School communication

Schools are now fairly sophisticated in how they communicate with the parents of the children in their school community.

In many schools, gone are the days when parents needed to hope their child managed to bring home the weekly or monthly newsletter. Most schools now have websites on which they load their newsletters, regular communications and calendars of events.

Some teachers now will email parents with information or notes which need to be signed.

The best way to start for parents is to find out how information is disseminated at their school.

Sharryn Brownlee, publicity officer of NSW's Federation of Parents and Citizens (P&C) Associations, says a quality school will provide:

• regular newsletters
• access to an annual report
• orientation packs or guides for new parents
• a P&C guide or pack
• an up-to-date website
• a principal accessible by appointment.

"There are so many ways now that schools communicate with parents," says Sharryn. "It's up to parents to do their research and engage with all the school has to offer."

Of course, the paper trail at most schools hasn't stopped completely so it remains important for parents to have a good rummage through their kids' school bags each day - if only to find that party invitation or notification of upcoming project.

Other methods of communications

These include:

• class orientation nights at the start of the year
• parent-teacher interviews
• informal gatherings and school welcome nights
• class contact lists
• the appointment of parent representatives
• parent-only social functions

Sharryn recommends that parents take the opportunities usually offered at the start of the school year to meet their child's teacher.

Many schools have class welcome nights for parents to see their child's classroom and hear about what is planned for the semester or year. These are usually group affairs, and not one-on-one meetings, but give parents the chance to meet the teacher and other class parents.

A lot of classes also appoint a parent representative whose job is to communicate class activities and events with parents. These parents will try to get the email addresses and mobile phone numbers of all the parents, so make sure if your child brings a note home asking for your contact details, you fill it in.

These lists can be lifesavers when you're trying to find out if there's a special dress-up day or class event coming up, or if you lose a party invitation or even want to arrange a play date.

Structured contact with your child's teacher is built into the curriculum via parent-teacher interviews. At most schools these happen once a year and enable parents to find out how their child is doing, see examples of their work and discuss any issues. Some schools now include the children in these meetings.

Parents' tip:

Laminate your class contact list and stick up on the pantry door as soon as you get it - you'll be referring to this for the next six years. If your class doesn't have one, initiate it yourself by getting the teacher to distribute notes for the kids to get their parents to fill in, or an email address for them to send their details.

Browse the more back to school stories

• School Supplies
• Lunchbox Nutrition
• Tips and advice for Parents
• Get organised!
• Dealing with school difficulties
• Tools for school and learning

This story was written by Fiona Baker for Kidspot, Australia’s leading Back To School resource, from sources including Early Life Foundations , Australian Government Department of Education , The Federation of Parents and Citizens’ Associations of NSW , NSW Public Schools , Vic Department of Education and early Childhood Development , WA Department of Education , Tas Department of Education , Qld Department of Education, Training and the Arts , SA Department of Education and Children’s Services and ACT Education and Training and NT Department of Education and Training .

Comment below: