Parent, Staff and Student Communication Policy

DOCUMENT CONTROL

Table of Contents

1. Rationale
2. Appropriateness of Communication Channels
3. Channels of Communication
4. School Contact Details
5. Time Frame of Email Communication
6. Routine Weekly Communication
7. Links to Other Policies That Involve Communication

1.0 Rationale

1.1 Communication among all members of the school community — staff, parents, and students — and communication with others outside the AFS community should be:

1.1.1 Clear

1.1.1.1 Keep in mind that English may not be the first language of the recipient.

1.1.1.2 AFS is a bilingual school: the Arabic language may be used where appropriate — for example, communication between an Arabic teacher and an Arabic-speaking parent. Please provide an English translation to line management.

1.1.2 Timely

1.1.2.1 Written communication from parents, such as emails, should receive a reply within 48 hours during the working week (Sunday – Thursday) at most.

1.1.2.2 If more time is needed — for example, to gather information — then an acknowledgment should be sent in the first instance.

1.1.2.3 Emails to individual parents may be sent at any time. Staff will respond within 48 hours during the working week to all parent emails.

1.1.2.4 Group/class/grade-level emails will only be sent at scheduled times aligned to the Sunday – Thursday school week. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: confirm AFS's scheduled send windows — the source school used three fixed evening send times (18:00) per week, which have not been asserted for AFS]

1.1.2.5 Outside of these times, group emails will only be sent in an emergency.

1.1.3 Consistent

1.1.3.1 If in doubt about how to reply to a communication, check with your line manager before communicating.

1.1.4 Respectful

1.1.4.1 The entitlement to common courtesy is both universal and unconditional, regardless of how strongly we might feel about an issue. Being right is not a license to be impolite.

1.1.4.2 If we receive a communication that is not worded respectfully, we should not let its tone influence the nature of our reply. As a rule, do not reply immediately to such a communication — take time to think it over, seeking advice as necessary.

1.1.4.3 When emailing parents, please use the correct salutation, including the honorific — e.g., Your Royal Highness, Your Excellency, Shaikh, Mr, Mrs, Dr, Prof., etc., as appropriate.

1.1.5 Effective

1.1.5.1 The wording and voice should fit the purpose of the communication.

1.1.6 Confidential

1.1.6.1 Confidentiality will be assumed in all emails and correspondence. Staff will only share communication if it is paramount in resolving an issue. Respectively, parents must not share emails from the school which were intended for a sole recipient.

2.0 Appropriateness of Communication Channels

2.1 The official channels of communication used by the school are listed in section 3.

2.2 Social media platforms are used officially by the school to good effect. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: AFS's official social-media accounts — the school website currently shows placeholder links] Individual staff members may be active on social media in their private capacities, and there will inevitably be overlap with our professional lives. Provided these simple guidelines are followed, no difficulty should arise.

2.2.1 Staff members' private social-media feeds must be checked frequently by their owners to ensure privacy settings are suitably configured and unsuitable material is not on display — students and parents may come across such feeds and, in their eyes, staff members are always associated with the school.

2.2.2 Parent app/forum: the school may provide a dedicated, safe communication forum for parents to ask questions, meet other parents, and organize activities. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: AFS parent-communication app/channel — the source school used a proprietary parents' app, which has not been carried over]

2.2.3 WhatsApp. The school operates an official WhatsApp line, +973 3364 1011, which is a supported channel for school ↔ parent communication (for example, quick queries to the school office). Messages to this line must be handled only by staff authorized to operate it, during working hours. However, staff must NOT use personal WhatsApp accounts to communicate with students or parents: all staff-to-parent messaging goes through official school channels. WhatsApp is also not encouraged as a means of group communication among parents, as information disseminated that way can lack objectivity and is often unverified. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: confirm channel policy — the source policy barred WhatsApp for staff–parent contact entirely; this has been reconciled with AFS's publicly advertised official WhatsApp line. Confirm who staffs the official line, its hours, and its scope of use.]

2.2.4 Staff personal mobile numbers should not be used to communicate with parents, except in an emergency when there is absolutely no alternative. Staff personal mobile numbers should not be shared with students. For school trips and off-site activities, a school mobile phone should be carried by the staff member in charge of the activity, and used to contact parents should the need arise. A school-managed parent-communication group may be established for every school trip to aid communication with parents. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: which channel AFS uses for trip communication groups]

3.0 Channels of Communication

3.1 AFS uses various channels depending upon the nature of the communication. Staff email addresses are shared with parents at the beginning of each academic year. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: how staff email addresses are published to parents]

4.0 School Contact Details

4.1 Parents should use email as the normal form of communication with the school. This means that there is a written record of correspondence and allows the school time to find out the information required for a response. Students, as young children, communicate with their teachers in person or through the school's supervised learning platform (see section 3). Meeting requests must be made via email or, in the case of planned parent-teacher conferences, via the school's booking system. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: AFS booking system]

5.0 Time Frame of Email Communication

5.1 Emails may be sent to school email addresses between 07:00 and 19:00 on working days (Sunday – Thursday). [NEEDS AFS INPUT: confirm these hours — carried over from the source policy] Emails sent outside this time frame will be read on the next working day.

6.0 Routine Weekly Communication

6.1 Al Fajer Private School is committed to maintaining proactive communication with the entire AFS community. Through regular communication we can build school spirit and ensure that every child is benefiting from the education provided by the school.

6.2 Whole-school communication.

6.2.1 The school works hard to ensure that all parents are fully informed about the successes, developments, and challenges associated with the school. A weekly schedule is published so that parents know when to expect communications:

6.2.1.1 One scheduled evening per week — any letters or communications that need to be sent;

6.2.1.2 One scheduled evening per week — a weekly newsletter which celebrates the achievements of the week, provides inspiration, and lists upcoming events, including a link to the school calendar.

6.2.2 [NEEDS AFS INPUT: confirm AFS's weekly communication days/times and newsletter format — the source school used two fixed weekday-evening slots (18:00) and proprietary newsletter tools, which have not been carried over]

6.3 Should any parent have any questions, please contact your child's homeroom teacher, who will happily answer any queries you may have. Alternatively, parents may email the school at contact@afs.edu.bh. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: whether AFS maintains a dedicated general-questions email address]

6.4 If a parent has a concern which relates to the safety of a child, please contact the school's designated safeguarding lead, and one of the trained safeguarding staff will respond appropriately. [NEEDS AFS INPUT: AFS safeguarding contact — name, email address, and phone line; a monitored safeguarding channel must be published before this policy is used]

6.5 Teacher / grade-level communications. All individual parent communications will be acknowledged or answered within 48 hours during the working week. Individual issues will be resolved by teachers and pastoral staff throughout the week. Class or grade-level communications will be sent in the scheduled weekly windows (see 1.1.2.4), whenever possible.

7.0 Links to Other Policies That Involve Communication

7.1 Parent Complaints Policy

7.2 Assessment, Feedback & Reporting Policy

7.3 Staff Code of Conduct Policy

7.4 Attendance & Punctuality Policy

7.5 School Trips, Excursions & Residential Policy