to think that this Parents Evening needs an alternative?

DD doesn't need to know, join yourself online either from your car or a meeting room after work.

If you get in fast enough the computer system will give you the appointments back to back ours are 4min 55sec. So 5sec from one to the next.

Your right, if they are not capable of understanding the grades then they won’t be able to provide support without guidance from the teachers at a parents evening….

But not until 7 or 8 pm. If school finishes at 3.30, then a 7pm finish would count as 3.5 hours directed time. Let's assume a teacher teaches 5 different year groups, that's 17.5 hours directed time. An 8pm finish moves it to 22.5 hours directed time.

How do other schools do it? Certainly mine have always had bookings 4.30 - 8pm. I have always had parents evening after 6.30 for both my children.

It’s unusual to call it so late, usually it’s on teachers’ directed time calendar and that’s published before end of summer term for following academic year. It’s unusual for a school to be that disorganised. What OP could do is contact year or pastoral office and ask them to ask teachers to email a few comments. Which is a pain in the arse for the but they’ll do it I’m sure.

I feel your pain I have 2 in secondary and Ive hardly made any over the years!

Ours is the same they open a booking system a week before where you book in with your child’s teachers but again it’s first come first served for one evening only - me and my husband both work for the ambulance service and annual leave needs 28 days minimum notice and we cannot leave early on a shift etc for obvious reasons i,e a patient on the back of the ambulance!

If they're not capable of understanding grades then what support are they able to provide even with guidance?
Anyway there's no reason why there couldn't be subject teacher parents afternoons too, would just have to spread out over more days, the main thing is it doesn't mean teachers working extra hours and with many days to choose from its easier for parents to book time off too (obviously not guaranteed for every parent but parents evenings aren't guaranteed for every parent either as plenty of parents work shifts), its just not something that happens where I am because its not something that anyone has felt a need for.

I taught secondary for 20 years and I am very surprised at the short notice. In my experience parents evenings, dates and times, were in the school calender at the start of the academic year. One school I worked in tried the idea of a parents day so appointments were available from 9am until 7 pm. This was in response to feedback from parents .It was tried for two years and then abandoned as everyone and I do mean everyone still wanted evening appointments.

Yes. And I speak as a teacher. I taught for four decades and every parent's evening I ever attended, went on until at least 8pm. Likewise every parent's evening I attended as a parent. It's part of the job, and not the end of the world.

It's that sort of comment that really winds up other professionals who have to work long hours.

I hope you checked all your correspondence from the school since ten started and/or checked with other parents that you didn't miss earlier notice of the parents evening, before you pressed send!