dreamgirl Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Am in middle of all my home visits and this year we are collecting e mail asddresses from parents so I can e mail letters and reminders to them. Thinking of giving them my school e mail address for them to email queries and messages to me. Good idea or very BAD idea?!!!! Does anyone already do this? Any tips and advice? Don't want to set up something that will end up a nightmare. Keen to e mail letters though as some parents still amazingly say they don't get them even though i have personally handed them to them!!!
sunnyday Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) Hi dreamgirl - my parents have my email address and use it regularly.........but I'm Pre-school - so don't know if that's much help. Personally I prefer to 'deal with' emails as opposed to 'phone calls....... Edited September 5, 2009 by sunnyday
Guest Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 I think that as long as it is your school and not a personal email there is no problem - we give ours out- you just have to sign in regularly to make sure you keep up with the messages. Sometimes that is easier said than done in a busy day - but as Sunnyday says it is easeir to respond in your own time to an e-mail rather than a phone call in the middle of a really interesting activity!
Upsy Daisy Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Make sure you set up a foolproof system that stops you sending all the parents' email addresses to each other. A friend of mine got in terrible trouble for forgetting to send them as blind copies once.
Cait Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 I email my newsletters - I have all the parents and friends addresses stored in a 'folder' so I just tell the computer to send the emails to 'parents', so that's all they see in their 'to' box. Our email address is always visible - I get bookings that way and email out booking forms and stuff regularly
Panders Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 same as Cait - I request e mail addresses on the children's registration forms if parents then want to add theirs they can. Mine is visible on all letter heads and with local authority and I do get bookings that way and send out info that way too.
HappyMaz Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Make sure you set up a foolproof system that stops you sending all the parents' email addresses to each other. This is one of my pet hates - I once had an email from the Pre-school Learning Alliance once with every man and his dog's email address visible for all to see. I sent a very tart email back asking them if they had my permission to share my details with everyone and got a very sheepish reply. Needless to say it never happened again! My parents have my email address and use it frequently (they know that a late night enquiry will probably be answered much more quickly than trying to remember to ask me in the morning). I haven't got round to sending out letters and newsletters that way though, although now my lovely daughter is building our website that won't be far away and I'll begin to reduce my paper mountain! Maz
Cait Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) I got one from Girlguiding UK about centenary celebrations just yesterday! I'd have thought they, like the PSLA would have known better! Hmm, perhaps not - but we should be able to trust these people, shouldn't we!?!? Edited September 5, 2009 by Cait
catma Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Just a warning - do make sure you check your school's policy about this - I would discuss with HT before doing anything. Once you do it then every parent could realistically be expecting every teacher to be doing the same thing which if they are not can cause a lot of bad feeling and problems for the school. I would only do something like this if it was an organisational policy that everyone adhered to. Cx
Cait Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Yes, that's when it's easier for us in Preschools, isn't it. Good point, Catma
dreamgirl Posted September 5, 2009 Author Posted September 5, 2009 Thanks everyone!! Really really helpful advice. Will follow all your ideas. Must learn how to 'blind' e mail people then without giving other addresses away. good tip. xxxx
Cait Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Thanks everyone!! Really really helpful advice. Will follow all your ideas. Must learn how to 'blind' e mail people then without giving other addresses away. good tip. xxxx there should be an option to BCC on your 'to' area of emailing
dreamgirl Posted September 5, 2009 Author Posted September 5, 2009 thanks. and thanks for replying so quickly. you didn't have any thoughts about early years ict and computers , did you? xxxx
HappyMaz Posted September 5, 2009 Posted September 5, 2009 Blind Circulatory Copy Or for those of us who learned to type on a manual typewriter and used carbon paper to make copies of correspondence, blind carbon copy! Maz
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