Acceptable Hours and Lines of Communication

Policy on Acceptable Contact Hours and Lines Of Communication

The need for clear communication between teachers, students and parents is pivotal in a successful school. In order to help facilitate this important aspect of school life, this policy is designed to ensure that the expectations of teacher, student and parent communication are well established and known by all parties concerned.

The lines of communication are to be through official School emails of the individual teacher (Gmail or ESF platform), Google Classroom and through telephone calls from the School phone network. Private numbers of teachers should not be given out to students or parents nor should Whatsapp groups be set up between combined groups of teachers, students and parents.

School working hours are currently 7:30-2:20 Sunday to Thursday, therefore the teacher will not be expected to contact students and parents outside of these hours. That being said, Emails from students or parents should be aimed to be responded to within 24-48 hours unless this period falls within the weekend. In the case of exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to respond sooner than the timeframe stated above.

It is not a healthy situation for anyone if teachers are responding to emails outside of these hours or at weekends. It is important to have a mental break for all in order to avoid burnout which is not to the benefit of anyone.

In terms of students and parents receiving notifications concerning homeworks and resources from the school. These should also be sent at considerate times between 6am-5pm during the working week. Work should not be sent through during the weekend as this can have an adverse effect on family time.

If a teacher wishes to phone a parent regarding an issue then this telephone call (Using the school phone network) needs to be logged. This can be logged on the teacher parent conversation log found on GoogleDrive.

If a meeting is required, this should be held by appointment only. This is to be arranged via the ESF platform through reception or through the school email system so that all meetings can be logged and referred back to if needed.