At St Francis, we strive to develop and maintain positive partnerships between home and school. The processes outlined below are to encourage and promote healthy relationships with parents/carers:

When staff need to contact a parent/carer in relation to any issue (positive or negative) they will make a phone call home. If they are unable to reach the parent/carer, a voice message will be left so the parent/carer knows who to contact when calling the College back. If the staff member is unable to leave a voice message, they will send an email to the parent/carer asking them to contact the staff member.

If the parent/carer does not respond to any communication, the staff member will send an email to the parent/carer outlining the nature of the call. 

If a parent/carer emails a staff member, the staff member will call the parent/carer to discuss the nature of their email.

It is a school expectation that staff respond to an email from a parent/carer within 24 - 48 hours of it being sent during the weekdays Monday-Friday. Emails received after 2.45pm on Friday will not be responded to until Monday the following week.

It is acknowledged that with the exception of extenuating circumstances or in an emergency, staff are not generally expected to respond to emails from parents/carers or students outside normal working hours.

We hope that this clarifies our College procedures and provides transparency into how the College operates in terms of communication between home and school.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me on melissa.vella@dow.catholic.edu.au