Feedback about Communication

Thank you for all of your helpful feedback on our communications. We received a very good response from a cross section of our community. Six key messages arose from the consultation:

1. Most families read our weekly SFDS news for their information. 

2. Many families believe we communicate information effectively.

3. Many families find our communication confusing.  

4. Having all information on one page is easier - rather than navigating sections / tabs.

5. Photos can be difficult to view when navigating on a cellphone.

6. Families would like more notice of trips, PSL / fundraising events, etc. 

Changes to our communications

The following has been changed to make things easier for you:

1. The SFDS News site now has all important information on one page, and has been formatted to view on a cellphone more easily. 

2. Images will now be included as part of the text, rather than in a regularly updated carousel. 

3. The Hero Community notice we send out each Wednesday will now only include the headings and a link to the SFDS News.

4. We will try to improve our time frames for communication:

   • at least 2 full weeks’ notice about any class / syndicate activities that do not involve parents directly - such as retreats at Home of compassion, the dance lessons, etc 

   • at least 3 full weeks notice about any class / syndicate activities involving parents - such as trips and celebrations of learning,  Mission Fair, etc

   • at least 6 full weeks' notice about whole school events - such as Masses, dress-up days, learning conferences, fundraising and other family events. Please note that our fundraisers are run by our generous Parent School Link (PSL) volunteers and much more support for this mahi is needed. If you can help out with PSL, please email our generous team: psl.sfds@gmail.com 

Communication that will remain the same

• We will continue to let you know we have published an updated SFDS News via the Hero Community Notices each Wednesday.

• You will still be able to access SFDS News via the Hero App at any time. 

• The school calendar will remain the same - and can still be accessed via the Hero App at any time. 

• We will still use Hero texts as we do currently.

• We will still use Hero communications for quick messages and last minute reminders. 

• We will keep 'community notices' on a separate tab on the SFDS News.

Communication that helps our staff

• Thank you for proactively reading our communications to keep yourself up to date.

• Thank you for respectful interactions with our staff team - they are all vulnerable and need your support.

• Thank you for emails that are short and simple - our teachers sometimes receive several emails in a day.

• Thank you for being patient with responses to emails - teachers can seldom respond during the school day, and we ask all staff to take a break in the evenings and weekends for their wellbeing.

• Thank you for using the Hero App to let us know about your child(ren)'s absences. 

• Thank you for leaving messages if we don't answer the phone - all messages are automatically sent to the office email. 

Responses to specific comments in the survey

Question / comment: "I had to go looking for this survey, I heard about it but couldn’t find it in hero - which tells me you are not reaching the whole school community therefore this survey has not reached a fair sample."

Response: Hopefully we can improve on this in the future to support you. It is impossible to ensure that information is easily sent in a suitable format and read by all, but we were very pleased with the number of responses. On this occasion, the communication survey was shared via 4 platforms to meet different needs: 

1. Emailed directly to all parents / caregivers on 28 August,

2. Via SFDS News on 4 September,

3. Via Hero Community Notice on 4 September,

4. Available as a hard copy in the school office.

Comment: "I feel all comms should be in one place like hero". "Hero is the best place for all info - would be good to have it all on the feed instead of having to go into it"

Response: Thank you for this feedback. Hero is easy to access - via the App or through your emails. However, the community notice platform is limiting in terms of being able to add images and posters, etc. Our main use of Hero is our internal use - for learning, health and safety. 

Comment: "I feel that if the key dates or info for the week ahead were at the top of the weekly news (the first thing you see), that would be really helpful for those of us who don’t have capacity to read the update in all its detail every single week."

Response: Thank you for this feedback. We have made some changes to the format that we hope help. The date list is now right at the bottom of the page so that you can scroll down quickly.

Comment: "Information coming home needs to be consistent and designed for someone who hasn’t been at the school before."

Response: Thank you for this feedback. It is a very helpful reminder for us to consider our reader's perspective. This will be shared with the staff.

Comment: "Hero has been problematic with notifications recently, meaning we are missing things". "I have missed a number of updates and info since the move to Hero. I dont' feel confident i get all the info!"

Response: Please can you pop into the office to speak with Fran - she may be able to work out why you have not received notifications with you.

Comment: "A link from Hero to one PDF or one site that contains all news would be easier"

Response: Thank you for this suggestions, however many of our families are not able to open pdf files linked or attached to emails. We hope that the one-pager formal of the SFDS News makes it easier for you to navigate. 

Comment: "I do find it slightly annoying to navigate the newsletter on a cellphone"

Response: Thank you for this feedback. We have changed the SFDS news format to make it is easier to navigate on a cellphone. 

Comment: "Get rid of Hero. It’s useless". "Get rid of hero and go back to emails" .

Response: Thank you for this feedback. Hero is not just a communication platform. Hero is our school management system (SMS), and is integral to all planning, safety, emergency, teaching and learning processes. All schools are required to have an SMS, and the communication aspect of Hero is a bonus. You can also set up your Hero account so that you receive emails instead of App notifications if you prefer. 

Comment: "The other thing I find nagging is phoning the school and having to listen to the long, winded voice message for prompts."

Response: Thank you for this feedback. We will update the phone message.

Comment: "As a parent new to the school, I have found it quite difficult finding information - for example which days are PE gear days"

Response: May we suggest that you check the school calendar, and maybe add it to your own calendar. PE days are always recorded here, and remain constant throughout the year except for specific sports events. We will try to communicate about the additional sports events in a more timely fashion.

Comment: "I find it hard to navigate because once I read a notification I can’t see it again & unsure where different information is stored."

Response: Thank you for this feedback. We have alerted Hero to this, and they have let us know that it has been added to their possible future improvements. In the meantime, staff will send out reminders if needed. 

Comment: "The whole website needs an update to reflect the school as it currently is (has kids in the old school uniform, let’s see the new one). Should be easier to navigate and have key info. I would like to see all school policies, staff information, and newsletters on the website in an easy to find way."

Response: Currently our school website http://www.sfds.school.nz/ does have all of the information listed, but we are very conscious that it needs to be updated to work better, and be easier for staff to update. This is why we set up the SFDS News google site as an easy-to-edit platform n the meantime. Once we can prioritise funding to update our main school website, the two platforms are likely to be merged.