At Watchfield, we highly value the on-going positive communication we have with parents and carers, the two-way process of which is vital to the successful support for and education of our pupils.  Therefore, as a school, we have been considering ways to further improve mechanisms for communication between parents and the school.

In response to our findings, we have produced further guidance in the form of a flow chart (see below).  Its purpose is to provide greater clarity regarding the ways in which parents and carers should communicate with staff and who to speak to should further assistance be needed.  In essence, there isn’t anything new to our overall approach to communication pathways, just the clarity of how these are conveyed. It is hoped that by providing this clarity, there will be a reduction in the amount of time required from staff in addressing queries and concerns, consequently resolving queries in a shorter timescale and therefore increasing the ability of staff to focus on teaching and learning and ultimately improving outcomes for our pupils.

We expect all parents and carers to continue to follow the approach, as outlined in the document below, communicating with members of staff through the channels indicated.  This will enable liaison with the most appropriate member of staff to sort out any issues within a reasonable amount of time.  In addition to the flowchart, to continue to safeguard the ability of staff to deliver high quality teaching and learning and ensure a safe environment, we shall continue to apply the following procedures:

• Members of staff are available on the school gate both in the mornings and at the end of the school day.  Please be aware that they may be in a position to answer a quick question, but their first priority is the safe arrival and collection of pupils from the school premises.
• To protect lesson preparation time in the mornings, staff will only be able to meet with parents after school and if an appointment has already been made.  If a quick message needs to be passed to staff, then this can continue to be done at the classroom door before 8.55am, or preferably either via a message to the office or a note in your child’s home-school diary.
• All email communication, whether from parents to staff or vice versa, should be sent through our office email address (office@wat.faringdonlearningtrust.org).  This ensures that teaching staff can act on information received in an appropriate manner.  Please note that office hours are between 8.45am and 3.15pm, Monday to Friday and term time only.  All emails will be acknowledged by office staff before being passed to the relevant member of staff to respond to within an appropriate time frame, depending on the nature of the communication.  Parents and carers must be aware that whilst an instantaneous response from the member of staff concerned is not possible, queries and concerns will be in the process of being addressed.
• Telephone conversations between teaching staff and parents should take place outside teaching time and should last no more than 15 minutes.  Should a discussion require further time, a meeting should be organised at a mutually convenient time for parents and the relevant staff member, booked through the school office via telephone on (01793) 782623.

We would like to thank all members of the school community for their continued support for the school and its staff and also to thank parents and carers in advance for continuing to uphold the correct mechanisms for communication with school staff.  These mechanisms continue to be integral to enabling the on-going success of our school, both in allowing staff to focus on teaching and learning and for parents to have clarity on how best to communicate issues and concerns to ensure that they are successfully resolved.