school report

[chopin33]

Today we had our children's school reports, we are rather concerned.
Before we opened dd's report we were approached by another mother who said that she had received her dd's report which had her dd's name on the front of the report and our dd's report on the inside. We then opened our dd's report to find our dd's name on the front of the report and this other child's report on the inside. Headteacher then snatched the report away and said "I will have so speak to (dd's teacher) about this I am not very happy). Furthermore we then received our son's report and we quote "he enjoyed our trip to Jodrell Bank and loved exploring the centre. He learned so much on this trip and really enjoyed looking at the stars"
In fact ds was at the hospital that day and missed the trip.
We think that this is totally unacceptable what do you think.

Aibu?

I teach a secondary subject that only has 2 lessons a week so I have a LOT of different classes - around 350 kids in total. It's hard to not write generic stock phrases for some of the report - and in some cases, they really are just basically doing "fine". As for errors, it's so easy to do. We give effort grades 1-4 and just from a slip of the mouse a really good kid went from a 1 to a 3. He very very politely asked me about it and it was changed straightaway and a new copy sent home. The envelope thing is unfortunate but really there aren't that many cases when it would be a huge deal - how many parents would really scour the whole thing once they realised it wasn't meant for them?

The trip think is an easy mistake, esp if you don't have the register from that day with you.

The mixed up cover/report is more of an issue, esp due to potential safeguarding type issues. However, this is more likely to have happened at admin level rather than class teacher level. Our reports go in for photocopying and putting together and come back in brown envelopes ready to go out to children. Before photocopying and being put out they are checked by the head of Key Stage and either the HT or DH.

Sorry I have a degree fron Cambridge in English my dh is from Oxfordshire (standing joke) does that help we're not all thick you know!

Having had six years worth of reports for my twins (same class same teacher) I can only conclude 90% of the time and effort put into reports is entirely pointless.

Agree that teachers definitely should NOT be doing these admin type jobs. It is not part of their job description and I remember a few years ago actually taking "action short of strike" over such matters. Many schools have got their act together and have provided admin assistants wh do these jobs as part of their role. It is not something teachers should be doing. Those who are still doing it need to make a stand, speak to unions, etc. and not just accept it.

wantsunshine it can potentially be a safeguarding issue. It very much depends on who the pupil is. Not all pupil come from a stable happy home life. Not all pupils are making perfectly positive progress in all areas. Reports do sometimes make reference to outside agencies and interventions that have been going on.

^^
why Hulababy? I'm perfectly willing to accept I'm wrong but it's just never occurred to consider reports as being anybody's job but my own. Our admin staff have their job and I have my job. Why should they have to do my work as well as their own?

I have always put reports in envelopes myself. I can't see the point in not doing so and complaining about it.

we're not all thick you know.
Nice.

I used to dislike primary school reports, they told me loads about what the class had done and a couple of sentences about dc. Ds1 was referred to as she on a couple of them. I think this was copy and paste.

The reports have been better over the last couple of years.

Ds1 secondary give expected grade range, current grade, effort grade and if the teacher has any concerns so you know to contact them this is much better.

chopin33 - do you have a teaching qualification and QTS? If not then you are not actually more qualified to teach children than the teachers at your child's school.

But photocopying and stuffing envelopes is NOT a teacher's job.
It is an admin job.
Honestly - it isn't that long ago that unions took action over these matters. It was at the first school I taught at, so about late 90s.

When I last did reports we had to write them to a file on the network under the child's name then admin staff printed them and put them into envelopes. With a whole school's worth to print and file it would be easy to slip up.

According to the DfES (Department for Education and Skills) in the UK, teachers shouldn’t be expected to do any of the following admin related tasks:

1. Collating student reports
2. Stocktaking
3. Chasing absences
4. Cataloging, issuing and maintaining equipment
5. Bulk photocopying
6. Administering and invigilating examinations
7. Minuting meetings
8. Producing class lists
9. Administering teacher cover

10. Seeking and/or giving personnel advice 11. Record keeping and filing 12. ICT trouble-shooting and minor repairs 13. Managing student data 14. Classroom display and cleaning 15. Analysing attendance figures 16. Ordering supplies and equipment 17. Processing exam results

This list may be slightly dated but it is what teachers took industrial action over in the late 90s

Do they no longer teach punctuation at Cambridge?

This is more up to date...see point 7

<a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/National%20Agreement%20Changes%20to%20PandC%20Document.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/National%20Agreement%20Changes%20to%20PandC%20Document.pdf

What's a "member of ox-bridge" ?

Is that like an Oxford or Cambridge graduate in the same way that someone who has bought a sweatshirt is? And even if you are bloody Oxbridge graduates (so am I, so what?) it has nothing whatsoever to do with the matter at hand.

'Members of ox-bridge' ...oh dear!

blimey, I do the vast majority of those without a second thought I had no idea we weren't supposed to.

Some I would gladly give up but others seem crazy -
if I didn't do my own photocopying I'd never get what I want when I want it. I often don't even know what I want until 5 minutes before I need it. Who else could do it for me?
If I didn't administer and invigilate my exams how would I know that it was right or about any problems that occurred?
If I didn't keep and file records then how would I remember incidents, problems etc?
If I didn't do classroom displays then who else would???
If I didn't process exam results and manage student data then how would I assess them?

It's like a whole foreign teaching world to me! I only did my NQT year in a state school then transferred to private so I guess that's why it's different. But I definitely don't see how I could or would want to delegate any of the above.

Hulababy thank you for your comment, I did not say I was a qualified teacher, nor do I pretend to be. I was simply asking about some obvious discrepancies and seeking opinions.

Id actually rather write an individual email to each parent over the course of a term, than write reports.

What a load of bunkum you do talk, OP

Boneyback -read the quote I cut & pasted - all the things in it are part of a teacher's job