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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think I should know my child's teacher for September by now

59 replies

Doitonmyown · 16/07/2014 23:02

I can't believe I still don't know who will be teaching DD in year 1 in September. Apparently we won't find out until Monday with only 2 days left of school . I think this is crazy but perhaps aibu and it's fine to be kept waiting until the lady minute. Would love to know if our school is in the minority or not .

OP posts:

SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker · 17/07/2014 00:44

We find out at my son's school about a week or two before school starts. Not as much time for whining and the school is closed so parents can't mutiny because they got Mr/s X instead of Mr/s Y.

ProtegeMoi · 17/07/2014 01:13

I don't know yet either which is really annoying me as DS has special needs and I not only need to prepare DS for the move WELL in advance. I also need to speak to the new teacher to arrange the slow reintroduction they always do when he returns in September. They are cutting it very fine!

cheepsskram · 17/07/2014 06:37

It could well be that they haven't managed to recruit a full compliment of staff yet. Many schools are having trouble recruiting (thanks Mr Gove) and I know of a couple of schools near me where that is the case.

Delphiniumsblue · 17/07/2014 06:42

I would agree with cheepsskram- vacancies are difficult to fill. Maybe they have staff who are wanting to go part time and job share- another common think these days.
As long as they get chance to meet them before the end of term I can't see it matters.

angelos02 · 17/07/2014 06:44

Eh? You'll find out on the first day of term in September. They may not have recruited that post yet, person may leave, change career, get pregnant etc. Jeez. Does it matter?

Delphiniumsblue · 17/07/2014 06:45

Or if they have new staff coming perhaps they are waiting for them to visit. Our local primary has 5 new staff coming - the Head is difficult to work for.

CrohnicallyDepressed · 17/07/2014 06:49

The children coming into reception have known their teacher for a while, and have had several settling in days, parents meetings etc.

Children with SEN who need time to adjust (such as those with ASD) also know who their teacher is so that appropriate settling in activities can be arranged.

However, the majority of children will find out on Friday, when they will have chance to meet their new teacher and see who else is in their class. As has been said, it cuts down on parental fussing, and the parents are aware that as the children have been told, we won't change classes round without VERY good reason. As I mentioned on a thread about it, changing classes round isn't always as simple as swapping 2 children. We take into account mix of boys/girls, abilities, friendship groups, incompatible children, Pupil Premium children, SEN, EAL etc.

Sirzy · 17/07/2014 06:50

Unless there is a specific need to know then as nice as it is to know it doesn't matter too much when you find out surely?

DS starts school in September and I was told a week before others what class he was going into to allow us to have planning meetings about him before the school break up. Everyone else found out last week.

BettyFlour · 17/07/2014 06:53

OP I totally understand. My DS (also currently in Reception), had his heart set on the current year 1 teacher. He will be sad to leave his Reception teacher (as will I!!!), and I had to manage expectations too.

But we found out on M

Purpleroxy · 17/07/2014 06:56

Schools round here have a moving up day. It has been really useful for both my dc. It's not just the teacher, it's the new classroom which in some cases is a different building. It's good to have some idea what you're going back to after such a long break rather than just plunging into the unknown. Some kids (and adults!) don't mind that but lots do so it's good practice to do a moving up day if the school can facilitate it.

BettyFlour · 17/07/2014 06:57

Stupid phone - sorry

We found out at the start of the week. The kids then had a transition morning, then there was a transition evening (for seeing the new classroom and meeting the teacher). I think this is important for the youngest kids. It was also useful for me, so I can sincerely "big up" moving into year 1.

The school had these transition mornings and evenings for ALL year groups. I think it works really well.

OP YANBU

sashh · 17/07/2014 07:07

For some reason I have a vision of a poker game going on in the staff room with the winnings being everyone's favorite class and the looser having to take the worst class.

SuburbanRhonda · 17/07/2014 07:48

susan, a child going into year 1 will not be 4 years old. They are all 5 when they go into year 1. Although I suppose it depends what you mean by "going into Year 1". If you mean that Year 1 is their next class, that would apply to all children in Reception class before they reach 5 years old!

jamdonut · 17/07/2014 07:52

I wouldn't let your daughter set her heart on a particular teacher - it may be that the teacher will move year groups!

I'd quite like to know which year group I will be a TA in for next year! The teachers and children know where they will be,but us poor TAs haven't been told yet. I'm in year 4 at the moment - really hoping I don't get Foundation ...I find that really hard. But the Head is keen on moving people out of their comfort zones .

CheerfulYank · 17/07/2014 07:54

Here they get out the end of May and go back the beginning of September and we don't find out til August.

Icimoi · 17/07/2014 08:01

I'm amazed if it really is the norm in so many places. When my dc were in primary school, we knew a few weeks before the end of the summer term, and we had a "meet the teachers" session when the new teachers would say hallo and go through things like what topics would be covered, what equipment the children should have, what class trips there would be etc.

DD is now a teacher and has known for weeks what class she will be teaching next year - she needed to so that she could get together with their current teacher for a handover session, and it's helpful to her because she's moving to a different year group so again she can begin to liaise about lesson planning. Surely all schools sort these things out well before the end of the summer term?

JuniperTisane · 17/07/2014 08:03

My sister got her teaching job in Yr1 a week before the autumn term began last year.

redskybynight · 17/07/2014 08:58

Well we do know who DD's teacher is.

It's Miss "something beginning with M" who is new to the school (but DD has met her on moving up day and evidently failed to work out what her name is).

Not sure this is better than not knowing at all.

TopsyTail · 17/07/2014 09:03

I think it's nice for the children to know who will be their teacher after the summer and have a look around their new classroom before the holidays. I agree with others that they leave it late on purpose to avoid any moaning from parents.

We're in Scotland and DS1 visited his classroom/new teacher a few days before the end of term. The first parents knew of it was when the children came out and told us who their teacher was to be the next year. We also had an email from the teacher that evening introducing themselves to us.

SaveTheMockingBird · 17/07/2014 09:18

We were told who next years teacher is going to be in the end of year report which was handed out on Monday. She is new to the school and we met her when we went to a parents meeting about moving up to Y1. My DS is not in the least bothered who teaches him, never has been, so it didn't matter to him at all. But my DD who is going into reception, greatly benefitted from spending time with her new teacher when she did a home visit and also during the induction.

Stickerrocks · 17/07/2014 09:34

We found out in the last couple of days of term to minimise the number of parents coming in to complain that Justin didn't want to be in the same class as Jemima because she had once stuck her tongue out at him and traumatised the poor lamb. It really makes no difference to the majority of year transfers.

LarrytheCucumber · 17/07/2014 09:35

When my first two children were at Junior School the Head wouldn't tell them who their teacher was until they went back in September because he 'didn't want a load of parents complaining'!

Iffy2014 · 17/07/2014 12:02

To be honest, I can't blame headteachers for keeping it back to prevent huge numbers of parents complaining. It's bad enough in our secondary when the pupils go from Year 7 forms to vertical tutor groups.

"I don't want my son/daughter in the same tutor as so-and-so, they need to be with such-and-such."

There's great temptation to just say, "Tutor is twenty minutes per day and it is NOT an opportunity for your child to socialise. Get over it."

Stinkle · 17/07/2014 12:20

My children have known who their new teachers are going to be for at least a month.

Don't you have transition days? We have move up days which are co-ordinated with all the local pre-schools and high schools, and everyone moves up - we have 2 move up days over 2 weeks.

Mine break up on Tuesday, I would expect to know by now.

Stinkle · 17/07/2014 12:23

Although, if you don't have transition days, then I guess you wouldn't really need to know yet

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