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Secondary education

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Original poster

Ask a teacher

39 replies

TeachWithMsL · 01/01/2026 21:11

I am a secondary school teacher, so I work with teenagers and families every single day! I find that often parents have lots of questions about school and how teachers support their kids, but nowhere to ask.

Feel free to ask anything about secondary education and issues that we see every day (mental health, exams and revision, social media, general teenage chaos)

OP posts:
Original poster
TeachWithMsL · 02/01/2026 10:26

TheNightingalesStarling · 02/01/2026 06:31

Residential trips... are tge teachers coerced into going or are they doing it as they genuinely want to?

We are absolutely not coerced - trips are actually something I really enjoy (though they can be super tiring) as you get to build a relationship with the kids outside the context of the classroom which can be really lovely

OP posts:
Original poster
TeachWithMsL · 02/01/2026 10:25

@gato21most of my lessons are teacher led - I will briefly introduce some new information or skill, we will spend time practicing as a whole class (usually on mini whiteboards) until I can see that everyone has mastered it, then they will do some independent practice while I go round and support those who need additional help! In terms of poor handwriting- it really depends if it is legible or not. With my lowest sets (where some students genuinely cannot produce written work) I do a lot more verbal work or will scribe for them as to me it is more important that they have the understanding. With higher sets where I know they are able to write but being a bit lazy with handwriting I will chat to them individually about needing to improve it!

OP posts:
LadyGAgain · 02/01/2026 09:31

Thanks @TeachWithMsL- academic performance compared to predicted…so in year 7 is this against SAT results. Ours didn’t do science only maths and English and one other and the year group as a whole performed below other local schools - many of whose pupils are now at this secondary. This worries me. Like the junior school failed them so the next 5 years they are on the back foot…

TweedTorso · 02/01/2026 09:00

catpigeon · 02/01/2026 08:42

No, of course not. It's lovely talking to parents about their children whether the children are well behaved or not. I think parents evening probably could do with being reformed but I always come away from it pretty happy.
you also have to bear in mind that often parents come with their own baggage about their own school experiences, so the more experienced you are the better you are at handling it

Edited

Thank you @catpigeon that makes me feel better! And lovely to hear that you enjoy talking to parents about their children. 😊

catpigeon · 02/01/2026 08:42

No, of course not. It's lovely talking to parents about their children whether the children are well behaved or not. I think parents evening probably could do with being reformed but I always come away from it pretty happy.
you also have to bear in mind that often parents come with their own baggage about their own school experiences, so the more experienced you are the better you are at handling it

TweedTorso · 02/01/2026 08:21

Do you resent parents of well-behaved, academic children taking up places at parents evening? I know it can be a real battle for some parents to get a place and I am sure there are some parents you very much would want to engage with. I always feel a bit guilty taking places, when essentially almost every teacher gives glowing feedback. Is this a waste of your time?

Ps I know I sound like a tosser with an angelic child, that is definitely not the case, he is autistic and faces many other challenges that he and school are managing well, but as far as results/ focus/ learning, he does very well.

catpigeon · 02/01/2026 08:10

Very often you can take away 100 children for a residential and only two parents thank you

TheNightingalesStarling · 02/01/2026 07:44

catpigeon · 02/01/2026 07:36

No one is forced to go on these trips. We go because we like kids, then we just get slagged off by parents the whole time. They're brilliant but utterly utterly exhausting.

Show quote history

I'm pleased to hear that. Both my DDs have got so much out of school trips and the other "Extra Mile" stuff the teachers do and would hate for them to be doing it under sufferance.

I'm also appalled at some of the petty complaints I've heard after trips. If 150 children have managed to apply sun cream but yours hasn't... surely that points to your child being at fault rather than the teachers for example.

catpigeon · 02/01/2026 07:37

gato21 · 02/01/2026 06:25

Thanks for this - two questions from me:

  1. What method do you use to teach the children (e.g. chalk and talk or own research) and which do you find more impactful for the students? and
  2. What impact does poor student handwriting have on their education?

Every school has different policies and normally these policies change every two years when you get a new deputy head. At the moment it's very much of a back to traditional teaching, but less of the chalk obviously.

catpigeon · 02/01/2026 07:36

TheNightingalesStarling · 02/01/2026 06:31

Residential trips... are tge teachers coerced into going or are they doing it as they genuinely want to?

No one is forced to go on these trips. We go because we like kids, then we just get slagged off by parents the whole time. They're brilliant but utterly utterly exhausting.

TheNightingalesStarling · 02/01/2026 06:31

Residential trips... are tge teachers coerced into going or are they doing it as they genuinely want to?

gato21 · 02/01/2026 06:25

Thanks for this - two questions from me:

  1. What method do you use to teach the children (e.g. chalk and talk or own research) and which do you find more impactful for the students? and
  2. What impact does poor student handwriting have on their education?
Original poster
TeachWithMsL · 01/01/2026 23:30

@LadyGAgainWhile I admit that it is true that the kids that “shout the loudest” tend to pull the most attention, we are always tracking academic performance compared to predicted performance and I know that if I had a student that was relatively underperforming I would be trying to get to the bottom as to why! I can only speak for myself but I have high expectations of all my students and will drive them to do the best that they can - though how much the kids lean into this approach can be very different.

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LadyGAgain · 01/01/2026 23:18

Thanks OP. Eldest started year 7 in September. Settled well. They have a 3 set - top, middle and “mixed”. Child is in middle. Bright but not motivated. Will happily coast along in the middle which worries me. Do middle-ing children who have no behavioural issues just get overlooked?