Parent Partnership
P4-6 IT Acceptable Use Agreement 2024
COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS
We pride ourselves on forming positive partnerships with parents at The Edinburgh Academy, which are founded upon honest, efficient and effective communication.
The majority of school communication is sent by email so it is very important that you provide us with an email address that you check regularly. Please inform us of any changes to this address so that we can update our database and keep you informed of school matters.
Your child’s Class Teacher should be your first point of contact for any queries and concerns relating to all aspects of school life. Contact with them by email is preferred in the first instance and if required, meetings can be arranged at a mutually convenient time. Parents are encouraged to make contact with the School if there are questions or changes to domestic arrangements which can affect your child’s progress.
All teachers at the School have an email address (initials@edinburghacademy.org.uk). Please see the Staff Page for a full list of Class Teacher initials. Please be aware that Class Teachers and other staff are very busy during the school day, not only teaching the children but taking part in planning meetings, professional development meetings and co-curricular clubs too. They are also not expected to check work e-mails outwith normal working hours. Therefore, parents should expect an acknowledgement to an email within 24 hours and a fuller response within a reasonable timeframe, if necessary.
If your communication represents an emergency, please contact the respective Junior School or Senior School Receptions. Receptions are manned from 8.15am–5.00pm on weekdays. If parents need to get a message to their child or children during the school day, this should be done by contacting Reception. Parents should not message their children on iPads, phones or watches with cellular connectivity.
It is important to state that, just as we expect our staff to make contact with parents in a respectful, polite and measured manner, we ask parents to make a concerted effort to consider carefully what is written within an email before it is sent. This, we hope, will help to ensure that offence and undue anxiety is not caused to our staff and will, instead, help us all to form a positive, meaningful and productive partnership for the good of the children in school.
SCHOOL WEBSITE
Our school website is primarily a marketing tool for the School. However, it is also used to communicate last minute cancellations, closures and provides links to other useful portals such as SOCS Sport, Academicals Connect and the School’s social media pages.
JUNIOR SCHOOL PARENTS INFORMATION EVENINGS
Parents are welcomed into the Junior School for Information Evenings throughout the year. Primary 1 Parents will be invited to a “Starting School” Information Evening in June and Curricular Information Evenings held in September, for all Year Groups, offer an opportunity to meet staff, other parents and hear about the year ahead. We also invite parents to meet with the Class Teachers three times throughout the year, for formal discussions about the children’s progress in school. In addition to this, a written report is prepared at the start of the summer term.
We pride ourselves on being approachable with an open door so parents are always welcome to request a meeting with their child’s teacher to discuss concerns that may arise during the school year.
NEWS SHEET
A school news bulletin is published weekly. It often contains important information so please contact us if you do not receive it. The address for enquiries or contributions is: news@edinburghacademy.org.uk
JUNIOR SCHOOL PASTORAL COFFEE MORNINGS
The school’s Pastoral Lead organises monthly coffee mornings for parents during which support can be sought, advice given and friendships formed. Details can be found in the school News Sheet.
Edinburgh Academy Parents’ Association (EAPA)
The Edinburgh Academy Parents’ Association (EAPA) acts as a focal point for the Academy community and facilitates communication between the school and parents and carers; undertakes fundraising for projects that benefit the children and for charities; and generally channels the energy, skills and enthusiasm of the parent body to the benefit of the school community.
Every year several social events are organised by the EAPA committee. There is also a system of parent representatives (Reps) with the aim being that each class has a Rep.
Each Rep usually arranges at least one social event over the year for the parents and carers of pupils in their class and helps to welcome new families to the school. The Reps also assist in the promotion of ticket sales for events arranged by the committee. The Rep generally acts as a link between the school and parents or carers by collating any concerns or questions in their classes for discussion at termly Reps meetings with the EAPA committee and the school’s senior management team.
All parents and carers are encouraged to become involved in the EAPA whether as a class Rep or a committee member. Details of the current committee members can be found on the EAPA section of Firefly. All meetings are listed on the school website calendar. Any questions or concerns can be directed to the EAPA committee on edacparentsassociation@gmail.com.
INTERNATIONAL PARENTS GROUP
A group of multinational parents meet on a regular basis to socialise and to welcome new families to the Edinburgh Academy, supporting them with Scottish culture, lifestyle and Edinburgh living. Details of the group and dates of their meetings can be found in the school News Sheet.
