Communication at Richard Hill

We work really hard at our communication and whilst is something that will never be perfect for everyone, we endeavour to make sure that you have all the information you need in a timely manner. We use four main methods of communication at school; Class Dojo, Parent Pay, Blue Bulletin/Newsletters and Social Media. We have set out below how we use these different methods to ensure you are up to date.

Class Dojo

This is where you will see what your class are doing and where you can message your class teacher. Class teachers will share class specific reminders on this platform too. You can also message Mrs Applebee using this platform however it’s important to note that this is not monitored daily so if you have a more urgent query please contact the school office directly to arrange to speak with Mrs Applebee.

Parent Pay

All your letters and reminders come to you via Parent Pay alongside it being the way you pay for anything in school as we are mostly cashless. Please contact the school office if you are unsure of anything that comes via Parent Pay. Chartwells, our school lunches company, are linked into this and send their own reminders and information. We have no control over this so please contact them directly with any issues you have. We also apologise in advance if then you have school reminders and Chartwell reminders for anything lunch related. This is purely to make sure children do not miss out.

Blue Bulletin/News Letters

This is designed to give parents and carers and insight into school life across the whole school. It will have key diary dates on for the whole school. We will share achievements and whole school news. This will come out monthly. We also have regular Online Safety Newsletters and Mental Health and Wellbeing Newsletters that come to parents. At busy times of year, we will send out a more detailed calendar of school events, dates and timings. We will continue to send out Collective Worship Newsletters this year.

Social Media

We use this to celebrate learning and achievements in school this year. Mrs Mistry, Parent Link and Wellbeing worker will be supervising this form of communication this year so please do contact her if you have anything that you would like sharing publicly. Whilst we have a media consent list which we endeavour to check before posting please contact us if you notice anything online of concern and we will amend it immediately. We also use it to share when school is closed in extreme weather and give links for parents to follow up about a range of areas e.g. holiday sports clubs. We will also share anything that we are promoting such as school events.

Face to Face communication

The school office is open daily from 8.45am – 4pm for all your needs. They will communicate directly with class teachers when anything needs passing on. Class teachers are available at the end of the day to share with however if you have a larger concern please book an appointment to see them as they have commitments after school on many days. They will always endeavour to see you as soon as possible or have a phone/video call conversation with you. If you would like to see a school leader there is Mrs Applebee and Mrs McVeigh at school every day. We will always try and see you as soon as possible.

We feel that it would always be better to have the information twice instead of not at all! If you have any suggestions for improving communication we are always keen to hear ideas so please do send them to the school office email.