Communicating with Eastwick
How to contact school staff to raise a query
School life is very busy, and we are not always able to reply to queries by email straight away, but we aim to respond within 2 working days. Where possible we therefore encourage you speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance.
If a meeting is required, these are by appointment only and normally require at least 2 working days’ notice. Please contact the school office (info@eastwick.thpt.org.uk) to request an appointment with the relevant member of staff, using ‘FAO Mr Jones’ in the email title.
When to raise a query with school staff
In the interest of supporting staff wellbeing, we encourage our staff to only read and respond to emails during their typical working hours. To help support this, we request that parents only send emails during working days of 7.30am to 5.30pm. The impact of receiving a work-related email of any nature has a knock-on effect on our staffs’ ability to manage and maintain a healthy work-life balance, which impacts on our core purpose to bring out the best for our pupils on a daily basis. We therefore request that if you are writing an email during the evening, you save your draft and send it the following morning after 7.30am or make use of the delayed/scheduled delivery function available in most email platforms.
How to raise and resolve a concern
The above will also apply if you are concerned by something which has happened at school and want to contact us to get the problem sorted out: please write your email, or leave a telephone message, in a calm, objective tone, as it is important that staff do not receive any overly personal, accusatory or aggressive messages. We are always willing to listen to any concerns and do our best to resolve issues and we understand that your child’s welfare can be a highly emotional subject, but it is important that we work together in a measured way to ensure the best outcomes for all concerned.
How to raise a formal complaint
In most cases, a concern becomes a complaint when a matter has been raised and addressed by a relevant member of school staff whereby parents/carers are dissatisfied with the response. The distinction between a concern and complaint is important as complaints follow a different process which is detailed within the complaints policy published on the website.
How to gain information about life at Eastwick Schools
We ask that parents use our website in the first instance or refer to weekly Newsflash for upcoming dates, or information about clubs etc., before phoning our office staff to answer this type of query. There is a search button on the top right-hand side of the front page of the website to help you.
How to provide feedback to the school
Your feedback is important to us. Our staff love getting positive feedback from our school community. Lots of you are very generous and do tell us when we have done something special. If anyone has done something which made a difference or you particularly appreciated, please let us know by email so we can reflect and build on what we do well and what matters to you most.
Who should I contact when I have a query or concern?
To enable your query/concern to be responded to in the most effective way please see the contact directory below (staff list available at https://eastwickschools.uk/Staff/) :
Designated Safeguarding Lead: First point of contact when concerned that a child is experiencing or is at risk of harm
Office team: First point of contact for any administrative queries, or to have email directed to a specific member of staff
Teachers: First point of contact for all education and pastoral matters
Year group leads: Point of contact for year group related matters through dedicated inbox. E.g. yearX@eastwick.thpt.org.uk
Vice Principal of Infants: Main point of contact for escalated education and pastoral matters relating to Infant school pupils
Vice Principal of Juniors: Main point of contact for escalated education and pastoral matters relating to Junior school pupils
Specialist Phase Lead: Main point of contact for escalated education and pastoral matters relating to centre-based pupils and those accessing alternative provision
Principal: Point of contact for any unresolved matters