Communication with Home
At West Hill School we have a wealth of ways to help you keep in touch with everyday school life. In addition to the website, there are many other options for how parents and carers can hear about their son’s progress, our school community, our successes and our links to the community. These include:
The Student Planner
The student planner is an essential piece of equipment. Students are expected to bring their planner to school every day, and use it in every lesson. The planner is a tool for students to organise their school work, keep track of their homework and record their achievements.
Teachers use the planner to communicate messages home to parents, so it is important that they are checked at home regularly.
There are pages in the planner for students to record their academic progress. We encourage parents and carers to review these progress pages with their son and help him set targets for improvement.
Parents and carers will find a copy of the home school agreement in the student planner, which sets out what parents/carers, students and us as a school can expect from each other.
The School Gateway - until September 2025
The School Gateway enables us to share information with parents and carers quickly via email, text, online and a smartphone app (for Android and iPhones).
We send most of our communications via email. On occasion, we may also send text messages. When a text message is sent, those with the app will receive the message straight to their app. Parents and carers can also contact school via the app, absences can be reported, and general enquiries can be sent.
The School Gateway allows parents and carers to view and, in some instances, amend the following for their son:
- Attendance
- Achievements
- Behaviour
- Assessment data
- Assessment Reports
- Lesson timetable
- Student details
- Medical conditions
- Parental contact details
- School details
- Payments - for trip, school equipment, revision resources etc.
Please note: School dinner payments are not made via the School Gateway; they are made using Parent Pay.
Reach More Parents - from September 2025
From September 2025, we will be using our West Hill School app, provided by Reach More Parents, in order to send communications home. The app allows for efficient communication between school and parents/carers via a smartphone.
Reach More Parents requires that we hold a valid email address for each user. We strongly encourage every parent to download the app; the app is also available to students.
Home learning will be issued via the app, a news feed is available for sharing updates, and messages can easily be exchanged between home and school. Student absences can be reported, timetable and teacher information are available, as well as behaviour and achievement points, assessment reports, SEND information and a whole host more.
An enrolment email is sent to parents, carers and students containing login details. Reach More Parents is also available on an internet browser.
How do I get the app?
All that is required to enable access is your email address. An enrolment email with a login code will then be sent to that email address. Parents should keep us updated with any changes to an email address.
Downloading the app is the easiest way to access Reach More Parents. This can be downloaded to an Android or iPhone at:
Social Media
Our website follows our busy social media accounts, namely: Facebook and Instagram
All feeds can be viewed via the website without the need to download the Apps. However, you will receive more up-to-date and regular alerts to our updates by following each account.
