Communication

To help us keep you informed and involved in school life, we strongly recommend downloading the Arbor app and ensuring that notifications are turned on. We use in-app messages to send reminders and general updates throughout the week. You can find guidance on how to get started here: Arbor Parent App Guide.

The Arbor app is also where you, as a parent, can update consents, book clubs and trips, schedule parent-teacher meetings, make payments, order school meals, and much more. It’s an essential tool for staying on top of everything happening at school—so please make sure you’ve downloaded the app, have notifications turned on and are checking it regularly.

Each Friday, we send out a weekly email containing important information about school clubs, upcoming trips, key dates for your diary, and other relevant school or local news. These emails also include curriculum updates, so you can see what your child is learning in class and how you can support them at home.

At Willow Tree we hold parent-teacher meetings twice a year year, giving you the opportunity to look at your chiold's work, discuss your child’s progress and ask any questions you may have. We’ll always notify you in advance when these meetings are coming up in our weekly emails and parents evenings (or 'guardian consultations') are booked via the Arbor app.

We value positive partnerships with all of our families and want communication to be clear, supportive and effective. Please note the following communication expectations:

• Your child's class teacher should be the first point of contact for most concerns relating to learning, behaviour, friendships and wellbeing.
• Written communication should be sent via the school office at admin@willowtree.nsat.org.uk, where it can be actioned and forwarded to the appropriate member of staff.
• We aim to acknowledge emails within 2 working days.
• We aim to provide a response, follow-up action or telephone call within 5 working days.
• Where a meeting is required, we aim to arrange this within 10 working days.
• Our usual communication hours are 8:30am to 4:00pm. Staff are not expected to respond outside of these hours or during school holidays.