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Three important rules over-ride all others:
a) if your school has its own house style, follow it, regardless of how silly you think it is
b) if you are replying to a parent, then politely mimic their preferred style
c) if in doubt, err on the sides of formality and politeness.
There are no fixed rules regarding salutation. If you are e-mailing someone with whom you have a friendly relationship, then 'Hi' is a normal greeting. Otherwise, you should open an e-mail as you would a letter: Dear Mrs Smith or Dear Mr Adoranou or whatever. If an e-mail starts 'Dear Parent' then you shouldn't be sending it, it should be coming from your administration team.
Subject lines are important. Do not use 'Re:'. Do not use judgemental summaries eg 'Failing Students' or 'Truancy'. Keep it factual eg 'Recent Homework' or aspirational 'Attendance at School'.
Know your limitations: if your grammar, spelling and clarity are not perfect, get someone to help or to review your text.
No emoticons :-) or txtspk. And no sarcasm. OBVIOUSLY.
If you open your e-mail with Hi, then a casual closure eg 'Kind regards' is OK; otherwise 'Yours sincerely' is the norm.
Use a signature block, with cursive font and contact details, like the one below.
Yours sincerely
Geoffrey Bigrush
Citzenship Teacher
Beech School
Phone: 01234 567 890
E-Mail: gbigrush@beech.ac.uk
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