Working Together: Positive Communication with Parents and Carers

At St Mary's, we believe that children thrive when home and school work closely together. A strong partnership with parents and carers helps us to create the very best opportunities for your child, and we greatly value your support.

If you ever have a concern, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We encourage you to arrange a meeting with your child’s class teacher, the Deputy Headteacher or the Headteacher. While teachers are happy to say a quick hello at the start or end of the day, this is not the best time for longer conversations, as their priority is looking after the children. A planned appointment allows us to give you our full attention.

Although email can be useful for short, practical messages, it isn’t the best way to discuss more detailed concerns. If you do email us, we will usually invite you to meet in person. Face-to-face conversations allow us to listen properly, respond with empathy, and work together in a positive way.

In the interests of everyone’s privacy and according to our policies, conversations with staff must not be recorded. We also kindly remind families that WhatsApp groups and social media should not be used to discuss school matters, as they can sometimes cause misunderstanding or upset. Please always use these platforms with kindness and respect.

We promise to respond to all written communication from parents and carers within 10 school days.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us to build a happy, respectful and caring school community.