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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

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Original poster

Responding to parent emails

76 replies

2catsfighting · 25/08/2015 23:32

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.

OP posts:

Pointlessfan · 26/08/2015 10:37

I don't even look at my work email during the holidays. If you emailed someone at their work while they were on annual leave you would get an out if office reply and I don't see why we should be any different.
In term time I would reply within 24 hours even if it was just to say - I need to look into this/talk to x member of staff etc before I can reply properly. That's only polite!

teacherwith2kids · 26/08/2015 10:39

To the OP - if you have concerns that need sorting out before your child goes back into school, but you have not had a reply yet from some teachers (is that the situation?) then your best approach would be to contact the school again in the day or two before term starts, which will almost certainly be INSET days.

I would telephone, not e-mail, and refer to e-mails already sent: so ring the Recpeption / admin number (almost always manned on INSET days), saying 'I sent e-mails to X and Y about something that needs to be resolved urgently before term starts. As I haven't had a reply yet, please could I leave them a message asking them to call me on Y number or to reply to my e-mail?'

BrendaandEddie · 26/08/2015 10:41

Eve I never ever get those. Your spam thing must be weak.

TheFallenMadonna · 26/08/2015 10:41

Senior Leadership team are not on the same contract. They will be checking their emails (although some may actually be away on holiday of course). Try a few of them.

teacherwith2kids · 26/08/2015 10:50

IfIwasabadger,

My OH (senior manager in a reasonably large organisation) used to think that he had to reply to e-mails on holiday.

Then he put his foot down, made arrangements for contact in absolute emergency, and put an 'out of office' autoreply to that effect.

He has received 1 emergency phone call over the last few years, and has lost nothing in terms of regard or standing within the organisation. A lot of the 'I must deal with my e-mails on holiday' comes from fear of 'what other people think' and a feeling of self importance / fear (either 'I am so important they cannot do without me' or 'If I can take a holiday without being contacted, then I must not be very important and they will get rid of me', depending on personality!)

DH was initially out of step with his organisation, but they have all come round to his approach over the last few years.

YonicScrewdriver · 26/08/2015 11:23

None of those emails sound like spam Brenda.

Ifiwasabadger · 26/08/2015 11:36

BoneyBack, do teachers not get paid holiday, i.e. you don't get paid over the summer or half term? That's outrageous!

teacherwith2kids that's great for your OH. I've tried it many times over the years - doesn't work in my industry i'm afraid.i don't recommend to others!

DoctorDonnaNoble · 26/08/2015 11:37

I check my emails in the holidays. Don't get many in the summer holidays, if I do they're usually around results days. I get more queries in the Christmas and Easter holidays as they are before exam periods.

DoctorDonnaNoble · 26/08/2015 11:38

Badger - we get paid for days in school but that pay is spread out over 12 months which is nice for budgeting.

Charis1 · 26/08/2015 11:41

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.

You don't HAVE to, you just CHOOSE to

in my opinion it is a very poor decision, which will impact negativity on efficiency, productivity and work life balance.

Ifiwasabadger · 26/08/2015 11:53

charis1 ha, if only that was the case - choice! i'm afraid the cold hard reality is that if i ignored my clients i would lose my job. maybe not overnight, but eventually. of course it's not a positive thing. but that's the reality for many, many private sector jobs these days. everyone at my level, in my industry, is exactly the same.

DoctorDonnaNoble · 26/08/2015 11:55

I've just replied to an email from a student. About resits and remarks at AS level. I'm glad I replied so he has the most time possible to make the best decision for him.

MidniteScribbler · 26/08/2015 12:00

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.

Teachers may not always be checking their emails outside of hours, but they are planning, reporting, preparing resources, and many other tasks.

To maintain a work life balance I am very strict about when I will work outside of hours. I don't work between getting home and my son going to bed. Then I'll happily sit down and spend a few hours working whilst watching tv and having a glass of wine. Friday nights are off limits (not because I go out, just because I want to relax), as is Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday morning. If we've got no plans, I may sit on the laptop on Sunday afternoon and do some work, and then I'll go back to it when DS goes to bed on Sunday night. The first week of the holidays is completely off limits, as is the first four weeks of the summer holidays (although I may check emails a few times). I love my job, but I still deserve my home life as well.

Ifiwasabadger · 26/08/2015 12:05

midnite - well said - i agree with this and there's an hour when i get home too between 630-730 where i do DD's bedtime with no interruptions. i then crack on with some more work after that and before dinner, sometimes afterwards. i try to have one day off at the weekend but will always end up working on one of the other days. it doesn't help that i'm overseas so in a different time zone - i'm always playing catch up!

i do think that saying in my opinion it is a very poor decision, which will impact negativity on efficiency, productivity and work life balance doesn't make sense, we all know it's not a good work life balance to do additional hours - but show me someone who sticks to a traditional 9-5 (or whatever the school hours are) and i'll be genuinely surprised. i think much work is fragmented these days and sadly we're doing more of it.

ArcheryAnnie · 26/08/2015 13:46

Forgive me for an ignorant question, but is it really the case that teachers are - technically, at least - only paid for their contact time with children? I thought they got a yearly salary, unless they were supply teachers.

(Just to be clear, the teachers I know at DS's school work way too long hours, so I don't begrudge them whatever time off they can claw from the rather high-handed head.)

DoctorDonnaNoble · 26/08/2015 13:54

We're paid monthly so it appears to be an annual salary but it is adjusted to consider directed time (not contact time).

bloodyteenagers · 26/08/2015 14:31

School staff are paid for x hours over x week and this is usually split over 12 months.
unless contracted to work holidays (admin, it, etc) then they are not paid for the holidays.

mabythesea · 26/08/2015 14:35

Archery school staff are paid for term times, plus holiday allowance, and then it is split across 12 months. So some of the school holidays are paid holiday, and the rest is unpaid.

Sadik · 26/08/2015 14:57

OP - do the school definitely 'do' email? I only ask because dd's primary definitely preferred contact by email, being a small school with no-one generally available to answer the phone.

In contrast, her secondary school are always happy to respond on the phone, but the couple of times I emailed I didn't get any response at all. (And one of those times I was pointing out that their website had been hacked and they might want to take action asap!)

SawdustInMyHair · 26/08/2015 19:02

Teachers I've worked with wrote the replies the same night most of the time (or, as some have said, just a 'I'll have to look into this and get back to you' response for longer things) but then saved them as Drafts and only actually sent them within work hours the next day so as not to give the impression that they are contactable at any time of the day or night!

FabulousFudge · 26/08/2015 19:45

I reply on the same day, even if it's just a holding email.

IguanaTail · 26/08/2015 20:40

Holidays are unpaid. Teachers are paid to work 195 days (5 of which are inset days, which were taken out of teachers' holidays). They are meant to work 1260 hours a year but so far more. The salary is spread throughout the year so that teachers receive monthly payments.

teacher54321 · 27/08/2015 17:37

Schools vary HUGELY. In the school I've just left we were not encouraged at all to communicate with parents via email, which i found hugely inconvenient. In my previous job we were told we were to reply within 24 hours. As this was a boarding school with Saturday lessons, that was pretty much always possible! I would always reply immediately to acknowledge the email even if I couldn't deal with the query immediately. Over the holidays I wouldn't expect a reply. If you need an urgent response I would contact the school office or the head.

Pud2 · 27/08/2015 18:19

In our school parents do not have direct email access to teachers which I think is right. If a parent urgently needs to contact a teacher they can call or write a note or arrange a meeting. Or, an email can be sent via the office. I do find that a lot of the emails sent to teachers via the office are quite petty eg a lost coat, a playground tif or queries about things that have already gone out in letters. If teachers had to spend their time dealing with all those issues via email this would impact on the time they spend on planning, assessing etc. I would never respond to a parent email in the evening or at the weekend unless it was completely unavoidable or an emergency.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 27/08/2015 20:46

In response to the OP, I would aim to reply to parent emails the same day,, if possible. If I couldn't give them a clear answer, I would respond to acknowledge the email and that I would contact them with a detailed response as soon as possible.

If it arrived Friday evening, it wouldn't be acknowledged until Monday. I think that even if you can't give a definitive answer, it's polite to give a 'holding' reply.

During the holidays, I might not see the email from a parent, depending on when it was sent. I would be in school several times during the holiday, so it really would be a question of timing.

If the OPs question is complex, it might need consultation with other staff members or other professionals- could be tricky in the holidays.

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