Parents’ evening!  Does it make you feel nervous?  Does it bring up old memories of your own school days?  Are you worried about what the teacher may say or what you should ask?

Fear not!  I’ll fill you in on what you need to know to reduce the parents’ evening anxiety.

Things to know about parents’ evening:

Schools must provide at least one opportunity a year for parents to discuss their child’s progress with a teacher.  Most schools hold two parents’ evenings a year – one in the autumn term and one in the spring or summer term.

For primary school children, and children in Year 7, the autumn meeting should focus on how they are settling into their new year group and class and if they are happy and content at school.  If they are, then they should be learning well, if not, then that will impact their progress, and discussing strategies that will help them both at home and school should take place. 

Remember that your child’s teacher is on your side.  They want your child to do well and be happy at school as much as you do.  They will give you positive feedback and if there are any areas of concern, these will be raised in a professional manner with a view on how to help resolve them in the best way for your child.

It is fine to bring your children (and any siblings) into the meeting with you, but you don’t have to (sometimes the children prefer for you to go in without them – so do check).

Dos and Don’ts of parents’ evening:

DO ask how they have settled in and if they seem happy at school. Hopefully, the teacher will tell you this anyway and you won’t need to ask.

DO ask about any routines or procedures (eg homework systems) that you are unsure of, or are causing difficulties at home.  If the teacher is aware, then they can help solve any problems.

DO let the teacher know if anything is happening that may affect your child’s learning – this could be friendship issues or things happening at home.  Personal issues will be treated confidentially and sensitively, but it is important for the school to be aware so they can best support your child.

DO ask how you can help your child with their learning at home. 

DO be aware of the time – your appointment will be around 10 minutes long.

DO look at any work your child has done if books are laid out.

DO raise any concerns you have politely and with a view to working together to solve them.  Going in angry and all-guns-blazing will not get you the results you want.

DON’T ask how your child compares to others in the class.  The teacher can’t give you this information and it’s not helpful to you anyway.  Focus on your child – no one else’s.

DON’T compare your child to their siblings.  They are a person in their own right.  Just because their older brother did something well, or struggled with something, it doesn’t mean their sibling will too.  Treat each child individually.

DON’T tell the teacher how to do their job.  Paying your taxes which pays their salary does not make you their boss. (Yes, I have had parents say this!) You are there to get their professional input on your child’s learning. Listen to them and take on board their advice and suggestions.

DO go!  It may be scary, it may take up time, and it may interfere with your daily routine, but it is once or twice a year and it honestly has a huge impact on your child’s learning.  As a teacher, I have understood the children in my class so much better, and been able to better meet their individual needs due to meeting their parents and discussing how best to help them at parents’ evening.  If you can’t make the scheduled parent’s evening, it is absolutely fine to make an appointment with the teacher for another time.  If you can’t go to both parents’ evenings, attending just one is better than none.

If you are separated from your child’s other parent, then it is fine to make separate appointments for you to see your child’s teacher individually.

It is also OK to bring your child’s step-parent, grandparent or aunt or uncle along to the meeting if you would like to have someone else with you.

DO say thank you at the end of the meeting.  My job-share teacher and I were once presented with a bag of mixed fruit and nuts at the start of a meeting by a mum because she knew we were having a very long day, with little to no time for breaks or refreshments between appointments.  It blew our minds!  It was such a small act of kindness but made a massive difference and kept us going into the evening.  Gifts like this are not necessary or expected, but two little words that show you understand how much that teacher does to help your child goes a long way. It is common courtesy but so many parents don’t bother. 

If you have found this blog helpful, then do come and join my free Facebook group Primary Matters for more help and advice about learning in the vital primary years.

To discuss how I can help support your child’s learning, please see my services or contact me.

The post Parents’ Evening – a guide for parents appeared first on Karen Lander - The Top Cat Tutor.

It’s the last half term of the school year.  This means that your child’s teacher has more than likely spent a large proportion of the half term holiday writing end of year reports.

It is a legal requirement for schools to report to parents about their child’s progress at the end of the school year.  You may receive other written reports at other times in the year as well, and the school must also provide at least one opportunity for you to discuss your child’s progress with their teacher (parent’s evening).

School reports can sometimes be difficult for parents to get their heads around.  Often parents have asked me to explain things on their child’s report.  They use school jargon and “teacher speak”.  Some are full of written comments, and others are just tick boxes.  Both can be just as difficult to understand.

What’s in the report?

School reports must include a brief outline of what your child has achieved in all subjects, a general comment on their progress, and how you can discuss the report further if you want to.  They also tend to include targets or next steps for your child to work on. 

Your child’s attendance record and end of key stage SATs results (if in Year 2 or Year 6) are included with the report too. 

What does it all mean?

Each school will use different terms in reports, but they all broadly mean the same thing.

After a bit of research asking my teacher friends what words and phrases were used in their school reports, these are the most common:

Attainment – this is an academic standard based on assessments or tests.

Progress – this means achievements made over a period of time (eg the school year).

ARE = Age Related Expectations –  this is what the National Curriculum states are the average expectations for what children of each age group should be able to do. 

These expectations were dramatically heightened in 2014 and again in 2016 by the government (not education experts).  For example, children in Y6 are now expected to be able to understand maths concepts that have been brought down from the Year 8 curriculum. 

These “average” expectations are on the whole not in line with what research tells us about how children develop and learn, in that they expect a lot for the child’s age and what they are developmentally ready for, and therefore, for many children, these “average” expectations are actually very challenging to achieve.

WBE = Working Below Expected/Below Expected/Working Below – This means your child is not yet achieving their ARE.  Children working below the expected standard are more than likely on the Special Needs register and will have a My Plan or My Plan Plus detailing the small steps they are taking to make progress.  Just because they are not working at the average standard compared to their peers, this does not mean they have not made great progress individually during the year.

WTE = Working Towards Age Related Expectations – This means your child is beginning to achieve at the expected standard, possibly with extra support, but is not yet able to do so consistently or independently. However, reports often don’t give an idea of how close your child is to achieving them.  It might only be down to a couple of small areas, or that your child is one of the many that are not yet ready to take on the very high expectations, but prior to 2014 would have been assessed as working at the average level for their age.  With a bit of time and maturity, they will get there.  Your child may be getting extra support in school in the form of Teaching Assistant support, or small group intervention work to help them.  They may be on the SEN register in which case they will have a My Plan or My Plan Plus which will detail the small steps being taken to help them with their learning.

EXS = Working At the Expected Standard/Achieving/Making Expected/Secure- Your child is meeting the “average” expectations for their age.  All is fine.  They are where they should be. In fact, I’d say they are doing more than OK, as the expectations are very high.

Above Expected/Exceeding/Working above ARE/Working at Greater Depth (GD) – This means that your child is exceeding the “average” expectations consistently.  They are able to explain their thinking, reason, problem solve, and apply their learning to other situations.  Out of a class of 30 children, you would expect on average around 3 or 4 children to be working at this level.

And finally…

Whilst academic achievement is important, so too is how happy and settled your child is at school.  If they are not happy, they will struggle to learn. If they are happy, settled, polite, helpful, kind, considerate of others and try their best, then it doesn’t really matter where they are deemed to be accademically, as these are the soft traits that really matter in the big wide world for which a level or grade cannot be given.

If your child’s report shows they need extra support with their learning, contact me to find out how I can help.

Download my free A-Z of School Jargon here.

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