Teachers! I have an excellent parents' evening tip for you.

[OoozingCervix]

1. If you have a 10 minute slot and you are still talking after 25 minutes to a parent there is quite obviously an issue that needs to be discussed further at a later date.

1. May I suggest you get a timer? Put it on your table. Set it for 9 minutes. If after the allotted time you are still talking, hand over a card with your email on it and suggest the parent book a further appointment to see you.

IANBU.

Oh Spikeys post was very funny - but a colleague of mine was grilled about their qualifications for teaching their subject

Bearing in mind that up here in Scotland you cannot teach in a state Secondary without sufficient subject content in your degree and have a PGDE and have successfully met the criteria for GTCS registration!

(I understand private schools can have untrained teachers though up here)

This is quite timely as it happens. Had DS1's first consultation at college last week. Appointment was 7.10pm. It was our 21st wedding anniversary that day and were were going out for a meal afterwards so didn't really want to hang about. We got there 5 mins early and were still there at 7.50! We could see the table that the tutor was sitting at and he seems to be a lovely man and might have authority with the kids but none at all with parents! You could see him doing the summing up sort of thing, picking up papers and shuffling them, starting to actually get up out of the chair to say goodbye but each time this particular couple stopped him...either dad would start to ask a question or mum would gently grab his arm and steer him back down to the chair. He began to have a look like an impala trapped by lions.... I felt sorry for him TBH but FFS!!! They were with him for 27 mins!!!!! I was at the point of going in there and begging them to let him go! Then another dad went in and I can only thank gawd he wasn't quite so 'involved'... and then finally us.

Reader, I declined to write the essay. He wanted a comparison of Hitler and Robert Mugabe.

YANBU

My DCs school did the everyone book your timeslot then everyone ignore your timeslot Method. It drove me crazy.

All you need is a loud buzzer and an evil stare.

Rigging up the chairs to give a mild electric shot to dawdles is a good idea too

Hulababy. My DD is in year 11. The teacher in question has been her form Tutor since year 8. I am not bashing teachers in general, but I do think that my Daughters form tutor should be able to discuss her with me without having to check her photo first.

Yes that is somewhat different. After 4 years of seeing her daily I would expect instant recall tbh.

DS's parents appt (primary school) will be done by DP, as I'll be at work that afternoon. DP is usually fine, but I have had to gently steer him out of the room to keep to time before.

As for DD, her secondary school has most of the teachers sat at tables in the main area to make going between them easier, and an online booking system that prevents appts being made right next to each other. It's set up to ensure a 5 min gap between each appt to allow parents to get between teachers without too much overrun/time lost.

Works mostly okay, although on one occasion we swapped appts with another set of parents as the parents before them had overrun and it allowed them to reach another appt on time and come back. We did make sure the teacher knew so they weren't surprised.

I also only book appts with the subjects that are either necessary or are the subjects that DD is considering for options (Yr 9). She hates PE, is bottom set, but as she still gets complimented and receives points for her good attitude and effort in the lessons, she and I have agreed she just regards it as her necessary keep fit. I don't bother going to see the PE teacher.

We have a queuing system. I teach the challenging children, I never have a queue :(

One thing for parents, when you email me with an issue, and I email straight back saying 'thanks, I'll look into it' then email back ASAP with more information, a quick reply saying 'thank you' would be nice. If I hadn't got back to you, I'm sure I'd get one demanding to know why!

The worst parents are the ones who come with spreadsheets/forms with headings they want to fill in. Not kidding. Had one dad stop me talking so he could telle what box he needed to fill next! His form was negatively-weighted: one box for overall comments and others for "areas to improve", "behaviour" etc....

I've had one colleague actually recorded on a dictaphone too.

I now make less appointments and only see the ones I need to- the rest can email or wait for glowing reports.

6th form parents evening has always been great. All the teachers sit in the hall at desks, with chairs in the middle, and everyone can see each other.

The teachers don't have so many to see as in the lower school,so they can take a little bit more time. If you turn up early, you can nip in quick,and still not put the rest of the appointments out....you learn this by experience!

Further down the school at parents evening the teachers are grouped by dept so there are 2 or 3 to a room. This way they can support each other if it gets a bit overheated with anyone!

And again, with experience, you can work the system to your advantage,without putting anyone out . Without trying to boast, my children have always have good reports and don't need the teachers to talk about 'issues' as such so, it is a quick nip in and out.

Sorted!

I think a Graham Norton style chair with a huge lever next to the teacher could help?

Also, does the fact that my daughter's teacher has made our appointment the last one of her day mean that really she wants to marvel at how wonderful my daughter is unhindered by time restrictions? That's how I interpret it anyway (I'm only joking - please don't flame me)

ILikeTrains Your teacher booked you in as last of the day because she knows you'll go on time and she'll be able to get home for her tea at a reasonable time!

I accept it is annoying to be waiting around a school hall for an appointment and you see parents hogging a particular teacher but there can be many reasons why appointment slots aren't stuck to and often something comes to light on a parents evening which either the teacher or parent has no idea about and then has to be discussed In a little more detail than 3 or 5 minutes allow. (Btw would love a bell to say it's time to move!) I had a parents evening last week and as per usual I was one of the last ones out. Why? It was a Year 10 and Year 11 combined parents evening, no appointments made and I teach 4 groups as well as having a tutor group in Year 10. No one else had as many groups!

I was the busiest teacher there - regarding number of pupils I teach - and even though I started at 4.30pm I didn't get out until 8.00pm after starting work at 8.00am. This is quite annoying when a set of parents turn up 5 minutes before the close of play and expect to speak to every teacher.

I would say, OP you do have a genuine annoyance but trust me no one is more annoyed about parents evenings that drag on than the teachers. If your school doesn't operate the speed dating bell I suggest you mention it to the head teacher - they make the policies not the regular class teacher who has to put up with parents discussing the minutiae about little Johnny's life in and outside of school.

Why should we use a buzzer? It is wonderful sitting there being ranted at by a parent who will not leave because their pfb is the most important person in my class and feel the need to pull me over the coals about everything I do. I love it! YABU.

I was looked at in absolute shock by two mums of my DD's friends when I said I wasn't going to parents' evening this time (I had asked in her planner if I needed to - she is Y8 - and we would only have been able to see maths/English/languages/science anyhow.. answer "no- all is fine" )

Both parents whinge about "wasting an evening turning up and hanging around to be told they are fine, working hard, no issues"

I said "Why go then?" - you would have thought I'd suggested skinning babies and serving them for dinner -

Is parents' evening REALLY that important to folks whose kids have no issues - in Y8? It is not as if our school does not communicate, tutors put comments in the planner all the time, work is marked with comments, books come home etc... I know exactly how DD is doing - SO DO THE OTHER GIRLS' PARENTS - so why go?

I know what you mean made. I have also never understood why both parents are necessary.

DS1 came back with a list of one teacher who wanted to see us. It was about Maths Sets. V quick.

I feel horribly guilty about having burst into tears at the last parents' evening I went to, thus wasting valuable time for other parents who wanted their tea. But then- my daughter had tried to kill herself.

Of course I had already made separate appointment with the HoY and pastoral support to discuss the overall situation. But I also needed to discuss her GCSEs in maths and science and French. And then I burst into tears...

I apologise to anyone whose tea might have got cold.

Y7 parents evening is the worst for parents dragging it out. They sit down, make themselves comfortable and launch forth into a monologue about how little Johnny wasn't good at maths until Y4 when he had a good teacher then he got moved to the top table and blah blah blah. Parents evening just goes in a blur and I remember nothing when I get home (obviously I make a note of anything I need to action). Even parents who say 'little Johnny is loving maths this year and that's down to you', please put it in writing!

Cory

OP! Please understand that sometimes a fellow parent raises something that it is impossible, as a human being, to deal with in 5 minutes or even to dismiss until a future meeting. For example, the parent who discloses a life limiting illness and their concerns for their child's future (whilst in floods of tears). Yes, every appointment after that one ran late. Luckily, the parents at my school are generally reasonable people who understand the difficulty of running to time, and usually are magnanimous in accepting my sincere apologies.

Not every appointment is a quick "these are X's levels, this is what she needs to do to move on, she's settled in well and there are no issues". Unfortunately. Whenever there is an appointment or queuing system there is the potential for having to wait sometimes. That's life.

I'm glad my school doesn't operate a buzzer system. I think it would feel quite hostile.

I can just imagine the doctors kicking people out of their offices at the sound of a buzzer - I bet that would go down like a lead balloon.

Cory. Only just read your post. It has illustrated my point. I don't think you need to be concerned about people's tea getting cold. It puts things into perspective really, doesn't it.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this x

My personal favourite is the parent who books the last appointment of the evening and then doesn't show up for it, what fucking fun that is. How we laughed not

teacherandguideleader really, you want to be thanked for thanking parents for an e-mail, acknowledging receipt and telling them you will get back to them . You really want your in-box clogged up with inconsequential shite. I would say thank you when you have replied with an answer; I certainly wouldn't thank you for acknowledging my e-mail.

Last parents eve I arrived 10 minutes early and teacher was free - he invited me in and I jokingly said "hopefully you get get out of here earlier than planned!" He did however say he'd booked a longer slot for me and had further appointments. Bless him - he wanted to show me how well my DS has been doing and what they have put in place (he has SN and SEN). Its these things I really appreciate as I'm sure he does have better things to do of an evening