Is it a waste of time/bad move to complain about a form tutor dd will have throughout senior school?

[MrsFogi]

I'm interested in a bit of feedback from teachers. DD's school has a system of a form tutor from yr7 through to the end of GCSEs with the idea being they get to know the girls well over that time. Form tutors also teach the girls PD. Which would be great except that dd appears to have a form tutor who is uninterested/has no control. I am worried about what I have heard from dd over the course of the year (no messages getting to them, no discussion in PD, detentions handed out randomly, girls not feeling teacher is someone they would ever go to with an issue etc). Is there any point me complaining/flagging up my concerns to the head of year or am I just wasting my time or (worse still) risking dd having a miserable time if the teacher becomes aware that I raised concerns?
I'm also thinking carefully about this because I am of course aware that it serious step to raise concerns about an individual teacher. For context, dd is otherwise doing fine at the school (no detentions from form tutor or any other tutor and doing very well academically).

[Danniz]

Sounds like a private school. Head is probably aware and doesn't care. I think you'd need half a dozen parents to raise it together.

[PumpkinPie2016]

Is your daughter definitely giving an accurate account of what is happening? If so, then it's worth talking to someone in school. Perhaps along the lines of DD is worried that she isn't getting messages/is missing PD.

How old is your daughter? Although at my school a try to keep our forms through, if people leave etc. There are changes and so it may be that your daughter doesn't have this particular teacher all through.

It's a shame (and unfair to pupils) when form tutors don't carry out their role properly. I love being a form tutor and although there is work created by it, I am proud of the relationship I have with them.

[cloudtree]

I think there would have to be something pretty serious for you to be able to get your DD moved. Certainly in our school it is very rare to switch tutor sets once they've been allocated, particularly since they follow families too. And if you don't want her moved then what is the point, you'll just upset the teacher and thats hardly likely to improve the situation.

[cloudtree]

I don't work at a school BTW I'm just a parent but my friend is currently goign through a similar process of trying to get her DC moved and its proving very difficult.

[EvilTwins]

Some teachers see being a tutor as a bolt-on and are crap at it. I'm speaking as a teacher, btw. It's always been a frustration - having been a tutor in a number of year groups over the years, and having managed crap tutors when I was HOY - it's one of those irritating things. It may be worth you contacting school and asking to speak to the HOY but hopefully it's something the HOY is already aware of and is tackling.

[Cynderella]

Make an appointment with the form tutor, so that she has an opportunity to discuss your concerns, and to put things right if she is in the wrong.

If nothing improves, take it to the HoY.

[woodlands01]

Agree with EvilTwins on this and I am a teacher too.
I have a form and I admit to not being the best at pastoral issues (my house head helps me out so much with this ......). However, I do get to know my students, I do pass on messages, try to fulfil my duties with PDP (PSHE) as best I can and hope most of my form would come to me with an issue.
Approaching the form tutor directly with issues as suggested by PP (particularly if they are not specific to you child) may cause them to be defensive. I would goto Head of Year/Head of House. If they are aware of it it gives them extra evidence, if not it may be the start of a review process.

[MrsFogi]

Hi thanks for all the replies sorry to post and disappear it got unexpectedly busy this afternoon/evening. To answer the questions - year 7 and it is a state school and dd doesn't want to move forms (she likes the people in her class etc) my concern is more the shortcomings of the form tutor seem to be effecting dd and the rest of the class. Dd is normally pretty measured and is not prone to exaggeration/is usually pretty accurate etc.

[psychomath]

If you don't want your daughter to change form, what are you hoping for the outcome of a complaint to be? Not being goady, but that would most likely be the solution that the school would suggest. If you have a specific result in mind then we can better assess how realistically a complaint might achieve that.

In the meantime, does your daughter have other people in the school that she can go to for pastoral issues (Head of Year etc)?

[MrsFogi]

I suppose my ultimate hope would be that what appears to be a fairly rubbish form tutor would be replaced with one who is half decent (and the current one perhaps not be a form tutor). Failing that, the aim would more be to share my concerns in the hope that this was something other parents had raised/year tutor was aware of to give her some points to raise with the form tutor in order to assist them in raising their game a bit.

[Bazzlebear]

I'm very conscious that some of my form team don't pull their weight and just coast through form time. I think, if you are absolutely certain of your facts, that it would be helpful to raise your concerns- and I mean it in that sense, rather than approach it from a 'complaint' angle. If you are clear about the issues then the way most schools would handle it would be to put in place 'support' for the teacher to improve (support can include a kick up the backside if appropriate )

This is more likely to be productive than a ranty complaint that isn't clear about the issues and just wants justice and/or a change of tutor group for their precious darling. I don't say that aimed at you- I'm sure you wouldn't!- but we do get a lot of really quite unpleasant and unfounded complaints that just make life more negative for everyone and really aren't based in fact at all.

[Bazzlebear]

(It is also possible that there would be a change of tutor if it was an ongoing issue that hadn't improved)

[MrsFogi]

Thanks @Bazzlebear it's really useful to have your insight. I suspect my letter may be somewhat wordy at the moment.....I will review it again this weekend. It is worded as concerns rather than complaints though.

[Turquoiseturtle3]

Hi, I know this is a massively old threats but wondered what the outcome was? Did the form tutor end up being swapped?

[Baconisdelicious]

Sounds like a private school
Why?

Head is probably aware and doesn't care

Or....the teacher is an ECT, struggling with behaviour management but is being mentored by someone with a couple of year's experience themselves who isn't perhaps as clear as they could be on that bigger picture. You need to tell a new teacher that there are form messages to be retrieved, how often they need retrieving and where they need retrieving from. It isn't always obvious and can vary from school to school.

[Baconisdelicious]

Oh! Zombie thread!

[Notellinganyone]

@Danniz - very lazy knee jerk response there. Firm tutors in private schools do care about their students you know!

[Glorifried]

DD had a form tutor she did not get on with (same reasons as op) and they were also a teacher in a core lesson for her.

She managed to get moved from them in the core lesson and is now much better at coping with them as form tutor.