you send me. I don't mind changes of plan etc, I really mind illiterate letters from the people educating my DC

Our school sounds quite old-fashioned compared to some on here. We get letter in bags about most things and a couple of newsletters a term. We're quite rural with rubbish mobile signals so thankfully we don't get text communications - if the school need to contact me urgently they try the landline first.

HT famously hates Facebook so thankfully nothing goes on there or Twatter (I'd be seriously pissed off if a school expected me to join social media to get important messages through) although there is a PTA Facebook page. I'd say the only bit about communications that annoys me is when it snows - we're told to look on the school website in the morning at a certain time which is a PITA when you've got to get out your laptop, turn on wifi, etc but I guess there's no other way of doing it (if you can't text).

I'm dreading dd moving up to secondary because I've heard that everything there is done online via emails etc and quite often I don't check my emails for about a week because I don't have a smart phone, so going online takes more effort (don't use a computer for work).

Can anyone tell me what parentmail is? Never heard of it.

OMG, so much to say, and so much I don't dare say for fear of outing myself.

Parentmail is an electronic thing that parents can sign in to, and if they sign in they get messages from school, so they get the regular newsletters and letters, but also get the messages like "school closed due to snow" or "class x back 3 hours late from trip due to traffic".

Soooo don't want to out myself, but I work in 3 very different primary schools - a faith one, one that people REALLY want their children to go to, and a slightly rough-arsed one, on the edge of an estate, with quite a lot of high needs. I live in an area with a lot of EAL as well.

And I have a DD now at secondary.

In my experience ALL schools try REALLY hard to communicate with ALL parents. It's an OFSTED requirement. Please don't go thinking schools don't care about comms with parents and carers.
But from school's POV, the hardest thing ISN'T the sending out of messages - it's the parents receiving them.

So, for example, I took a call today from a parent "hello, this is xxx, parent of yyy, in Yr 6. I was thinking there might be a letter home soon about Christmas lunch?" Me: "Yes, letters went home several weeks ago, and there have been reminder posters up all around school, including outside each classroom and sign-up sheets in every class, it's been in the newsletter as well. The closing date was last Friday because the kitchen has to send the order" parent (defensive and cross) "oh, he never gave me a letter.... I suppose that means my son has to miss out on his Christmas meal" Didn't say it, but yes, it fucking does. He is year 6. He had AMPLE opportunity. As did you , to look in his bookbag.

Also today, a parent (admittedly, new to the school on Monday, so this is only day 3) comes to reception window "Hi, I need to get out but the gates are locked, but I've got an appointment I REALLY need to get to". Me (not usually on reception) "sorry, but the gates are locked at 3pm and unlocked at 3:30. I don't have the key or know where it is, you'd have to ask the caretaker" (but, actually, the gates are locked so that children don't get run over on their way to or from school. There is also a properly mah00sive sign on the gates giving the times they are locked and unlocked, you chose to drive in and park). And I don't know of ANY school where you can just drive in or out among children.

I have massive sympathy with parents who can't read (I have a number) and parents who can't read English (I have a much bigger number) and this is a massive issue for schools to address (all my schools have children from 50+ different countries, so "get an interpreter" doesn't wash (it's a paid-for service). But by far, far, far the biggest group is:
The parents that GET the information but don't fucking read it/take it in. Actually the messages DO got out from school, but most parents don't access them "no, I couldn't be bothered to read the newsletter; when's the Christmas party?"
Sooo many parents want to be communicated with on an individual basis. And only get the information pertinent to them, in a form that works for them. (and now I'll waaaaave my magic wand and make it so!).

And can I do a MASSIVE shout-out for giving the school up to date contact details, please?
Some parents change phone numbers more often than I change my pants (and my pants are always clean). I will never forget the little Yr 1 boy who got hit in the mouth with a ball at playtime and it was bleeding, bleeding, bleeding and successive first aiders came in and looked at it and all said "he needs to go to hospital". So we tried the two numbers we had for mum and the one we had for dad, and nothing worked - they either didn't answer or the numbers were dead.
PLEASE make sure your child's school has proper contact details for you. Your child might have an accident and we need to get hold of you!!!!!

My DD isn't at school yet but her nursery are really great at communicating with us.

From school I just want to know what's happening when, and in good time for us to do something about it. DH and I both work full time, we are unlikely to be able to sort things like costumes out at short notice.

I am also unlikely to ever do pick ups and drop offs, and nor is my husband, it will either be a childminder or au pair, depending on what we go with. Therefore I'd like the school to be communicating directly with me, via mass email, parent mail, a regularly updated website or FB page etc. I don't want notes in bags that can get lost or notices up in school that I will never see. Plus if messages are sent electronically there is a permanent record that can be referred to.

As a headteacher of a large urban primary school I am well qualified to comment that however much or often we communicate with parents we are relying on them actually reading it and making a note of any important dates or facts. This is what we do:

*Comprehensive and daily updated website with a rolling 'reminder' on the home page
*Year group blogs on the website with home learning ideas
*Twice weekly coffee mornings for parents
*Weekly newsletter (that goes on the website the day as it is published) and is emailed to parents and hard copies in book bags for those with out internet access
*Text reminders
*Senior staff on the playground every morning
*Twitter feed that is updated daily with photos of school events, learning and reminders
*Teachers email addresses on the website so that working parents can contact easily.

I have lost count of the number of times the staff and I have been abused by parents who have not read the newsletter, rolling screen on the website, email and text reminders and their child is therefore likely to miss out or has arrived at school not dressed up and is upset about it. We have racked our brains to try and come up with any other methods of communication and have concluded that, short of visiting each home personally, there is nothing more we can do!

Schools need to think about what they communicate, and when they communicate it, before even beginning to go into how.

So websites are great for 'pull' information, and a comprehensive (and regularly updated) calendar is I think vital plus easy to navigate sets of policies.

But they need also to 'push' information. The first way is by joiners packs, both for main entry years and all ad hoc joiners whenever they turn up and whichever year group. This needs to tell parents clearly how to find the 'pull' information and the means they choose for 'push'.

Having meetings from time to time to review how they communicate is important, and there simply has to be someone from the parent community involved in that.

Some specific points:

a) 'when' is often overlooked. A start of term 'push' newsletter giving the dates already known is helpful (concerts, plays, sports days, trips, fetes, carols services, Book Week, dress up for CIN - ie all those things which parents can attend or will need to provide things for or may need to drop off/pick up at different times).

b) but then all those things need a reminder about 10 days in advance.
c) if any of the dates have to change, parents need to be told immediately (plus reminders given again in the run up). This means that parents who have to book time off work or juggle anything else aren't wrong footed. Including an apology that shows the school realises that it is causing inconvenience is all too often overlooked.
c) all policies need a clear point of contact for the issues they cover, and that person must respond to them.
d) email is usually better than pupil post (less gets lost)
e) text alert is a good thing to have, for example if a trip is going to be late back, or for unexpected closures (snow, heating failure) as people generally have their phones with them but may not be able to access email (texts get through better if reception iffy, using personal email might be banned at work etc)
f) other social media is nice for those who use it, but not everyone does, so it should only ever be an add-on, not the core means.
g) keep websites as simples as possible, as not all phones/devices cope well with complex sites and it's simply not on to expect everyone to have the latest iteration.

While i might have other issues, i think my schools communications are quite good.

We get a weekly newsletter which prints a running diary of important dates.

They use parentmail x so all letters are also emailed to us, we also get regular text messages, especially when our children are out on school trips and they keep us updated on when they'll be back, any delays...etc

The office staff are friendly and always answer the phones and deal with anything you ask them promptly and efficiently.

They also have facebook/twitter which keeps us up to date on events happening in the school.

On the whole, I'm happy with the communications from school (state primary school). We get a newsletter emailed to us on Fridays. Letters are sent via email which I much to prefer to paper letters in bookbags. There are quite a few text messages from the PTA, for example reminding parents that it is non-uniform day on Friday or that a consent form for something or other needs to be brought in. DS is in Reception and has a home learning book that has a note from the teacher stuck in each week briefly describing what they have been learning that week.

Things that could be improved: there are quite a few grammatical errors in the newsletter (and one or two in some of the letters from DS's teacher). The newsletter is sent out in PDF form and it is very difficult to see the photos in it properly, so I don't know if they could use MailChimp or something like that to make it easier to see the photos.

There's a bit of conflicting information sometimes (albeit over fairly minor things); for example, we had a note in the homework journal to say that books would be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays, then a week or so later a note that said they should be brought in every day, and they seem to get changed at random. Likewise on a school trip last year, the newsletter said they should wear uniform on their top half and school trousers, whereas the consent form said a home t-shirt with a school jumper.

Some things seem to get lost; for some reason I didn't receive the email invite to view the online learning diary - maybe my email address had been typed in incorrectly or omitted. I had to chase this up with the school. Likewise I never received the accessibility questionnaire - I only realised when they published the points raised by parents, and I would have liked to respond.

I'm not convinced about the value of a school having a social media page given that they ask parents not to post pictures of the children on Facebook etc.

Think Wigeon has DC at the same school as me... Echo all those points!

Advanced notice for events, like assemblies and dress up days, is vital. And I don't just mean 2 weeks notice. It just puts undue pressure on parents and really pisses them off too

Oh - I've just remembered my biggest bugbear with the school - assuming that the mum should be contacted first about anything. It took ages to get DS school to understand that we both wanted to be getting the emails and that in the event of any kind of 'emergency' DH was to be contacted first. Even now, 6 years on they will still call me first most of the time - we've explained that calling me to tell me DS needs collecting achieves nothing - I work an hour away and am often harder to reach than DH (who is 10 mins away) but still they do it - it's as if there is a 1950s switch that gets flicked and it's 'must call mum'.

The best was I was asked to go in to have a meeting about medical stuff, I replied by email copying in DH and saying that I was abroad but DH would be there on date x at time y. I stated that there was an 8 hour time difference and if there was anything else they needed or they wanted to change the meeting, could they please deal with DH directly. The replied, leaving DH off accepting the meeting. DH had the meeting and then when they'd done the forms they scanned and emailed them to me leaving DH out of it completely. I had no way of knowing if they matched what had been discussed and agreed as I was asleep in a hotel at the time. Despite having met with DH, discussed with him, they still automatically emailed me...

I found out today why I hadn't got a couple of important emails - they'd only emailed DH . (I asked him if he'd had one about the online diary and he said he didn't think he had, but he tends to ignore all the school emails and has no filters on his imbox). So schools, please ensure you email both parents!

I have two diffent schools to comment on...

DS's Primary

• Weekly newsletter was emailed out but has now gone online which means we only have a record of the current week unless we download it. Bit of a pain when i sometimes need to refer back to previous weeks. All other letters are emailed out along with news from the Head.
• Has FB, Twitter but the photos are shockingly bad. Website (apart from newsletters) is not kept up to date and some news items/documents on there are several years old.
• Text for very important news like school closures or cancelled sports fixtures.
• Complaints would go via the form teacher (all emails given out at the beginning of the year), if not then via the office or direct to the Head. If i need to let them know anything i generally just drop into the office or classroom when i drop off.

DD's Secondary

• FB, Twitter updated daily by various departments throughout the school. Lots of photos, many taken professionally of sports events, trips and school shows which are also on their website.
• Website is updated on a regular basis and is easy to navigate. Includes a diary so that i can see both when upcoming events are and what's going on today. At the moment it goes right up to the end of the school year. Links to pupil timetables and sports fixtures.
• Letters, invitations etc. sent out from the school office via email. No direct contact with a form teacher unless you have a problem when i would contact them via the office. This year we have been given the HOY's email so i can contact them direct.