Our Community - Our Future

E-mail Protocols for MHS

At MHS, we welcome interaction with all families and firmly believe that home and school need to work together in order for our students to have the best possible school experience. 

E mail is a convenient means of communication, allowing both parties to write, send, read and respond at a time suitable to them. However, we want to be clear about the way e mails are used in school. A similar set of protocols has been issued to students, a copy of which can be found at the end of this document.

We do not wish to discourage e mail communication but our aim is to be clear about what our community can expect from e mail communication.

MHS Protocols for parent and carer/staff e mails.

  • During term time, receipt of an e mail will be acknowledged within 48 hours. (excluding weekends.) It may be that the staff member needs further time to provide a full answer to an e mail and where this is the case, this will be explained in the acknowledgement, along with an expected timeframe when a full response will be provided.
  • If a member of staff is not able to deal with the email directly then they will pass it on to the most appropriate person and inform the sender that they have done so. 
  • We understand that parents and carers may compose emails at a time convenient to them but please be mindful that staff are not expected to monitor or respond to emails out of their normal working hours (including weekends and school holidays). 
  • Please do not use e mail to ask form tutors to pass on messages to your child that morning as we cannot guarantee that the email will be seen in time. Likewise, a teaching member of staff may not access an e mail about your child in their lesson on that day.
  • Please address your e mail to the intended recipient only and use the cc line if you wish to make others aware. E mailing multiple staff members may lead to confusion regarding from whom a response is required. When using Edulink, please write the names of the staff you are e mailing at the start of the  email as staff are unable to see who else the e mail has been sent to.
  • Rude or aggressive e mails will be referred to senior leaders for action.
  • E mails which are sent to the Safeguarding inbox are monitored more often but still may not be seen outside of normal working hours. For anything urgent out of hours and at weekends or holidays, families should seek help from 999 in an emergency or Out of Hours social care on 0161 718 2118. Other helpful contact numbers are on the Safeguarding section of the Pastoral Hub on the school website.

MHS Protocols for student/staff e mails.

Emails can be a useful way of students communicating with staff outside of the lesson. It is not always possible for students to contact teaching staff at social times as staff may be with a class at that time. Staff should encourage students to be proactive with their own learning and to ask for clarification where necessary and not be afraid to seek help.

Teachers are encouraged to outline their preferred communication methods with each class and explain how can students contact them (email or otherwise) and what they can expect in return.

For example: a teacher may choose to tell a Key Stage 3 class that emails are not to be sent to them and will not be replied to, as all queries can be resolved in class. The same teacher may tell Key Stage 4 students that emails can be sent at specified times about pertinent issues.

All students must be mindful that staff may not always be able to respond to emails. Staff are not expected to reply to students outside of normal working hours including weekends. The following expectations form part of our school protocols regarding appropriate communication between students and staff:

  • Students should avoid sending e mails to staff unless necessary.
  • Students must only use their school e mail addresses to communicate with staff. Personal e mail addresses must not be used and will not be replied to.
  • E mails should be formal, polite and addressed appropriately eg Dear Miss Gregory; have an appropriate title eg Spanish homework this week and be signed off formally eg Thank you for your help, Claire Gregory 7YMCA. Impolite emails will not be replied to.
  • Emails to teaching staff should focus on the work or class only and are not a forum to instigate informal communication with staff.  Nor should e mails be used an excuse not to have to speak to staff face to face.
  • Students will not receive a response to e mails out of working hours.
  • If a student needs an urgent response, e mail is not the appropriate form of communication and the student must make every effort to see the staff member during the school day.
Our Community - Our Future
FIND US
Marple Hall School
Hill Top Drive
Marple
Stockport SK6 6LB Headteacher: Mr Joe Barker
CONTACT US
Tel: 0161 427 7966
Fax: 0161 426 0931
Email: info@marplehall.stockport.sch.uk
Safeguarding: safeguarding@marplehall.stockport.sch.uk