Responding to parent emails

[2catsfighting]

what would you consider a reasonable time to reply? I'm not asking particularly about your school policy, but more of a personal work/ life balance sort of response.
I'm asking because I have experiences of 2 extremes, with some teachers responding the same day, which worries me on their behalf, and on the other half being ignored.

I really appreciate the prompt replies, but honestly am happy to wait a bit, but don't know how to resolve the ones that I don't get a response to.

As a teacher, I try and reply the same day.

As a parent, I would expect a reply within 2 days (unless I've sent it on a Friday, in which case, Monday or Tuesday for a reply).

We don't have a school policy on it. It is up to individual teachers whether they give out their own school e-mail address, or the main office address and then have e-mails forwarded on to them.

5 working days for an easy response, 10 working days maximum of a more complex response required (ie needing input from other teachers, too).

School policy is 24 hours. In reality, I usually reply within an hour.

Ok, I have got responses here from super conscientious teachers. I have concerns that I really need addressing over the summer break. Do you think I need to wait till term starts? Which will be too late iyswim

Did you send the queries before school broke up?

It's possible the mails aren't checked over the summer otherwise.

I'm not a teacher, but it does seem just the tiniest little bit U to expect serious concerns to be addressed while they're all on holiday. I know loads of teachers do actually work (as I understand it, unpaid) during the holidays, but there have to be limits.

I'm also sorry you have such urgent needs. :(

I was presuming you meant in term time, and would expect a reply within a couple of days - even if it were to say "I'll have to look into this" type thing rather than being able to answer it fully.

I wouldn't expect any teacher to answer in the holidays though.
I know a lot would look at e-mails, but I certainly don't think there should be any expectation they would reply to anything when they are on holiday.

Is it something that happened in term time? Was the question asked then?
Or something that has happened in the holiday?
In secondary, I know a lot of staff would be in school on exam results days, so I'd try and make contact then for something urgent, but it really would have to be something particularly important. Other than that, then the INSET days at the beginning of term would be your best bet, as office staff will be in then to answer phones / door to you.

I have many emails from parents waiting for me. The only reason I checked my work email is because I don't want to miss updates to some training I am attending.
I am not replying to the parent emails at all until we return.
we are paid term time only.

Term time I reply within 5 working days and usually at the end of the day as during the school hours I am usually with students.

Same with phone messages. Not until the end of the day.

Also depending on what the issue is staff might not actually be able to answer anyway because files, policies etc are not taken home.
Plus it might not be that person you need to talk to, it could be another member of staff that deals with that issue.

I would expect a same day (school day) response to email received. With follow up as necessary. We as parents can only contact school via the office not direct. What happened thats that urgent?

I advise parents at the start of the year that I will reply within two working days. In reality it is usually the same day, though often not until after dinner, as that's when I sit down and do my paperwork from the day. If I can't give an immediate answer due to having to consult with someone, or follow something up, I will reply letting them know that I have received their email and when they can expect a response that answers their query.

I include in my start of year information that emails are not checked during school holidays. Most people would froth at the mouth at being expected to respond to work emails on the holidays, yet seem to expect teachers to. I put an out of office on my email saying when I will be responding to emails. In reality, I am often checking emails on holidays and dealing with issues, but I usually let the responses build up in my outbox and send them a few days before school comes back. I don't want to get in to an extended email discussion while I'm on holidays. Naturally if there were something absolutely critical (child in an accident, parent passed away or other serious issue) then I'd deal with it. But all of the 'I don't want Johnny sitting next to Sally' or 'Susie needs a locker on the bottom shelf' emails can wait.

The definition of urgent can also vary from parent to parent. Urgent should be restricted to items such as those I mentioned above - child in accident or diagnosed with a serious medical condition which will affect their education, death of a parent/sibling, that sort of thing. Also, bear in mind that many issues may require the input of other staff, and if they are also on holidays, then getting an answer is just as dependent on when they check their emails. Without you stating what your issue is OP, it's hard for us to say whether or not the teacher should respond to you while they are on holidays.

I don't expect anything during the summer. I have had to e-mail dd's school on GPs advice about a serious issue and have had no response. I don't expect one until term starts. Will be a bit annoyed if they don't respond then.

Dd's school is great with parents. A response the day an e-mail is sent, even if it's only a holding response. Ds's school is rubbish and I am still waiting for a response to an e-mail sent over 6 months ago. The result is that I love one school and hate the other.

I would never ever read parent emails during the evening, weekend, half terms or holidays

I don't have access outside of school, nor would I want it. If I am on the school premises I would be very unlikely to check my emails.

2 working days to respond. During the holidays I would expect teachers to have an out-of-office reply set up giving an indication of their availability (which may well be Zero).
Response is different to 'resolving the issue to the parent's satisfaction' though - clearly that may take a lot longer...

No "out of office" reply is necessary. If your child is on holiday then so are his teachers.

I respond very quickly to parents, normally within a couple of hours, but I don't want to get into long email exchanges on holiday, so wait till a couple of days before the start of term to respond normally.

I work in school admin. All emails come to me and I forward to the teachers concerned.

I went into work for a day last week (unpaid) and I currently have over 1500 emails in my inbox. Most will be absolute spamming shite, but I still have to go through them.

I start back to work next week when the teachers are on two TED days. It will probably take me two days to get through the inbox. Any emails from parents will be sent to them then and I would expect them to respond the following week and not before.

I don't quite understand why you asking this question are you the teacher or the parent

The idea of somebody in admin deciding which email I can have would really piss me off we have a policy where they will be replied to in 48 hours and that seems fine by me

Wow, I can't believe that parents can email teachers directly these days!
I find it hard to say when I'd expect a replay as, technically, teachers are only paid for their contact hours with children. They shouldn't be emailing during teaching time and I know all teachers do but they shouldn't be expected to work outside of school hours.
I guess, within 48 hours would be the norm.

As someone who works in the private sector and is expected to read and reply to emails in the evenings, at weekend, and on holiday, not having to do any of these things sounds amazing.

I'm currently looking at schools for DD, this is really interesting.

Add message | Report | Message poster BrendaandEddie Wed 26-Aug-15 09:56:08
The idea of somebody in admin deciding which email I can have would really piss me off we have a policy where they will be replied to in 48 hours and that seems fine by me

Trust me, if the teachers at the school wanted over 300 emails a day offering them 'extra training courses', books on how to pass ofsted inspections, emails from charities, emails from religious presentation companies, emails from untrained foreign teachers who want to work in UK schools and emails from Tesco, Asda, sainsburys et al offering text books at low low prices I'd gladly give up my Registry role

Schools vary a lot in their approach to e-mails - and I do think that there is a secondary / primary divide in play as well.

IME as a parent, secondary teachers' direct e-mails seem to be much more 'visible', and within term time I have had very prompt replies to direct e-mails including in the evenings and weekends. I would expect a teacher to mainly do e-mails in the evenings, tbh, simply because of the nature of the school day.

In a primary school, individual teachers' e-mails are IME less 'visible'. In the school I work in, the main admin e-mail, and those of the head, deputy and SENCo are publicised, but not those of individual teachers. I regularly get e-mails forwarded on through all of these channels - the usual response is a quick acknowledgement from the initial addressee, followed by the full response from me, which i would usually write in the evening or at the weekend. I very seldom have time to access e-mail at school.

I do wonder whether one reason for the difference is that parents are, again IME, very much more 'hands on' in primary, which has 2 consequences:

• After school / before school conversations with parents face to face, as they drop off or pick up, are often the preferred method of contact, and many primary teachers will have a large number of these contacts each week.
• There is the potential for excessive e-mail load from some parents - face to face meetings with some parents can be daily, if not twice daily, and the equivalent volume of e-mail for 30+ children could become unmanageable. Certainly, IME having some level of 'gatekeeping' with a limited number of publicised e-mail addresses can be useful.

IfIwasabadger,

I don't know any teacher who doesn't read e-mails in the evening or at the weekend. Most will read, but not necessarily reply, during the holidays - not because 'it's not their job', but usually because the resources and people needed to respond fully to an e-mail are not available at that time.

'Just letting you know that X has broken their leg badly on holiday and will have limited mobility at the beginning of term', for example, would get a reply of sympathy from me, but the organisation of access and toilets and physical care would be something I could not reply about until just before the start of term, when all the appropriate people are in, to give you a concrete example off the top of my head. Equally queries about SEN needs / assessment, academic progress etc needs access to exercise books, documents and expertise that for obvious confidentiality reasons I do not keep at home.

Ifiwasabadger

Not answering emails etc. in holidays may be something to do with not being paid for the holidays.

Having said that, the first look that I had at my emails was results day and I will start checking from Monday.

If in the OP's case, I was emailed on the last day of term and I could deal with it I would do, it it required other peoples input it would have to wait till the day that the term starts.