Dear Parents
As a parent with school age children myself I know how important it is that you have access to clear and consistent information to enable you to plan your busy schedules around the needs of your children.
This letter is an attempt to set out clearly how we will use the various different platforms available to us, so that you know how and where to find the information you need.
The School Calendar
You now receive a pocket-sized hardcopy version of this at the end of the preceding term. We attempt to get as much detail in here as possible regarding parental events, sports fixtures and educational visits. This is also available in an electronic format via My School Portal, so you can click and create personal diary items on your own online diary.
The Courier
This is a crucial part of the system. The Courier is delivered electronically to your inbox every Friday. It includes reports and articles on ongoing events in school and will inform you of any changes or additions to the calendar. There is a link at the end of the Courier to the Weekly Calendar that lists all events planned for the upcoming week, including sports and clubs and highlights any late changes to details.
My School Portal
Through My School Portal you will have secure, 24-hour access to personalised data about your child/children across the Foundation schools via one user name and password.
From one intuitive, simple to use dashboard, you can access official communications, reports, sports fixtures and team sheets, attendance records, the school calendar, teacher contact information, and a wide range of school information and documentation. You will also be able to book events and parents evening appointments, receive instant web notifications and contact the school using the relevant contact forms within the portal, all from your smartphone, tablet or desktop device. Additionally, we will be adding new features and functionality over time to further improve your experience as parents. Importantly, moving all personal data to a restricted user-only portal ensures that only the right people see the right information.
Email by ISAMS
Occasionally it is necessary to inform you of late changes to arrangements. For example, fixtures might need to be cancelled due to poor weather. In this instance you will receive a message via ISAMS, the school management system. This will appear in your email inbox.
We will also use this means of communication if it is a personal message for you, often from a form teacher, or possibly one that is specific to a form or year group.
Texts
We also have the option to send you urgent or time sensitive communications by text.
These are only used when urgent communication is required, such as a late return from a fixture or outing. We would normally use email when there is sufficient time and back this up with a text.
SOCS (School Online Communication System)
SOCS is a communication package that we will be introducing this term to communicate with you regarding co-curricular activities and sports fixtures.
Co-curricular clubs - you will be able to select and sign up for your chosen clubs each term and you will also be notified of your child’s acceptance.
Sports fixtures - you will now receive all information regarding team selection, fixture time, date and location (including a link to Google Maps directions) though SOCS. In due course, on the SOCS website, you will also be able to view scores, match reports and upcoming fixture details.
Evolve
Evolve is another package we will use that relates directly to school trips, fixtures, educational workshops and residential visits. You will be able to access information relating to the event as well as giving parental consent and agreement to payment arrangements where appropriate.
Social Media
The school also runs a Facebook and Twitter account. These accounts are used primarily to publicise upcoming events and to give quick fire reports and updates on special events in school or on trips. We might put in some general pictures of the events to give a taste of what is happening as well as short informative reports to keep you up to date.
These types of platform do not lend themselves well to viewing large numbers of pictures of the children. For some events, such as residential visits, we like to make available pictures of the children taking part to parents and for these we would use our Flickr account. If we are planning to upload pictures of events that involve your children onto Flickr you will receive an email from the school that contains the link to the relevant pictures. It is not possible to access our Flickr account without this personalised link.
Website
The school website is the place to look for general information relating to the school such as mission statements, school ethos, inspection reports, policy statements, term dates and links to the other schools of the Foundation.
When you put it all in one letter, you realise just how varied our communications options are. Hopefully, this letter will clarify how and when each of them will be used this year but we are always looking to improve and refine this aspect of the running of the school as time goes by. If you have any queries in the meantime or would like more guidance on using the new systems I, or one of the front office staff, will be more than happy to help.
With all best wishes
Joe Thackway
Headmaster
