Communications with Parents and Carers Policy

Policy details

Date created - March 2025

Date reviewed - March 2025

Date approved -

Next review date - Spring 2028

Policy owner - Operations Manager, Ruth Brice

Introduction and aims

We believe that clear, open communication between the academy and parents/carers has a positive impact on students’ learning because it:

• Gives parents/carers the information they need to support their child’s education
• Helps the school improve, through feedback and consultation with parents/carers
• Builds trust between home and school, which helps the school better support each child’s educational and pastoral needs

The aim of this policy is to promote clear and open communication by:

• Explaining how the school communicates with parents/carers
• Setting clear standards and expectations for responding to communication from parents/carers
• Helping parents/carers reach the member of school staff who is best placed to address their specific query or concern, so they can get a response as quickly as possible

In the following sections, we will use ‘parents’ to refer to both parents and carers.

How we communicate with parents and carers

SMS for urgent messages

We send SMS messages only for very serious and urgent (time critical) messages.

Examples include: when the academy is closed because of extreme weather, or when your child has no attendance mark and we are asking you to confirm their absence.

Arbor

The Academy uses Arbor as our main method of communication with parents and carers. This allows parents and carers to find ‘everything in one place’.

We ask that parents and carers register on the Arbor Parent Portal (web-based) and then download and sign into the Arbor app to enable push notifications. This will help you stay up-to-date with important school information.

We will message parents via the Arbor App/Parent Portal regarding:

• Messages about class activities or from your child’s teachers
• Links to new parent bulletins and end of term letters on the academy website
• Upcoming school events (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 students to bring in special items or materials).
• Scheduled school closures (for example staff training days)
• School surveys or consultations
• Short-notice changes to the school day
• Information about trips and visits
• Academic progress reports
• Requests for feedback from parents and carers e.g. through our annual parent voice survey

From the Arbor App/Parent Portal parents and carers can also:

• Log a student absence
• View your child's timetable
• Update your contact information
• View your child's attendance
• View your child's rewards and behaviour data
• Top up your child's lunch account
• Consent for your child to take part in school trips and educational visits
• Book appointments for Progress Evenings. Arbor calls this "Guardian Consultations"

Help guides and troubleshooting information is available at https://www.manchester.coopacademies.co.uk/parent-apps 

Email and printed letters home

The academy will not normally post letters home, or ask a student to take home a printed letter.

The academy may occasionally send emails to parents when it is not possible to send the same content via the Arbor App/Parent Portal. For example, we may send a personalised attachment regarding your child.

Where we send communications in these formats, we will also alert you via the Arbor App/Parent Portal that we have sent something to you this way.

Website and social media

Key, general information about the academy is posted on our website at manchester.coopacademies.co.uk including:

• School times, term dates and holidays
• Important events and announcements
• Curriculum / homework information
• Important policies and procedures
• Important contact information
• Information about before and after-school provision

The website contains a ‘Latest Updates’ section including letters home. Here we will post copies of non-confidential, general letters including our regular parent and carer bulletins and end of term letters.

All website content can be instantly translated using the globe icon.  

Parents are asked to check the website before contacting the school.

The academy also uses social media to offer reminders to parents and carers and to celebrate the successes of our community.

Updates on the progress of an individual child

• The Arbor Parent Portal app/website provides data, updated daily, on your child’s positive rewards, behaviour logs and attendance.
• Parents of Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 students receive two progress reports over the year about their child’s learning.
• Parents of Years 10 students receive three progress reports over the year about their child’s learning.
• Once per year, parents are invited to an in-person Progress Evening where they can speak to their child’s teachers about the progress they are making in each subject.

Induction

For new families joining the academy in Year 7, we offer:

• A welcome email, sent soon after the National Offer Day, including key messages about the induction programme and inviting parents to complete our admissions form. The admissions form will ask parents for consent for photography and biometrics as well as asking parents to agree to our Home-Academy Agreement and Attendance Contract
• A Parents Information Evening, where we share key information and offer a chance to meet the team
• Induction Days for new students
• A Uniform Collection Day

How parents and carers can communicate with the school

Parents should use the list in appendix 1 to identify the most appropriate person to contact about a query or issue, including the school office number and email address.

Contacting the academy by phone, Arbor or email

For non-urgent issues, parents can contact the reception team by phone (0161 795 3005), email (manc-enquiries@coopacademies.co.uk) or via Arbor.

The reception team will assist with the query, or pass the message on to the appropriate member of staff.

In many cases, the Year Group Team will be best placed to help parents. We advise parents to contact reception, who will log parental queries on a tracking system for the Year Group Teams to see.

It is also possible to email your child’s Year Group Team directly - names and contact details are published at manchester.coopacademies.co.uk/key-information under ‘How do I get in touch with my child's Head of Year?‘

Staff are asked to respond to non-urgent queries within three working days. If a query or concern is urgent, it will be dealt with as soon as possible.

Urgent issues might include things like:

• Family emergencies
• Safeguarding or welfare issues

Meetings

If parents would like to schedule a meeting with a member of staff, they should contact the school to book an appointment.

We try to schedule all meetings within three working days of the request.

Typically, members of the relevant Year Group Team will be best placed to meet parents to discuss the majority of queries.

Monitoring and review

The Principal monitors the implementation of this policy and will review the policy every two years.

The policy will be approved by the Academy Governing Council

Appendix 1:
Academy contact list

Parents can use the school’s contact details - phone (0161 795 3005), email (manc-enquiries@coopacademies.co.uk) or via Arbor to address queries to anyone below.

Appendix 2: Home-academy Agreement

The academy will:

• care for each student’s wellbeing, safety, happiness and recognise achievement;
• adopt a firm but fair and consistent approach to discipline;
• provide high quality teaching in a high quality learning environment;
• encourage and foster a sense of individual self-respect for each student
• report students’ progress to parents/carers regularly in writing
• contact parents/carers if there are concerns about attendance, punctuality, behaviour or progress;
• respond sensitively and promptly to any concern or complaint raised by any student or parent/carer;
• listen to, and value, parental and student contributions.

Parents/carers will:

• support the academy values and behaviours;
• ensure that their child attends the academy on time, with a minimum of 97% attendance;
• inform the academy on the first day in the event of any absence;
• support the academy policy of holidays not being taken in term time;
• ensure that their child will complete all work set by the academy;
• ensure their child adheres to all policies of the academy;
• attend meetings concerning the education and wellbeing of their child;
• inform the academy if they have any concerns regarding their child so that support for the student can be agreed.

It is your responsibility as a parent/carer to inform us by email or telephone, any changes of address or telephone numbers.  This would not only be for yourself but for any other names on your child’s contact list.

Students will:

• work to the academy’s high expectations of our values and behaviours;
• adopt an attitude of hard-work, self-discipline and organisation in every lesson;
• be properly equipped for every lesson;
• meet work deadlines set by your teacher;
• attend regularly and on time and be punctual to all lessons;
• follow the academy’s policy on uniform and appearance;
• respect all property, keeping the academy free from litter, graffiti and chewing gum.

• Parents and carers are also asked to agree to the ‘Acceptable Use Agreement’ - this can be found as Appendix 1 of our Online Safety Policy - see manchester.coopacademies.co.uk/policies for full details.

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Appendix 3: Behaviour that will not be tolerated from parents or carers:

• Disrupting, or threatening to disrupt, school operations (including events on the academy grounds and sports team matches)
• Swearing, or using offensive language
• Displaying a temper, or shouting at members of staff, students or other parents
• Threatening another member of the academy community
• Sending abusive messages to another member of the school community, including via text, email or social media
• Posting defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments about the school, its staff or any member of its community, on social media platforms
• Use of physical punishment against your child while on school premises
• Any aggressive behaviour (including verbally or in writing) towards another child or adult
• Disciplining another person’s child – please bring any behaviour incidents to a member of staff’s attention
• Smoking or drinking alcohol on the school premises (unless alcohol has been allowed at a specific event)
• Possessing or taking drugs (including legal highs)
• Bringing dogs onto the school premises (other than guide dogs)

If the academy suspects, or becomes aware, that a parent has displayed any of these behaviours, the academy will gather information from those involved and speak to the parent about the incident.

Depending on the nature of the incident, the academy may then:

• Send a warning letter to the parent
• Invite the parent into academy to meet with a senior member of staff or the Principal
• Contact the appropriate authorities (in cases of criminal behaviour)
• Seek advice from the trust’s legal team regarding further action (in cases of conduct that may be libellous or slanderous)
• Ban the parent from the academy site

The school will always respond to an incident in a proportional way. The final decision for how to respond to breaches of the code of conduct rests with the Principal.

The Principal will consult the chair of the Academy Community Council before banning a parent from the school site.