Home School Communication

At St Mary’s we take every opportunity to work proactively with our parents / carers to ensure the very best outcomes for every student.

Staff welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with parents/carers and value information that may help to promote a student’s attainment and/or progress.

We value parent / carer input into their child’s education, and also welcome feedback on the work of the school.

We look to actively promote electronic communication but use a variety of methods to communicate accurately and efficiently with each and every parent.

Communication Methods

My School Portal (MSP) is an online portal designed to streamline communications between our school and parent/carers by bringing all information and services together. As a parent/carer, you will have instant and easy access to information about your child, such as school timetables, attendance, achievements, reports, homework tasks on Goggle Classroom and trips information and relevant forms. You can access all information securely online using one username and password, using your desktop, tablet, or mobile device. All student information is on one intuitive dashboard so there are no more multiple logins or passwords for different services, and you only see information that is relevant to your child. For those of you who have more than one child at St Mary’s, you can access information for each of your children from the same dashboard. We are very excited about this new system and are confident that it will significantly streamline and improve communication throughout the school.

Email is used as the main form of communication with parents/carers. Letters, newsletters and general information will be sent via email.

Please ensure that the school has a record of an up to date email address and that the account is checked regularly.

The School website contains key information for all of our community on the work of the school. Parents/carers are requested to check the website regularly as it is updated almost daily and provides a quick reference for general information such as school term dates.

Truancy Call is a system that sends an alert to a parent/carer if a student has not got a mark for morning school and the school is not aware of any reason for absence. The Truancy Call message is sent to a mobile phone and the message will be repeatedly sent until a response is received from the parent/carer.

Parent/Carer Consultation Evenings are organised once each academic year for all year groups. There is an extra evening for Post 16 students and for Year 9 as part of their options choices. These events are a mixture of face to face and online, Parents/carers are asked to meet with staff and discuss student progress. It is also an opportunity to ask questions however, it is not necessary to wait until a parent/carer evening to contact the school – please discuss concerns with a member of staff as early as possible.

Information Evenings are organised at the start of each academic year for the parents/carers of key year groups/key stages. The aim of these evenings is to provide comprehensive information about the year ahead and discuss strategies that parents/carers could use to support their child and the work of the school. A guide to the curriculum for each Key Stage is available on the school website and MSP

Information, advice and Guidance Meetings (IAGs)- are organised for key years groups and involve a 1:1 interview with a students and their parent/carer to link current progress with future career aspirations and next steps. These meetings most commonly occur at Key Stage 4&5.

Reports are sent home to parents/carers three times a year. These will provide data about progress and attitude to learning. Students will receive two interim reports containing data about progress and attitude to learning and one full report. These reports can be accessed through MSP

Telephone contact is regularly used by school staff to provide information to parents/carers and/or to discuss matters of concern or success. Parents/carers can contact the school and ask to speak to a member of staff at any time. Our aim is to ensure that telephone calls are responded to within 24 hours (Please be patient as teaching staff may have days when they teach all day and would not be able to make telephone calls).

Appointments with Staff can be made on request to discuss any aspect of a child’s attainment, progress or personal development. Parents/carers should contact their child’s form tutor in the first instance about general matters or general progress. The subject teacher should be contacted if a parent/carer wishes to discuss a subject specific issue. Parents/carers are asked to raise issues at the earliest opportunity so that they can be addressed as soon as possible.

Emergency Contact can be made with the school during opening hours using the main switchboard number 01992 629124. If a parent/carer needs to get urgent information to their child, this should be done through the school staff who will pass on information. A parent/carer who needs to take a child out of school for emergency reasons during the school day MUST contact the school and organise this with staff to support the safeguarding of all children. Parents/carers are asked NOT to contact students to organise leaving school without first advising and organising this through the School.

Parents/carers should not call their children direct as this will delay the support we can offer to the child and family. If there is an emergency situation in school such as when a child has an accident, staff will contact parent/carers using emergency contact numbers at the very earliest opportunity.

Parents/carers are asked to make sure that emergency contact numbers are regularly reviewed and that the school is advised immediately of any changes to these contact details through My School Portal. It is a requirement that parents/carers provide the school with a reliable emergency contact number.

Special Events are held regularly throughout each academic year. These events will include celebratory presentations evenings, competition, showcases of performing arts, textiles or other student work as well as music, dance and drama productions.