Communications

HOME – SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS

Elmlea Schools’ Newsletter Our weekly newsletter is our most immediate form of communication with our school community. We try not to send lots of emails during the week as families have told us that they don’t always see them. Consequently, important information is shared in our newsletters so please read these when they are sent out every Friday.

Contacting the class teacher All our class teachers have their own email address and these will be shared with you on Seesaw as part of induction for the year. Please email the class teacher if there is something you wish them to know. We find it is better for your child if you contact us with any concerns early on so that we have a chance to deal with any issues as soon as possible. Sometimes parents wait and then the problem becomes even bigger than it would have been had you contacted school when you first had a concern.

E-mail and SMS/Text Messaging Service
Emergency closures and last minute after school teacher-run club cancellations are communicated by SMS/text. All other correspondence is via the school newsletter or by e-mail via Arbor. Please make sure the school office has your up to date contact details.
Please check our website regularly for news, events, policies and useful curriculum links.

Parent – Teacher meetings
Parent/Pupil/Teacher evenings are held during the Autumn and Spring Terms. At the Junior School we encourage children to attend these meetings so that they are fully included in discussing their progress. A school report is sent home in the Summer term to celebrate their achievements.
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s education or welfare, please make an appointment with your child’s teacher.

If you are unable to resolve your issue with the class teacher then please contact the Deputy Head at the school.

If still unresolved following these discussions, then please make an appointment with the Executive Headteacher and follow the complaints procedure as detailed in trust complaints policy – see below

ONLINE PAYMENTS, PERMISSIONS and COMMUNICATION
Elmlea Infant and Junior Schools both use ‘Arbor’, an online payment system. Currently parents will have a separate log in for each school. Parents use it to register for gift-aid, give trip and other permissions and make all payments (excluding Junior School dinner money).

Log in details for new parents will be sent home in the first week in September annually or within a week of a new pupil joining the school.

COMPLAINTS

If you have a concern or complaint
We would like you to tell us about it. We welcome suggestions for improving our work in our schools. Be assured that no matter what you want to tell us, our support and respect for you and your child in school will not be affected in any way. Please tell us of your concern as soon as possible. It is difficult for us to investigate properly an incident or problem that happened some time ago.