At Northgate, we understand the benefit that effective communication can have on pupils’ educational attainment and pastoral care. Clear and open communication can build trust between home and school, and fosters good relationships between all elements of the school community.
At Northgate, we aim to:
- ensure that parents/carers and staff have the information they need to fulfil their roles and to support each pupil and meet their educational and pastoral needs
- ensure that all stakeholders know the methods of communication that are to be used in different circumstances
- ensure that communication between the school and parents/carers is respectful and conducted in a reasonable way
- respond to communications from the school (such as requests for meetings) in a professional and timely manner. A same day response may well not be possible and should not be expected
- ensure that staff wellbeing is protected by sustaining positive relationships with parents/carers through realistic, practical and manageable communication and reducing workload caused by unnecessary, ineffective communication
Communication from the school
At our school, we value face to face communication and ensure that class teachers are available after school and also that school leaders are present on the gates before school most days. In addition, we also have a schedule of information evenings, workshops, work sharing, and parent/carer consultation days. The dates of all planned events are shared with parents in advance via the school website, letters home and flyers.
We also operate a range of other communication strategies to ensure clear, open dialogue between parents and school. Information about forthcoming events, newsletters, educational visits, and the school newsletter diary dates are sent home electronically. Newsletters are posted onto the school website.
Communication from parents/carers to the school
In order to ensure that you query is dealt with as quickly as possible it is important that your query is sent to the appropriate person.
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I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT… |
WHO YOU NEED TO TALK TO |
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Attendance and absence requests |
If you need to report your child’s absence, call: ring 01279 652376 and leave a message on Option 1. Or email on absence@northgate.herts.sch.uk |
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Planned absence |
Complete the absence form (link) and email absence@northgate.herts.sch.uk |
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Information about school pick up |
Ring the school office who will pass on the message 01279 652376 |
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Urgent information relating to your child |
Ring the school office who will pass on the message 01279 652376 |
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My child’s learning/class activities/lessons/homework |
Speak to the teacher at the end of the day, ring the school office to make an appointment to speak to the teacher, or email them directly. |
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My child’s wellbeing/pastoral support |
Speak to the teacher at the end of the day, ring the school office to make an appointment to speak to the teacher or the pastoral leader or email them directly. |
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Bullying and behaviour |
Speak to the teacher at the end of the day, ring the school office to make an appointment to speak to the teacher, or email them directly. If you have already spoken to the class teacher, contact the school office to speak to a senior leader. |
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Special educational needs (SEN) |
Speak to the teacher at the end of the day, ring the school office to make an appointment to speak to the teacher or senco, or email them directly. |
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Payments |
Ring the school office to speak to the finance officer on 01279 652376 or email on finance@northgate.herts.sch.uk |
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School trips |
Ring the school office on 01279 652376 or email on admin@northgate.herts.sch.uk |
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Uniform/lost and found |
Ring the school office on 01279 652376 |
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School events/the school calendar |
Ring the school office on 01279 652376 |
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Before and after-school clubs |
Ring the school office on 01279 652376 |
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Hiring the school premises |
Ring the school office to speak to the finance officer on 01279 652376 or email on finance@northgate.herts.sch.uk |
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PTA |
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Governing board |
Email the clerk@northgate.herts.sch.uk |
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Catering/meals |
Ring the school office on 01279 652376 |
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Complaints |
lease follow the procedure set out in our complaints policy. |
It would be very much appreciated if parents could raise any issues they may have with one person in the first instance as raising an issue with multiple staff members slows down the process of the issue being dealt with.
Emails
Staff can also be contacted by email but we ask that you are mindful of staff workload, as such we operate an email window between 8.00-4.30pm, Monday to Friday in term time. Please be aware that staff are not expected to monitor or respond to emails outside of their normal working hours (including weekends and published school holidays). Our school’s policy is to respond to all emails, where possible, within three working days, part-time staff may take longer to reply due to the nature of their work schedule.
Inappropriate communication
Communication which has an aggressive tone, sets unreasonable demands or could otherwise be interpreted as harassing, or if the communication exchange is not moving forward constructively, the school to contact you to ask you modify your approach. Regrettably, if this persists, the school will be unable to help you further with your query and where appropriate in line with our parent code of conduct or aggressive parents’ policy.
Staffing is a finite resource and therefore the school needs to strike a clear balance in order to ensure the progress made by pupils is maximised, and that the most effective means of communication is utilised. Whilst communication between home and school is essential to a child’s development, it must be proportionate and focus on the child’s progress at school.
Finally, the school reserves the right to block emails or not to respond via email communication if there is evidence of regular inappropriate emails which is deemed to be harassment, malicious or vindictive.