Communication 

The sections below explain how we keep families up-to-date with their child’s education and what is happening in school via the Arbor app. 
 
Parents should monitor all of the following regularly to make sure they do not miss important communications or announcements that may affect their child.
 
It is also acknowledged that there are some families who do not have electronic means of communication and arrangements are made accordingly.

Email

We use email to keep parents informed about the following things:

•   Upcoming school events
•   Scheduled school closures (for example, for staff training days)
•   School surveys or consultations
•   Class activities or teacher requests
•   Letters about trips and visits
•   Consent forms

Text messages

We will text parents about:

•  Short-notice changes to the school day
•  Emergency school closures (for instance, due to bad weather)
•  Head bumps

School calendar

Our newsletter includes a full school calendar for the term.  The calendar on the website shows the full school calendar for the whole year, although some dates may be subject to change (these will be identified with a *)
Where possible, we try to give parents at least 2 weeks’ notice of any events or special occasions (including non-uniform days, special assemblies or visitors, or requests for pupils to bring in special items or materials).
Any such event will be included in the school calendar.

Phone calls

We will use the telephone if we need an immediate response or discussion with you.  This may include illness or accident, medication or severe behavioural or emotional concerns. 

Teachers may also call parents if they have been unable to pass on a message of congratulations for the child’s achievement or effort in person. 

 Letters

We aim to use as little paper as possible, as part of our drive for sustainability.  Therefore we will only send paper copies of information if requested. We may also send paper copies of letters that require a written response or preference.  

Reports

Parents receive reports from the school about their child’s learning, including:

• An end-of-year report covering their achievement in each part of the curriculum, how well they are progressing, and their attendance
•  A mid-year report
•  A report on Key Stage (KS) 1 and KS2 SATs tests

Meetings with parents

We also arrange regular meetings where parents can speak to their child’s teacher(s) about their achievement and progress . We hold parents’ evenings in the autumn and the spring terms. During these meetings, parents can talk with teachers about their child’s achievement and progress, the curriculum or schemes of work, their child’s wellbeing, or any other area of concern.
 
The autumn meeting is primarily to discuss how your child has settled in to their new class both socially and academically, and setting appropriate learning goals for the year.  The spring meeting is to discuss how your child is getting on towards their targets based on both teacher and standardised assessments.  These meetings give an opportunity to celebrate your child’s successes and to suggest ways to support them in areas where there is a particular need for improvement.
 
The school may also contact parents to arrange meetings between parents’ evenings if there are concerns about a child’s achievement, progress, or wellbeing.
 
When children have special educational needs, or if they are making less than the expected progress, we find it helpful to meet with parents more regularly. We will also make any reasonable adjustments to our arrangements if this will enable a parent with a disability to participate fully in a meeting at our school, or to receive and understand a communication. 

Arbor Parent App – Apps on Google PlayArbor Parent App on the App Store (apple.com)Parents code of conduct Jan 23 to be reviewed Jan 25Communication Policy April 22 to be reviewed April 26