Teacher won’t talk with parents on the phone

[JustlookingNotbuying]

My dd is in year 9.
She is really struggling with her maths and I wanted to speak with the teacher regarding her progress, struggles and how to help her etc.
I sent 3 emails to the teacher and received no reply.
Left a voicemail message and have had no reply.
Had a phone call from the year head today to say the teacher has received my messages but couldn’t call me as he has anxiety and can not speak to anyone on the phone so could I relay all my concerns to the head and go from there?
I am far from impressed.
I have many concerns regarding this teacher, he sometimes swears in class (he is also DS’s friends form teacher and he does this in his class too), he eats and drinks in class and just appears to have a very lackadaisical approach to teaching and an almost disdain for his pupils.
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Dd recently did a test in class and got 1 out of 50! Apparently that was the average score for the class and the highest score was 15.
I can not help but feel that this teacher should not be teaching a low set class when the pupils obviously need someone enthusiastic and engaged helping them.
I feel that I am banging my head against the wall, I can not afford after school tuition but feel the school is failing her.
Apparently he has had many complaints over the years but it feels like the school protects him all the time.
What should I do? Where do I go from here?

[Post edited by MNHQ to remove offensive comment]

ADHD diagnosis for yourself, I mean.

I will definitely talk further with the year head and ask to speak with the maths head too.
Dd was doing well at primary, she started off well in year 7 but that was a different teacher. She has had this teacher since year 8 and seems to be struggling since.
PFAMO I am fully aware of anxiety and neuro-diversity for I have both (they often go hand in hand if you actually know anything about these conditions) and have suffered with anxiety all of my life, I am more than aware, I don’t need your analogy thank you all the same. Regardless, it is still no excuse for poor teaching and refusing to speak with a concerned parent.
Debroglie I would just like to speak with the teacher either via phone, face to face or email, is that too much to ask? Surely if a child is struggling then the parent is within their right to ask simple questions to the one person who is teaching said child. I am never and have never been rude to any teacher in the 10+ years my children have been at school, that is not within my nature.

Cocomarine I have recently paid privately for the test for myself and have a diagnosis, I paid for dd as I did have my concerns but she doesn’t have any neuro-diverse issues.

@Debroglie

Btw teachers absolutely can and do refuse to speak to certain parents who have been unpleasant to them previously. We’re not punchbags for frustrated parents.

That’s sensible and reasonable. Senior management should deal with any parents who are known to be abusive or difficult.

However Is it likely a teacher would be told they didn’t need to communicate at all with any parent. I can’t imagine how someone could manage a teaching role without some interaction with parents. Even if they had adaptions to say they didn’t speak on the phone they could email instead.

I’m wondering if there is a wider issue that the school are aware of, but unable to do anything about and so they are choosing to manage some of his work so it’s dealt with appropriately.

I have ADHD myself. When it comes to work, I do not throw that out to people as an excuse for my poor behaviour or incompetence and neither should anyone else.

Proof that having a condition doesn't make you an expert or a nice person.

So she’s in a low set in Y9 but was doing well in primary and Y7 before having this teacher in Y8?
What were her marks like in Y7?
What set did she go into in Y8?

...not to mention that you've been diagnosed in the last few days after thinking about it "for a few weeks". Of course you've never used your "card" at work.

As you're questioning his competency, I don't see how a conversation with him can be productive. In DS2s school you'd be directed to the Head of Department

The trouble with parents - even parents who are teachers - is that they think they own the teacher's ass. They don't.

Put a note in the child's homework diary asking the tutor to approach the maths teacher/ Head of Maths for guidance on what the child can do to improve.

Then leave the teachers alone. Go to parents evening.

If you have a few simple questions then email them to the head of maths saying you have emailed the class teacher but not had a response so can she/he answer them.
I really don’t understand why some parents are so hell bent on having conversations with their secondary aged kids subject teachers.
I always do everything I can to avoid talking to parents (I do email back but always wait at least a week) and if I had even the slightest whiff of them being dissatisfied with my service then there’s not a chance I’d speak to them on the phone.

@StopStartStop at my child’s secondary, we don’t have parents evenings with subject teachers and tutors. You could email a tutor about this and they’d suggest emailing directly to the class teacher. Which is what OP has done (and it was ignored) but that’s the correct procedure in my child’s school.

It might well also be the correct procedure in her school, and I’d definitely be approaching for a discussion about 1/50 on a test. Though I’d take claims of 1 as a class average with a bucket of salt!

@Debroglie “I really don’t understand why some parents are so hell bent on having conversations with their secondary aged kids subject teachers.”

I’d want a conversation over 1/50 on a test! Would it really surprise you to be contacted by a parent about that?

I’d want a conversation over 1/50 on a test! Would it really surprise you to be contacted by a parent about that?

Tbh, as a teacher I'd be contacting a parent myself unless there was a very obvious explanation!

I am astounded that anyone working in the school has told any parent about the medical condition of a member of staff. And allowing a teacher to swear in class. Sounds like a very poorly run school indeed.

When you speak to the HoY ask for specific steps you can take to support your DD. Ideally some actual tasks she can do to improve in whatever topic that test was on.

You’ve posted about him before and lots of people suggested you speak to the head of department. Have you done that?

I agree that the teacher shouldn’t swear - and that concern should be passed to the head, with evidence.

But, I don’t think he should have to call parents outside of parents evening.

He might eat and drink in class because he works throughout his lunch break.

Unfortunately, class sizes are too big. Your child is one of hundreds of children he teaches. To be brutally honest - he’ll be targeting the ones who show the potential to pass an exam one day, and he’ll focus on pushing them to get there.

Is she receiving interventions for her sudden dip? If not, then she is probably working at the level expected for her. If she is suddenly working below her target level, then she should be receiving an intervention to get her back on track.

If she’d been in top sets until now, and had slipped, I would understand your concerns about this individual teacher being the culprit - but it sounds like she’s always been a low attaining pupil, from you’ve said. Did you ever ask primary school for her data each parents evening?

Seemingly, she enjoyed year 7, but that might have been down to a friendlier, less challenging teacher, not necessarily a better teacher. That teacher might have pitched the classwork and tests lower, to boost apparent results.

It sounds to me like the recent 50 question test was pitched way too high for that set, as none of them did well.

If you’re hoping she’s going to get a maths GCSE, and if that is appropriate for her level, then I would absolutely get a tutor for her, if I were you.

@StopStartStop

The trouble with parents - even parents who are teachers - is that they think they own the teacher's ass. They don't.

Put a note in the child's homework diary asking the tutor to approach the maths teacher/ Head of Maths for guidance on what the child can do to improve.

Then leave the teachers alone. Go to parents evening.

As a teacher I could not disagree more. Engaged parents are important. No way if a parent has concerns should they wait for a 5 min slot at parents evening. In my view education is at its best when teachers and parents work together

@Debroglie

If you have a few simple questions then email them to the head of maths saying you have emailed the class teacher but not had a response so can she/he answer them. I really don’t understand why some parents are so hell bent on having conversations with their secondary aged kids subject teachers. I always do everything I can to avoid talking to parents (I do email back but always wait at least a week) and if I had even the slightest whiff of them being dissatisfied with my service then there’s not a chance I’d speak to them on the phone.

There is no reason to avoid talking to parents unless they've been rude to you previously. I would suggest parents want to talk to subject teachers as they actually care! Emailing back after a week is poor - most schools I've worked in say 24 hours (bar weekend or holidays). If a parent is dissatisfied that's even more reason to talk to them - not avoid them!

Some shocking views on this thread. Unless the contact is excessive of course a teacher should be contactable outside of parents evening. It's literally part of your job!

@DogsAndGin it’s not clear if it’s a sudden dip or not. OP replied to me that she did well at primary and started off well in Y7 but that’s not particularly helpful - one person’s good is another’s could do better!

OP doesn’t seem to want to engage on how to help her daughter though - just to complain about the teacher.

[quote Cocomarine]@DogsAndGin it’s not clear if it’s a sudden dip or not. OP replied to me that she did well at primary and started off well in Y7 but that’s not particularly helpful - one person’s good is another’s could do better!

OP doesn’t seem to want to engage on how to help her daughter though - just to complain about the teacher.[/quote]
No, OP wants to engage with the teacher on how to improve her DD's grades.

Which is the whole problem here.

I wouldn't be happy with this at all. There's not reason the teacher can't email back!

I get its frustrating. But i absolutely cannot speak to anyone on the phone other than a handful of people.
As for the likes of zoom. Not a chance! Not even my own family.

Ask for him to email or go via head of year?
Alternatively ask for an appointment

I agree that’s what she wanted from the school @Shitfuckcommaetc but it’s not what she wants from this thread, I think.
Here, she seems more interested in complaining about the teacher.
Because whether he should engage or not - and I think he should! - the HoY has already contacted OP to get involved.
So she has a willing contact at school, more senior too. Yet she’s asking what to do… well - follow up with the HoY, surely?!

@Cocomarine

I agree that’s what she wanted from the school *@Shitfuckcommaetc* but it’s not what she wants from this thread, I think. Here, she seems more interested in complaining about the teacher. Because whether he should engage or not - and I think he should! - the HoY has already contacted OP to get involved. So she has a willing contact at school, more senior too. Yet she’s asking what to do… well - follow up with the HoY, surely?!

I actually think it's better to speak to the hod than the hoy. The hoy won't even be the teachers line manager - unlikely to be even the same subject teacher.

I honestly don't think the OP is asking for a lot. A quick phone call or a reply to her emails. It's all well and good getting contact from the school, but really it would be better to talk to the teacher who actually takes the lesson!

It's part of the teachers job to talk to parents, even outside of parents evening. If he's anxious on the phone why can't he reply to emails?

I really find some of the replies on this thread surprising. I say this as a secondary school teacher.

So to get this straight you've emailed the teacher three times and left a voicemail. All asking him to phone you? Or have you emailed to say these are my concerns how can we work together to improve dd's grades.

If you're just asking him to call you it's no wonder he's not replying.

You're coming across to me like your trying to force him to call as you've decided that's what you want to happen. That's not working so just email your questions to the head or whoever it is and say you are worried about those results and what can you do to support dd.

@Cottonfrenzie agree better to speak to HoD than HoY, but surely OP’s obvious first step is to respond to HoY who is the one who has contacted her? Which is then the perfect time say, “can I speak with HoD please?”
I’d imagine HoY is still a useful contact, as decisions about changing sets might also involve HoY even if not their subject.

I agree that the Maths teacher should have made contact, but I don’t think that forcing that is going to as useful as taking the discussion (about reason for low performance, how to support from home, what school can do, possible set change) to the HoY.