Everything here is in the order you actually need it at twenty to eight in the morning.

Before 8:45, every day they're away — Not just the first day. A voicemail is fine and expected — nobody needs to speak to a person for this
What to say — Child's name, class, and roughly what's wrong. "Unwell" is a complete answer and nobody will ask you for more than that
Sickness and diarrhoea — Forty-eight hours from the last episode. It's a public health rule rather than ours and we can't waive it, however well they seem by Wednesday
If you're not sure whether to send them — Send them, and we'll ring you if they can't manage the day. Far more children are kept at home unnecessarily than the other way round
Appointments — Let us know in advance where you can, and don't apologise for it. A dentist appointment is not a problem
If they're away a long time — Tell us early and work will be sent home. Nobody is chased for attendance in the first fortnight of something serious

Why these aren't a PDF — Because a PDF is where a date goes to be un-findable on a phone in a car park. Put them in text on your own page too — it takes ten minutes and it saves the office a hundred phone calls
Training days are listed a year ahead — The most useful single thing a school can publish for working parents, and the thing most often announced too late to book anything
Where the definitive version lives — Say so plainly, and say who publishes it — the local authority or the trust decides most of these dates, not the school. Where they differ, theirs is the one that counts

My child is unhappy at school — The class teacher first, by email, and you'll get a reply within two working days. Not the office, and not a form
Something happened between children — The class teacher again, and it's taken seriously at the first mention rather than the third. You will be told what was done, not just that something was
My child is struggling with the work — The class teacher, then the special educational needs coordinator if it goes further. You can go straight to them and you don't need permission
Money is difficult at the moment — One named person, one address, and it goes no further. There's a section further down this page and nothing about it is ever mentioned to a child
I want to complain about something — The published procedure, with a name and a timescale on each stage. Where you are not satisfied at the end of it, the body above the school is named too
I don't know who to ask — The office, and they will route it rather than answer it. That is what the office is genuinely good for

Free school meals — Far more families qualify than claim. Applying takes about five minutes online and it also releases money to the school for your child specifically, whether or not they eat the lunches
Uniform — There's a fund and there is no form. Send one line to the named address and it's dealt with the same week
Trips — Nothing is compulsory to pay and no child is ever left behind. Where a contribution is asked for, it is genuinely a contribution — say so on your own page in exactly those words
Music lessons and clubs — Funded places exist for all of them. Ask rather than assume, and ask even if you think you're not the poorest family in the class
Devices and internet at home — Say what's available. This one has changed a lot in a few years and most parents have no idea it's an option
How to ask — By text or email, one line, no explanation and no evidence. It goes to one person, it isn't recorded anywhere your child would see, and it is never mentioned in front of them

What must be branded — List it, and keep the list as short as the rules allow. Every branded item is a barrier and schools tend to have more of them than they need
What can be from anywhere — Everything else, in the right colour. Supermarket versions are fine and nobody checks a label
The second-hand rail — Where it is, when it's open, and free. Not a swap — take what you need without giving anything, and nobody watches
Shoes — Say what the rule actually is and why. "Sensible black shoes" causes more arguments in August than anything else on the list
PE kit — Whether it can be worn all day on PE days, which saves a bag and a change and is the single most popular thing a school can allow
Growth spurts and lost jumpers — Both are normal. The rail covers both and nothing is said about a child in a slightly wrong jumper

Start with the class teacher — They see your child for six hours a day and they usually already have a view. A short email saying "something has changed at home" is enough to start with
The safeguarding lead — Named on your own page, with a direct address. This is the person for anything you are frightened of rather than concerned about, and you can contact them without going through anybody
Your GP — For sleep, eating, mood, anything physical, and for a route into services the school cannot access. Schools can refer to some things and not others, and we'll tell you honestly which
What a school cannot do — We cannot diagnose anything, we cannot prescribe, and we cannot make a referral to every service. Where somebody tells you the school will sort it, ask them which part
If you're worried about somebody else's child — Tell the safeguarding lead. You do not need to be sure and you will not be asked to justify it — that judgement is not yours to make and nobody will think badly of you
Out of hours — Put the local emergency and out-of-hours numbers here. A school page that goes quiet at four o'clock is the wrong page to be reading at nine