Communicating with our school community
Digital Communication Policy
As a parent or carer, you are an important part of our school community. Communication between our school and our community is critical for us to partner together to best support our young people.
To give our staff the opportunity to balance work and personal time, the Department of Education has implemented a Digital Communication Policy, aligned to the School Community Charter, setting clear expectations for when and how teachers respond to communication. This means staff are not expected to reply to non-emergency messages or emails outside of school operating hours.
Further information
What does this mean for parents/carers?
Our dedicated teachers and staff will continue to facilitate open communication with our families, as we believe this is best for students. Staff appreciate hearing from families with questions or to organise a time to discuss a matter. To support positive and productive communication families should refer to the communication guidelines below.
- The new policy means teachers are not expected to reply to non-emergency messages or emails outside of the school’s administrative hours which are generally 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday during school term time.
- Teachers will aim to reply to communication within 2 school days of receiving, and within operational hours in term time, under normal circumstances.
- For emergency matters, parents/carers should call the school administration office on 4953 2111 and someone will direct you to the appropriate executive team member. Emergencies include serious student health, safety and wellbeing issues.
- For non-urgent matters, parents/carers are encouraged to access the West Wallsend High School website. The website is comprehensively resourced and may provide the answers to many general questions.
- Parents/carers should use the school’s email address for general, non-urgent digital communication: westwalls-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au. Emails will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member.
- For matters which require a longer discussion, parents/carers are asked to call or email to make an appointment to speak to the appropriate member of staff at a time that works for everyone.
- Most learning/class-based information can be found by students on our learning management system, Moodle, which is available 24/7.
For detailed information regarding communication between families and the school please refer to the communication and useful links pages on our school website as well as the DoE resources below.
What does this mean for students?
- Students are encouraged to manage their time and communications appropriately, aiming to send emails, Moodle messages etc. to teachers within school operational hours.
- In most instances, students can expect a reply within 48 hours of sending an email/message, usually between the hours of 8am and 4pm. Students should only send emails/messages through formal DoE platforms.
- Teachers will aim to send digital communications to students within operational hours.
- Different response times and submission methods may apply in relation to assessment feedback. Teachers will provide this information directly to students when relevant.
- Urgent communication should be made by phone and/or the school’s email westwalls-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au directly through the school administration office so the student enquiry can be directed to the appropriate member of staff.
- Most learning/class-based information can be found by students on our learning management system, Moodle, which is available 24/7.
Our teachers are incredibly supportive, and some may occasionally find time to respond to students outside of operational hours. In these instances, students are encouraged to thank staff for taking time away from their personal lives to support them.