Communicating with our school

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION

Communication between home and school is an important part of supporting students in their learning journey and keeping up to date with school news and events.

There are a range of ways that our school communicates with our school community, with each medium having a specific purpose to communicate and share information.

1. Schoolzine – Newsletter and SZAPP – Our school uses the schoolzine platform to share school newsletters and share important schoolwide announcements. It is important that parents have subscribed to this free service and downloaded the app to ensure they don’t miss out on important news. This can be done by downloading the SZ App in the apple or android store, and/or subscribing to our schoolzine newsletter platform to receive these by email (this can be done via our school website)
2. See-Saw – Our school also uses See-Saw to build learning links between home and school. Students regularly update work samples, videos and photos of what is happening in the classroom to allow parents to keep up to date with student learning and get an insight into the learning which students are participating in at school each day. Parents are encouraged to use this as a springboard to spark learning conversations with their child. Try asking questions about things you may have seen on seesaw and ask them to explain further.
3. Facebook – Our school also has a social media account through facebook to share general news and announcements to the wider school community.

Communicating with school staff

1. SeeSaw – SeeSaw offers parents an opportunity to communicate directly with their child’s teacher at a time convenient to them. Please keep in mind however that these messages are not monitored in real time and teachers will respond when they get a chance (within a day or two). For this reason we ask that no time-dependant messages (e.g pick up arrangements) be communicated through this channel. Note that if your message has not been responded to within 48 hours, please contact the school by phone to ensure it has not been missed.
2. Email- If you have a non-urgent message or documents you wish to share with school, why not send us an email at bellbird-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au. These messages are checked daily and can be passed onto the staff member involved.
3. Phone – The best way to communicate with the school is still by contacting the school directly. Please remember that teachers are busy teaching kids, supervising at lunch and recess or involved in professional development/meetings before and after school. They will however if not available at the time of your call, endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.

Feedback and complaints 

If you want to provide feedback, make a complaint, or tell us something we've done well, we'd like to know. We are committed to resolving complaints promptly at a local level. This means that most complaints are referred to the relevant school or area for resolution.

If your complaint is about a public school, start by talking to the teacher, year advisor or school principal. Visit our Guide for parents, carers and students for more information.

https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/rights-and-accountability/complaints-compliments-and-suggestions/guide-for-parents-carers-and-students

 Respectful communication is a right

In all workplaces, people have the right to feel respected. Unacceptable and offensive behaviour has no place in our school communities. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, staff and the community in our schools, steps will be taken to address unacceptable behaviour. This may include restricting contact with the school community or, in more serious cases, referral to NSW Police.

 Unacceptable behaviour in our schools

Unacceptable behaviour may include but is not limited to:

• Aggressive or intimidating actions, such as violence, threatening gestures or physical proximity.
• Aggressive or intimidating language, including the use of obscenities, making sexist, racist or derogatory comments or using a rude tone.
• Treating members of the school community differently due to aspects such as their religion or disability.
• Inappropriate and time-wasting communication.

For more information on the School Community Charter which outlines the responsibilities of parents, carers, educators and school staff in NSW public schools to ensure our learning environments are collaborative, supportive and cohesive visit https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/school-community-charter