Communication with Parents
Regular communication between home and school plays an important part in the education of all pupils. Parental involvement is welcomed and encouraged through an ‘open door’ policy.
Parents are welcome to visit their child’s classroom and are also free to contact their child’s teacher over any matter. However, due to teaching commitments, it is not always convenient for the teacher to respond immediately to such visits or phone calls. Teachers are happy to arrange for parents to visit the class, and will always return a phone call if they are not free to talk at the time. The school nurses are available to take phone calls on medical and care issues.
Home/School Diary
Each pupil has a Home/School Diary to keep parents informed about what has happened in the classroom each day. Information is also included on eating and personal care. Nurses and Clinicians also use the Home /School diary to communicate relevant information to parents. Parents are also encouraged to write in the Home /School diaries in order to keep their child’s teacher informed about any aspect of their child’s welfare. Any queries or concerns that parents may have can also be raised in the diary. Additional news, such as what happened at the weekend, or what other members of the family are doing is always welcomed so their news can be shared at Assembly and celebrated during circle time.
Seesaw
We are using the Seesaw App as a means of digital communication between teachers and families. It is a lovely interactive and safe way to share news, photos and videos between home and school. Many families prefer using Seesaw over Home/School diaries and yet others prefer to keep the diary as the main form of communication. We will use the system that works best for each family.
Communication Passports / All About Me
We had been using a communication passport (a simple and practical guide designed to help other people to communicate and interact with pupils). However, overtime it was determined that it was not being used nor as helpful as intended. Along with a revision of our planning systems in school, we have designed a suite of documents (Core Learning & Care Profiles, All About Me & Next Steps). These are compiled by the class teacher with input from parents, and contains information about each pupil, such as how they communicate, their likes and dislikes and their care needs. The "all About Me" information is kept in each pupil’s school bag so that it can be accessed easily by people who know them and also by people who are meeting them for the first time. The more comprehensive information in the Learning & Care Profiles will be shared as required.