Communication Policy

 
Communication Policy
St Clare’s Primary School
 
Policy
Educational outcomes for students are enhanced when there are positive relationships between home and school. Teachers and parents can equally contribute to the positive culture at St Clare’s. It is the school’s responsibility to promote and facilitate these positive relationships through effective, open and timely communication, ensuring that parents are well-informed about their children’s achievements at school as well as school programs, policies, procedures and events.
 
Implementation
  1. Routine formal strategies for communication with parents include:
    • Weekly newsletter
    • Curriculum term letters and overviews
    • Information nights for specific purposes
    • Parent teacher interviews
    • Parent Portal – a secure online space for parents
    • School website
    • Written Reports Cards each semester 

  2. When communicating parents and teachers will be expected to:

    • approach discourse in an open, courteous and respectful manner

    • listen actively to the concerns, seeking clarification when necessary to better understand the other’s point of view and desired outcomes

    • present their own or the school’s point of view in professional and objective terms;

    • seek support from the school’s leadership team (Principal / Assistant Principal) if needed

    • defer meetings to a later time if productive discussion and resolution cannot be achieved for any reason

  3. When a parent wishes to contact a member of staff to discuss matters relating to their child, the procedure is to contact the teacher involved, giving a brief outline of the issue. Contact should be made using one of the following approaches:

    • Contact the school, either by phone or coming to the office personally, and ask a school administration officer to arrange for the teacher to contact you to arrange a suitable meeting time.

    • Contact the appropriate teacher in writing or via email, asking them to organise a suitable meeting time.

    • Speak briefly with the appropriate teacher, either before or after school hours (not at a time when they are teaching or on yard duty), and ask them to arrange a suitable meeting time.

  4. Resolving matters of concern are best achieved through face-to-face contact with the appropriate person. Emails and letters should be brief, alerting the person to the issue; they should not be used as a forum for in-depth discussion. 
  5. Our school acknowledges parents may occasionally have cause to make a complaint about an issue of concern in relation to their child’s education. See Appendix 1 for a flowchart school and classroom enquiries and concerns.
  6. All emails for teachers should be sent to the relevant staff member’s school email address. Please be aware that teachers receive many email messages, and will be teaching and have many other responsibilities during their day. They may not be able to respond immediately to your email, however, will respond within 2 days. It would be best to ring the School Office for matters requiring a more urgent responses.
  7. Parents should not approach the children of other families or their parents with a school related or non-school related issue on the school grounds. Such matters must be addressed to the Principal or Assistant Principal and not discussed with other persons.
  8. All formal written communication is reviewed by a member of the school’s leadership team before being sent home. A copy of this communication will be kept on file in the School Office.
  9. This policy will be reviewed at regular intervals, as required.
 
Policy Published November 2016