Buckingham Park Primary School

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Parent WhatsApp

Class WhatsApp groups are a very useful and efficient way of communicating to the whole parent group. The aim of using WhatsApp is to send messages to the entire group, which are relevant to school and helpful for the group members to know, e.g. information about PTA events, collections for teacher gifts, and class social events.
Messages in the class WhatsApp groups come from parents and carers in their personal capacity or are sent on behalf of the PTA. The school neither sends nor monitors messages on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp groups are meant to be useful, interesting and help build a sense of community and support within classes.
If you would like to join your child's WhatsApp group then please come to the office and a member of the team will ensure you are added to the group via the class rep.
We encourage you to join in and positively participate if you wish. However, the PTA would appreciate it if parents/carers would note the following guidelines when using class WhatsApp groups.

Purpose of the platform

The WhatsApp group is a facility for:

  • the class representatives to post information or requests deemed appropriate for the parents / carers, whatever that may be;
  • members to ask questions or make inquiries about issues or events that other parents /carers might be able to answer. This should be kept to an absolute minimum.

What sort of messages should I post?

  • What was it you wanted to ask?
  • Have you first checked the Friday update to find the answer to your question?
  • Are you meaning to send your message to the entire class group?
  • Think about how others may perceive your message before typing
  • Scroll up - the answer to your question may already be there
  • Avoid personal gripes
  • Pause before sending
  • Please be polite, considerate and respectful, and keep it school related

What should I avoid?

Please think before you post!

  • Avoid using the platform as a medium to air concerns or grievances regarding a teacher, child or parent in the class or school, or to give opinions on current affairs.
  • Think about how your post could come across, and about how you would feel if you were on the receiving end.
  • If you have any concerns about your child at school or in relation to another child, you should contact their class teacher. If your concern remains, you should contact the school's Deputy Headteacher or Headteacher.
  • Avoid posting in anger. Consider whether someone could be upset by your comment and whether there is a better way to respond to the situation.
  • If someone asks a question and you do not know the answer, please wait for someone to who knows the answer to reply, rather than posting, 'Don't know'.
  • Post your message in one single chunk of text, rather than post every word or sentence in a new message.
  • 'Thank you' messages are lovely, but not required. If you wish to send them, please send them to directly to the person concerned.
  • Switch to private messages if you want to have a one-to-one conversation.

What to do if you feel a post is inappropriate

  • We take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately.
  • This includes: abusive or personal comments about staff, pupils or other parents; posting defamatory or libellous comments; using social media to publicly challenge school policies or discuss issues about individual children; threatening behaviour.
  • If someone makes an inappropriate comment, please contact your class representative or a senior staff member at the school.
  • PTA class representatives will refer inappropriate post to senior school staff and can remove the offending member from the group.
  • The WhatsApp group administrators have every right to take this action when needed. You can always choose to leave a WhatsApp group and nobody should make a judgement about that decision.

Helpful hints

If you are not sure about your post, please ask yourself these questions before hand:

  • Is this relevant?
  • Is this necessary?
  • Is it true?
  • Is it helpful?
  • Is it kind?
  • Is this a good time to post, i.e. late at night or very early in the morning?
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