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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that at Parents Evening there should be enough time slots

56 replies

Justforlaughs · 07/02/2013 09:41

for all pupils. How can they justify giving a science teacher 25 time slots when they teach 90 pupils? This year is the first time I have managed to see my daughters science and english teachers in 3 years! I know that 90 pupils is a lot to teach, but there must be a way of getting round this.

OP posts:
LoopsInHoops · 07/02/2013 13:23

Imagine.

You teach 90 year 7s. They are little, look the same and none particularly stand out. As well as that, you teach 60 year 8s, 60 year 9s, 50 year 10s and 25 year 11s.

Can you see how easy it is to get the little darlings mixed up? All secondary teachers have done this at some point, I'm sure.

Ladymuck · 07/02/2013 13:27

I keep on hoping to meet a teacher who didn't know who ds1 is.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 07/02/2013 13:28

That sounds very worrying. So your daughter may have lost ability in the last 3 years and cannot do the subject she needs for her chosen career? And the teacher may have mixed her up with another pupil? I think I"d be booking a much longer appointment with the teacher to discuss this.

seeker · 07/02/2013 13:29

There were 3 red haired Grace's in dd year 7 class. The maths teacher actually had photos to show us to make sure he was talking about the right one......!

nokidshere · 07/02/2013 13:33

We have ours tonight. There are 10 minute slots available but not for everyone. I haven't been able to get slots for Maths or English this time but since he has to do those subjects anyway (its options week) we concentrated on getting slots for the subjects he wants to choose.

I would be horrified though if I only heard my child was having problems at school on parents evening! I would expect to be phoned/written to as soon as problems occured and not once a year!!!!

longingforsomesleep · 07/02/2013 13:33

We're always given a list of teachers and subjects and asked to indicate which ones we want to see, listing them in order of preference. We usually get to see about 4 which has always annoyed me. But this year I am furious. DS has to choose his AS options by Monday and is having trouble choosing. He has parents' eve today so we asked to see abut 7 teachers - all in subjects he is thinking of doing. We've got the usual 4 appointments - none of which were our first few choices. I wanted DS and I to be able to talk to teachers together - not for him to go and see them at break (as a couple have suggested) and not for them to ring to just discuss with me.

It's such a crucial point in their school lives I really think they could be a bit more forthcoming.

ll31 · 07/02/2013 13:36

In ds school, kids go to meetings too. No appts , just q for various teachers , open for 3-4 hrs, woprked fine!

soverylucky · 07/02/2013 13:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

noblegiraffe · 07/02/2013 13:42

longing, Y11 parents evening really isn't the place to be discussing A-level options, it is supposed to be discussing GCSE progress. While I agree that your school's system for allocating appointments is terrible, this is completely separate to the issue of the options decision which he should have been discussing with his teachers well in advance. Didn't you have a sixth form evening for this?

londongirlatheart · 07/02/2013 13:57

Wish there were more teachers like you Lucky. Parents evening was three months ago and I am still chasing feedback from teachers who I didn't see.

Pilgit · 07/02/2013 14:13

Sovery - I don't think the point was that teachers finish at three but that classes do so the teacher has more control of their time and so could fit them in at another time.

nokidshere · 07/02/2013 14:20

In our school there is no-one answering the phone after the end of the school day (3:10) so even if you wanted to call a teacher the chances of getting through to one would be minimal!

noblegiraffe · 07/02/2013 14:37

Some parents also seem to forget that teachers don't have phones in their classrooms. If someone phoned the school asking me to ring back, then what would happen is that a message would be put in my pigeon hole in the staffroom. I usually check my pigeonhole in the morning so I wouldn't get the message till the next day, then if I'm teaching all day and have a meeting after school the parent might not get a call back till the day after.
If they email the school, I see it much sooner. They are more likely to get a quick response too, as I can email from my desk whereas phoning requires a trip down to the office.

countrykitten · 07/02/2013 14:57

Bloody hell! Which schools finish at 2.30pm??? That is a half day! We don't finish teaching until 4pm.

I am not aware of a single teacher who sticks to the 'work to rule' thing - the ones I know are incredibly dedicated and hardworking and see parents as part of the team needed to keep the pupils progressing well academically so they would always make time to see them.

Agree with noblegiraffe that email is a really good way of getting a quick response too - much faster than a phone call.

Groovee · 07/02/2013 15:21

My friend was told a couple of weeks ago by her dd that 3 teachers couldn't see her mum at parents night, on parents night, my friend saw the 3 of them free between appointments and found out that her daughter had frequently not handed in homework despite never going out and that she wasn't heading well towards the exams.

Meanwhile my daughter's school has sent me a letter of concern because she hasn't sat a reading test this month because the book she chose was 800 pages long compared to the usual 200-300 books she normally is allocated.

LaurieFairyCake · 07/02/2013 15:25

Teachers don't have phones in their classrooms plus parents need to call the school during lesson time as due to cutbacks the receptionists finish immediately school does.

The teachers are most likely still in their classrooms but there's no one to answer the school phone.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 07/02/2013 15:25

We've encountered a similar issue, asked to see 10 teachers, can see 5. However the teacher I really wanted to see and couldnt was really accommodating when I sent in a little note asking to have a five minute phone conversation instead. It was actually much better as we could talk honestly without dd being there!

GreatUncleEddie · 07/02/2013 15:29

If there is a problem you should have net the teacher before now, tbh. Oh - you have! What's the problem again?

On another point - I take a passport photo when mine are in year 7. Obviously i hide it for the form teacher and the staff who have the kids three times every week. But the ones who teach the whole of year seven, once a week, I have it out for, just in case. After that the teachers teach fewer kids and have got to know them a bit better. I hope I don't offend anyone.

EssexGurl · 07/02/2013 15:32

Friends of mine who are teachers - even at primary - have always commented on how often parents don't bother attending. Not the case at my DS's primary as uber-competitive parenting going on. But from what I gather it is the norm for some parents not to bother. So, school have probably worked out the likely up-take (particularly for secondary) and so planned accordingly.

countrykitten · 07/02/2013 17:49

GUE - that is a brilliant idea and I think really helpful to teachers who would not be in the least offended I am sure.

Essex - I have worked in a few really challenging state schools where this was the case- and often the more you needed to see the parent, the less likely they were to turn up. Tells its own story really....

bluer · 07/02/2013 20:30

We have a working time agreement you know...that allocates the number of contractual hours you are supposed to work in a year, it includes 6 2.5 hour parents nights, department and staff meetings etc. I don't think that you can reasonably expect someone to see ninety parents in an evening and the fact is teacher contracts are the same so whilst a lot of subjects only see one class a year some see several and I don't know how you could all them to do extra time. I would always offer a phone call etc of needed but I can usually fit appointments in. what annoys me is parent ego don't turn up...my last appointment tonight didn't even though the pupil confirmed when I asked today. I end up waiting around just in case which is frustrating and so rude of them. Ooh and you never get to see the parents you'd like to...

HollyBerryBush · 07/02/2013 20:37

I far prefer my sons school - you get 6 appointments for 16 subjects. So you pick the subjects no one wants - then the core subjects phone you if there is a concern.

Much better, in and out in 1/2 hour.

I always work on the theory no news is good news Grin

McNewPants2013 · 07/02/2013 20:40

I think the best way is to allocate the time slots is see the parents of children who are struggling or who are having problems.

I think it is a waste of time to go to parents evening, unless there is a problem.

poppypebble · 07/02/2013 20:47

Timely subject as I'm just in from a parents evening. We have two for each year group, meaning 14 over the course of the academic year. For some year groups I teach 150 pupils - even with two evenings it isn't happening, so I have to prioritise.

Our system involves parents sitting at a desk whilst we teachers walk around - there are no appointments but parents are sometimes told that they won't be seeing a particular teacher because they haven't got time. Maximum I can see is 36 in a night, so 72 across the year group.

Tonight however, Year 11 parents evening. Just 28 in the class so no problem seeing them. However I sat around for most of the evening as only 15 parents bothered to turn up.

IAmLouisWalsh · 07/02/2013 21:03

We have scrapped traditional parents' evenings. Instead, parents get a twenty to thirty minute slot with form tutor, who has all the information from all teachers about the child, including specific advice on improvements.

We do this for two days every year - appointments available from 7am to 7pm, but parents can negotiate with tutors to suit. We collapse the timetable on those days and do enrichment and sports so pupils can attend the appointments with their parents.

It works for us. Very, very few complaints.