Home-School Contact

Contacting the School

It is very important to us that we work closely in partnership with parents and carers, and communication between home and school is key. We recognise however that it can often be difficult communicating with teachers due to their very full timetable; and we recognise that parents and carers also have very busy lives.

Student Planner

Communication via email or student planner are the preferred methods:

• Notes in student planners are by far the best way to get a message to a teacher promptly and should be used for the majority of everyday communication;
• The student is responsible for showing the note to the correct teacher. This is the best way to ask them to contact you if you require a more detailed conversation.

Teachers want to respond to parental queries at the earliest opportunity and will do their best to do so, however, the majority of teachers’ time prioritised for teaching and preparing for lessons. Teachers’ responsibilities extend beyond the classroom, and they may be unable to respond to you on the day a query is made. We have also agreed with staff that there is no expectation to respond to queries during their personal/family time. Staff are not expected to look at emails after 5.30pm on a weekday or at the weekend.

Telephone

Please use the main reception number to leave a message for a teacher to contact you:

• Reception staff will relay messages to teachers as soon as possible.
• If a call is urgent, please inform the receptionist who will attempt to find a senior member of staff to speak to you.
• We will try to respond to you within three working days, if not the same day.
• Please note lessons will never be interrupted for teachers to take calls.

Email

Please use the faculty email addresses if you need to contact staff directly, this is provided on the weekly newsletter and available to view and download here: 

• Teachers are not in a position to check emails consistently throughout the day and the school does not expect work email to be checked during a teacher’s personal time.
• We aim to respond to you as soon as possible and within three working days. Part-time staff may take longer to reply.
• The issues raised in the email should be addressed within 5 school days. If they necessitate further investigation beyond this time then you will be informed.

Communication Protocol

The information below can be found in Appendix A of the CSGS Communication Policy which can be found in full here: School Policies - Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar School

To maintain good communications with our school community we have the Communication Protocol below which outlines some key principles. Parents who wish to contact the school can expect a term time response during the working week, as displayed in the table below. Please note that we have agreed with staff that there is no expectation to respond to queries during their personal/family time. Staff are not expected to look at emails after 5.00pm on a week day or at the weekend. You may receive an acknowledgement after 5.00pm or at the weekend but not a detailed response.