COMMUNICATION
Introduction
BIS is a large, well-organised and busy school. Effective communication between teachers and parents is crucial to support student learning.
We welcome communication from you, and it is expected that the school will give a prompt reply to any enquiry from parents. Where possible this should be the same day or at the very latest the next working day. If a full response will need further time to gather and explore information then parents will be informed giving a date for a full response.
Student Journals
General notes to and from home can be written in the student journal. The student journal is both the main way in which students learn to organise themselves, especially when they begin Year 7 and have to adapt to the freedom and responsibilities that come with being a secondary student, and an invaluable method of communication between school and home. Students use the journal every day to support their learning through recording timetables, homework, commendations, etc., and parents and teachers can use the journal whenever they need to communicate with one another. Parents can support Form Tutors in monitoring the effective use of the journal and both Form Tutor and parents should sign the journal each week throughout the school year.
Email
Parents are urged to ensure that the school has their current contact email address. Queries can be addressed directly to subject teachers by email. An email list is in Contact List Section.
Appointments with Teachers
Parents are always welcome to make an appointment to meet with one of their children’s teachers. An email sent to the teacher outlining the reason for the meeting and requesting a time is usually the best way of getting in touch. Teachers will normally respond to an email within 48 hours.
Website
The school website www.bisvietnam.com contains a wealth of information, including the newsletters for all three campuses and a list of teachers with email addresses and photographs. Parents are advised to consult the website for information in the first instance.
SchoolsBuddy
SchoolsBuddy is an on-line portal to allow parents and students to:
1. Book the term’s co-curricular activities (students only);
2. View the calendar of activities;
3. View attendance at the activities;
4. Accept or decline invitations to participate in team fixtures, day trips and other events;
5. Receive information on key events.
Log-in is available through the school website www.bisvietnam.com
Please refer to the Activities section for further information.
News & events and Facebook
News & Events can be accessed through the school website or via https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/bis-hcmc/news directly. By signing up for updates, you will be notified as new articles are added.
All Parents will receive a Headteacher's Weekly Update via email from Mr. Kay each Friday.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BISHCMC/
Yearbook
A school yearbook is issued to each family during the summer term.
Digital Signage
The campus has several large LCD screens that display details of daily and weekly events.
Parent Forums and Coffee Mornings – All welcome
These optional and informal events are held three times a year. Hosted by the Head Teacher and other members of the teaching staff, the forums last around 90 minutes and typically include a short presentation on an area of school life. They are variously focussed on school developments and are often an opportunity to ask questions and voice opinions on particular themes.
Reports and Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences (PTSC)
Parents will receive a full report, short report and an invitation to attend a PTSC each year. In addition, parents of students in Years 10 – 13 will receive an Exam report. You can expect to receive contact from the school about your child’s progress, achievement and approach to learning every term, either in the form of a written report or a face-to-face meeting.
The focus of both is to promote learning and progress through celebrating success and setting targets, rather than simply being a summative record of attainment. To support student agency in their learning, students write a short self-reflection, which is published on the front cover of all reports.
Reports
The school reports contain information relating to students progress in each subject for Years 7-9, IGCSE grades for Years 10 & 11 and on the IB scale in Years 12 & 13.
Details of the grading systems are sent home with the reports.
Parents are welcome to make appointments with individual teachers following the report if they have any concerns or need clarification on any matter.
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences (PTSCs)
PTSCs are a valuable way of communicating. They are scheduled at various times throughout the year. Students are expected to attend PTSCs in full school uniform and remain with their parents throughout.
Online invitations are sent home in advance of the PTSC and parents select appointment times with teachers. Parents can prioritise certain subjects and teachers may prioritise students they are concerned about. If high demand causes difficulty in meeting a particular teacher then alternative arrangements can be made.
Complaints
If you feel that things aren’t going well, the school has a complaints policy in order to help deal promptly and effectively with concerns raised by parents. A copy of the full policy is available on request from the Secondary Office. The policy and procedure aim to reassure parents and others with an interest in the school that:
● any complaint against the school will be dealt with in a fair, open and responsive way, with the aim of achieving a speedy and satisfactory resolution; and
● the school recognises that a willingness to listen to questions and criticism and to respond positively can lead to improvements in school practices and provision for pupils.
Scope of the Policy
● Complainants may be anyone e.g. parents, guardians, grandparents, neighbours of the school or anyone with an interest in the work of the school. However, it is expected that it will be mainly parents or guardians who will make use of this procedure. The term ‘parent’ is therefore used throughout the procedure as a generic term, but the procedure also applies in relation to any other type of complainant.
● Complaints may be made by telephone, e-mail, in person or be written.
● A complaint is defined as a clear statement of dissatisfaction about any specified aspect of the school's work. This procedure deals with specified day-to-day complaints against the management and/or operation of the school.
General
● Records of all conversations and meetings with parents to resolve formal complaints will be kept.
● The Head Teacher keeps a file of hard copies of Formal School Complaint Forms.
● There may be rare occasions when, despite all the stages of the procedure having been followed, a parent remains dissatisfied. If the parent seeks to re-open the same issue, the school reserves the right to inform him/her in writing that the procedure has been exhausted and the matter is closed.
Informal Stage
● On occasions, a parent may raise a concern directly with school staff without any formality. At this stage, it may be unclear whether the parent is making a complaint, seeking information or has misunderstood a situation. The school aims to resolve the concern at this point in a speedy and effective way.
● However, if the concern is not resolved immediately and a complaint is confirmed by the parent, the opportunity to discuss the matter with an appropriate member of staff will be given e.g. Deputy Head, Head of Department. In the case of complaint against the Head Teacher or Deputy Head, this stage will always be heard directly by the Head Teacher himself.
● The member of staff will discuss the issue with the parent and those involved in school, with the aim of resolving the complaint as soon as possible. The parent will be informed of the outcome of any investigation and what action, if any, the school proposes to take.
● If the informal process has been exhausted and no satisfactory solution has been found, the parent will be asked by the member of staff dealing with the complaint whether (s)he wishes the complaint to be considered more formally.
● If wishing to proceed with the complaint, the parent will be invited to put the complaint in writing to the Head Teacher using the Formal School Complaint Form available from the Secondary Office. The form should then be sent to the Head Teacher within ten school days.
