When it comes to creating a school website that meets Ofsted and DFE guidelines, one of the most overlooked yet crucial elements is the contact details section. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the specifics of what you need to include in your school website contact details to ensure compliance and user-friendliness. The first section of the school website requirements guide is your school contact details.  However, it is a section that is often incomplete when auditing website content. we recently surveyed a handful of school websites and 75% of them were not compliant with this requirement.  So what is important when it comes to your school website contact details?

Why Are School Website Contact Details Important?

Contact details are often the first thing people look for when they visit a school’s website. They’re also the first thing you’ll see when you check the DFE website or our free School Website Requirements Guide available at Scudio.com. Ensuring that your contact details are accurate and comprehensive is not just a compliance issue; it’s also about making a good first impression.

Commonly Overlooked Elements

Many schools miss out on including some essential elements in their contact details section. These include:

• Governing Chairperson’s Name: While not explicitly listed in some guidelines, including this information is highly recommended.
• SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) Details: The name and email of your SENCO should be readily available.
• Staff Member for Queries: The name of the staff member who can handle general queries from parents and the public is usually someone in the office and should be listed.

Common Errors with School Website Contact Pages

It is vital to include this information on your school website. Otherwise, your site will not be compliant. The details of all school website requirements can be found in our guide.

Now would be a great time to bring up your school website and check the contact details. Have you included and answer to every requirement listed? If not then take some time to update your contact page. The information requested for this section is really straightforward. Some common errors with school website contact details that I would love to highlight:

• Name of the member of staff who deals with queries from parents and other members of the public.  Note you are required to publish a named contact. This means the “school administration team” or “the school office” would not satisfy this requirement. Make sure you name an individual.
• Name and details of your SEN co-ordinator (SENCO) if you’re a mainstream school.  Again this is simply a name and an email address but vital for parents of children with additional needs.
• Name and address of the chair of the governing body (if you have one). This is a requirement we often find missing from school websites and we understand why! It may be the case that your chair of governors does not want their home address publishing on the site. We recommend advising that written correspondence for the chair of governors can be sent to the school address.

Best Practices: Real-World Examples

Hardwick Green Academy

This school does an excellent job in listing out the senior leadership team, local governance, and key contacts like the SENCO, safeguarding officer, and education welfare officer. They even specify who to contact for general inquiries.

St. Martin’s School

Another excellent example, St. Martin’s School, includes all necessary contact details, including the head teacher, SENCO, and Academy Council Chair. They also offer paper copies of essential documents and provide information on how to get in touch with their trust.

Going Above and Beyond with Your Contact Pages

Try and take a look at your school website contact details as someone who has never made contact with your school before.  Why not get a friend to look at your contact page and see if they would find it easy to make contact with school using what is currently on your site. Is there any helpful information that you can give your users? We always suggest embedding a map on your contact page so people can see where the school is. But what about parking facilities? Should visitors report to reception? How long can people expect to wait for a reply to their email? Answer the question before it is asked and save your administration team and your website visitors a lot of time.

The Importance of Standardization

With the growing trend of educational trusts, standardizing the process and approach for school website contact details is becoming increasingly important. Whether you manage five schools or 50, having a standard operating procedure can help maintain consistency and quality across all websites.

Final Thoughts

Perfecting your school website contact details is not just about compliance; it’s about providing a user-friendly experience for parents, students, and staff. If you haven’t already, make sure to download our comprehensive School Website Requirements Guide for more insights.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out to us at Scudio.com.