Contact Protocols
At Claremont High School we value and encourage open and effective communication between the school and parents/carers to support our students. We endeavour to deal with any queries or concerns as quickly and effectively as possible.
Please be assured that we take all concerns and queries seriously and they are always followed up. However, please allow time for this to happen.
School life is particularly busy and often immediate contact with a member of staff is not possible. Our teaching staff have teaching commitments and other commitments throughout the school day, including break/lunch duties, after-school activities, working with students, parent consultation evenings, supervising detentions or attending professional development sessions. During lessons, teaching staff are asked not to access their emails so they can give full attention to their class. Non-teaching staff also have similar commitments throughout the day, which makes it exceedingly difficult to answer queries immediately.
Our school website holds information on term dates, the school calendar, policies, and other useful guidance, so please refer to our website in the first instance when seeking information. Please let us know if there is information that is difficult to find by emailing admin@claremont-high.org.uk
Who to Contact?
In most cases, the form tutor should be contacted in the first instance. Our Heads of Year and Deputy Heads of Year oversee up to 300 students and will need to prioritise enquiries and concerns. A Head of Year typically teaches 3 or 4 lessons a day and may be unable to check their inbox or voicemail for several hours.
If the concern is regarding a particular subject rather than a pastoral issue (including queries about homework), please contact the Subject Teacher or Head of Department who will ensure your concern is followed up. Please refrain from contacting the Head of Year or Deputy Head of Year if your concern is subject specific, as they will often be unable to assist and will instead refer it to the relevant Head of Department.
The Safeguarding Team responds to issues which are more complex safeguarding issues and often require the involvement of external agencies such as social workers, early support team, and family support.
Appropriate Contact
Parents and carers are welcome to contact the school regarding matters that directly affect their own child. Communications should be limited to individual cases, and the school cannot respond to inquiries submitted on behalf of other families or as part of a parental group. This ensures that all concerns are addressed promptly, accurately, and in accordance with privacy and safeguarding guidelines.
Phone Protocols
Please contact the school by telephone only where the matter is urgent. Urgent matters are as follows:
- Matters relating to the safeguarding of a child
- Medical information about your child
- Concern about your child’s wellbeing
- Messages about a change in arrangements for picking your child up from school
- Messages about absence can be emailed to absence@claremont-high.org.uk
If our office staff are unable to assist you, they will pass your message to the most appropriate colleague. If the person you need to speak to is unavailable, they will contact you at the earliest opportunity.
Staff will aim to reply to phone calls within 3 working days. However, some queries will require staff to gather information before they can reply appropriately; when this is the case, we will acknowledge that your phone call has been received and indicate when an informed response will be sent.
Once you have raised a concern over the phone, please do not phone back regarding the same concern. Please trust that your message will be passed on and our staff are prioritising communication. If you have left a message on our voicemail, there is no need to call us back regarding the same issue.
Email Protocols
Please email us regarding anything non-urgent. This includes matters where your child might be upset about a situation but is not in danger.
Staff will aim to reply to parent emails within 3 working days. However, some queries will require staff to gather information before they can reply appropriately; when this is the case, we will acknowledge that your email has been received and indicate when an informed response will be sent.
Emails should be polite and respectful. Staff will not respond to offensive or abusive communication. These will be forwarded to a Senior Management Team member who will take appropriate action.
If you are unsure who to contact, please email admin@claremont-high.org.uk so that our office staff can direct your query to the most appropriate person.
Meetings
Parent meetings with staff are by appointment only and normally require at least 2 working days’ notice due to teaching and other commitments.
Please note that apart from exceptional circumstances (e.g. Safeguarding matter where a child is in immediate danger), we are unable to meet with visitors who arrive at school without a pre-booked appointment, and you will be turned away and asked to contact the relevant member of staff to make an appointment.
When to contact the Police
Please note that where your child is in immediate danger, or it feels that the situation could get heated or violent outside school, including evenings and weekends, you or your child must contact the police immediately by phoning 999. Please do not wait until the next school day to contact the police. However, do let us know that an incident has occurred, and the police have been informed.
Call 999 if:
- a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed
- someone is in immediate danger or harm
- property is in danger of being damaged
- a serious disruption to the public is likely
If a crime has already occurred and your child is now safe, please report this by phoning 101 or using this link Contact us | Police.uk