Guidelines for Parental Communication with School from September 2022

When should I contact school?

As soon as you have a concern! If in doubt, please contact us; we would far rather you contacted us for reassurance over something that turns out to be minor than spend time worrying about something.

I know class teachers are very busy. Is it ok to contact them?

Yes, it is absolutely fine to contact a class teacher if you need to. We only ask that you respect the fact that most teachers teach around 200 students and cannot, therefore, realistically enter into a detailed dialogue over a prolonged period of time with individual parents. The vast majority of instances where parents need to contact teachers can be dealt with via a quick email exchange, so feel free to do this in the first instance. Please also note that, we do not expect teachers to reply to messages outside working hours.

Can't I just contact the Headteacher if I've got a problem?

Yes, you are always welcome to contact the Headteacher if you feel you need to (by emailing the Headteacher's PA, via Head@phs.cheshire.sch.uk or calling (01625 871811). At the same time, parents will appreciate that in many circumstances it may be more appropriate for another member of staff who has a more detailed knowledge of the issue to respond in the first instance.

How quickly can I expect a response to my queries?

Ordinarily, you can expect a response dependent on the enquiry within 2 working days.

How do I know who is the best person to contact?

The table below is intended to help parents with information about who to contact in certain, common scenarios. If you are unsure about who to contact, we recommend you call the main school reception on 01625 871811, where our staff will be able to point you in the right direction.

Is there anything else I should bear in mind?

The only other thing we would say is that we understand that sometimes parents or carers may be frustrated about issues that arise, and we will always do our best to solve these. Equally, we would much prefer parents or carers to contact us directly with concerns rather than raise them on social media before we have had the chance to respond.

 At the same time, please understand our staff are trying to resolve your concern and therefore any communication that is sent should not be rude, abusive or aggressive. We do not expect staff to respond to inappropriate communication.

Reference Table