Who to Contact
The day-to-day care, welfare and safety of your child is best managed by the person who is placed closest to them. We therefore request that parents and carers follow the protocol outlined below to ensure they get the best response to their enquiry or issue.
Academic issues
In the first instance, please contact the following members of staff who are responsible for your daughter in the following order:
- Subject Teacher (please refer to your daughter’s timetable or Go4Schools)
- Head of Faculty
The Head of Faculty may choose to escalate the issue to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Pastoral issues
In the first instance, please contact the following members of staff who are responsible for your child in the following order:
- Form Tutor (list available on the Pastoral Care Overview page of our website)
- Head of Year (again, please refer to the Pastoral Care Overview page of our website)
The Heads of Year may choose to escalate the issue to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
SEND matters
For enquiries about SEND, please contact Simon Lister, Head of Learning Support (by emailing admin@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk).
Administrative matters
Administrative matters such as changes to contact details should be addressed to the School Office by telephoning Reception or emailing admin@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk.
Please note that teachers want to respond to parental queries at the earliest opportunity and will do their best to do so. However, the majority of teachers’ time is taken up teaching and preparing for lessons so they may be unable to respond to you on the day a query is made. We have also agreed with staff that there is no expectation to respond to queries during their personal/family time.
How to Contact the School
Pupil absence text facility
The school has a text facility for you to inform us if your daughter is absent or late. The number to text is 07860 095596 and you must provide your daughter’s name and form before 9.15am on each day of absence and the reason for the absence.
Requests for leave for medical appointments, instrumental exams etc should be made in writing with as much notice as possible. Please see the Attendance page of our website for more details of our policy and procedures.
Student planner
Communication by email or student planner are the preferred method:
- Notes in student planners are by far the best way to get a message to a teacher promptly and should be used for the majority of everyday communication;
- The student is responsible for showing the note to the correct teacher. This is the best way to ask them to contact you if you require a more detailed conversation.
Telephone
Please use the main reception number to leave a message for a teacher to contact you:
- Reception staff will relay messages to teachers as soon as possible.
- If a call is urgent, please inform the receptionist who will attempt to find an appropriate member of staff to speak to you.
- We will try to respond to you within two working days, if not the same day.
- Please note lessons will never be interrupted for teachers to take calls.
If you need to contact staff directly, please email admin@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk and mark your email For the Attention of [Name of Teacher/Head of Faculty]:
- Teachers are not in a position to check emails consistently throughout the day and the school does not expect work email to be checked during a teacher’s personal time.
- We aim to respond to you as soon as possible and within two working days. Part-time staff may take longer to reply.
Emails are a fast and efficient means of communication which offer many advantages. However, we ask parents and carers to consider the tone and implications of any message, as well as the length and frequency of communications.
Please refer to our Communications Policy for more information.
