Abbey Gate Prep School Policy for Communications

ABBEY GATE PREP SCHOOL POLICY FOR COMMUNICATIONS

Abbey Gate Prep School

Policy for Communications

This policy relates to all children in the school including those in Early Years Foundation Stage and those receiving ‘Out of School’ care.

Written by Mrs Rhodes-Leader & SLT

Reviewed April 2017

Next review April 2018

POLICY FOR COMMUNICATIONS
At Abbey Gate Prep School every effort is made to ensure that communication between members of the school community – staff, children, parents, Governors, helpers and local residents – is both effective and efficient.
Written communications include:

Yearly diary of events distributed to governors and staff and parents. This is updated regularly.
Individual emails to staff
Reports to parents
Regular Updates to parents
Individual letters to parents
Emails and text messages to parents and governors
Social Media in the form of Twitter and Facebook

Staff Communication
Different types of communication are used to ensure that teaching and non-teaching staff are kept fully informed about the life and work of the school.
Each staff member has their own desk where written communications are left. Such communications include copies of letters sent home with the children. Personal correspondence is hand-delivered by the School Secretary. Notices and information for a specific day is posted on the staffroom notice board. Other communications posted in the staffroom cover union information courses, information, meetings, social events and timetables. Mrs SA. Rhodes-Leader is responsible for updating the staff notice boards.
Staff are asked to post notices in the staffroom for events and activities, which do not necessarily affect children from classes other than theirs, but of which it is important for other staff to be aware of, for example: class visits, social events, games fixtures. Such events might require advance notice.
Written material for the attention of Mrs SA. Rhodes-Leader should be left on the desk in her room.
Written information, notices or memos that affect all or some staff, and require some form of response during the school day, are taken around by a messenger. Staff should initial a form to confirm they have seen the information.
Minutes of meetings are kept on the staff notice board.

Communication with the Children
Class teachers organise their own methods of communicating information to the children. This could be a News Board or notice board. Each class will have its own system for distributing letters and other materials to be sent home with the children.
Messages for a particular child, which are received in the Office during the day, are delivered to the class teacher by the School Secretary.
Personal achievements, birthdays, etc, are celebrated with the whole school at the end of Assembly.
Items of interest to children, certificates or news of successes in any field, are displayed on notice boards in the corridors.
Communication with Parents
Written
Information and news is communicated to parents in letters sent home with children or by email. Regular Updates are sent at least every two weeks. These Updates are of a general nature and sent to all parents, whilst other letters might be specifically for one class or Year Group. Great care is taken to ensure that each Update is of a high standard and presented to project a positive image of Abbey Gate Prep.
There are two parents News Boards. Displays include information, news advertisements, letters, photographs and other items of interest to parents.
A written Report on the progress of each child is sent to parents regularly.
Oral
Parents are welcome to speak to a particular member of staff before school starts or at the end of the day. Parents may make an appointment to see their child’s class teacher, the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher at a mutually convenient time.
Communication with Governors
Contact is maintained with the Governors on a regular basis by telephone, by email, by letter or by personal contact. They are provided Annual Diaries and updates and other important documentation. They are invited to all school functions and presentations. They regularly and minutes of all meetings are printed and distributed.
Governors also spend time in school on a regular basis talking to children, staff and parents.
Communication with the Community
Contact is maintained with the school’s immediate neighbours by leaflets and letters, which keep them informed about school events and activities. Members of the local community are invited to school functions, such as Harvest Festival, productions, and fairs. The children reciprocate on special occasions to sing or deliver gifts.

Contact is maintained with the local churches and school services are held at the Methodist Church or the United Reform Church three times a year.
Communication with Other Schools
Abbey Gate Prep is in regular contact with the staff and children of other Primary schools through personal contact with specific staff, informal groups, sports fixtures and other inter-school events, or through more formal channels such as INSET or ISA network meetings.
Communication and co-operation with local Independent senior schools is of great importance. Visits to these schools to see musical or dramatic productions or to take part in sports events are a regular part of school life, as are visits from senior students to Abbey Gate Prep to work with our children in drama, art, music or sport.
There is interaction with local maintained secondary schools and with Chester University and Edge Hill University through work experience placements for young people and students.
Communication With Outside Agencies
The school maintains contact with the local press. Close ties are sustained with support agencies, including the Educational Psychologist, speech and occupational therapists, the Dyslexia Institute, Step 2 Progress and others.