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Original poster

Teacher Reply Over Summer

353 replies

hairnightmare17 · 21/07/2018 11:08

Son is in secondary school.

We received school reports on Monday. One grade on there is different to what my son said he achieved. It was a terrible mark for an important subject and he would need work on it over the summer if it is correct, since he is going into year 11.

I tend to believe my son didn't get that mark but without a reply from the teachers I won't know for sure. I have queried it by email twice this week, no reply. Attempted to call, to no avail. School broke up yesterday.

Is it worth emailing again? Is it likely I would receive a response over the summer break.

OP posts:
MaisyPops · 22/07/2018 21:43

I'd have responded if I had time and usually would make time (but would have bumped it down my to do list after they made a 2nd round of contact within 24 hours).

There are many justifiable reasons why it might not have happened though:

  • collapsed days
  • staff days off
  • already answered it in class
  • sports days
  • trips
  • residentials
  • swapped days to attend their own children's leaving events
  • not working evenings on planning etc due to attending prom and leavers events
  • staff absence due to child being poorly et
  • genuinely busy working well beyond directed time on work more pressing than a non urgent message from a parent repeatedly pestering for information which has already been communicated to the students

I do my best to reply to parents as quick and as thoroughly as reasonable. Some weeks it doesn't happen and that's the nature of the job.

The logical outcome is that the DC revises what he got a 4 in. You don't need to be a genius or a teacher to work that out.

BoneyBackJefferson · 22/07/2018 21:45

I would have responded in some form.

But in what form would depend on what was in the email.

I might even have spoken to the DS and expected them to relay the answer.

manicinsomniac · 22/07/2018 22:32

Missed that the email was sent 4 days before end of term - yes, very odd not to get a reply in my experience. In termtime, we have to reply within 24 hours of receiving a parental email, even if it's just a holding, 'thank you for your email. I am looking into the situation and will get back to you more fully asap' type reply. In holiday time we don't have to reply but most would reply to a reasonable email at some point convenient to them.

dorisdog · 22/07/2018 22:35

Surely he should be relaxing and having fun during the summer holidays!

kmckenna477 · 22/07/2018 22:35

I would make discreet enquiries from my son’s pals’ parents. Surely this inaccuracy happened to more than one child?

RabbityMcRabbit · 22/07/2018 22:54

Teachers are not paid over the holidays so it's unlikely you will get a reply.

Mistressiggi · 22/07/2018 23:19

What inaccuracy, kmckenna?

Teacherontherun · 22/07/2018 23:27

OP, take a breath and don't panic. As a teacher my advice is this, do a little bit of work over the summer to keep things ticking over. Many teachers will be in school for results day, you could always try then. But genuinely if you are keeping things ticking over and he is a well behaved student then in September you can get a detailed analysis of his recent test and go hell for leather on revision etc. I would say though that year 10 is all about making the mistake in exams, the key is getting a good question level analysis of what he has done wrong and work on t

mirialis · 22/07/2018 23:31

The problem (and not the OP's complaint at all), is that most people cannot imagine earning £30k a year and having 6 weeks+ holiday when they didn't even have to spend a few hours of officially "unpaid leave" clearing up emails and putting an auto response of "I will discuss in September" on.

Pengggwn · 23/07/2018 00:09

mirialis

I can't imagine getting paid £100k a year and having a PA, my own office and time to pee whenever I want. People have different jobs.

preggersteach · 23/07/2018 00:12

My school doesn't allow staff to send emails to parents not on work computers so unless I was actually in school I couldn't reply to a parent regardless of holidays or not. I understand this is becoming more common.

mirialis · 23/07/2018 00:14

If you can't imagine such scenarios then teaching seems a weird vocation for you to have picked.

100k is nothing like the national average salary.

Pengggwn · 23/07/2018 00:17

mirialis

Eh?

kmckenna477 · 23/07/2018 06:50

The inaccuracy DS suggests has happened. He maintains he was a 7 but the report states a 4 in achievement.

strawberrisc · 23/07/2018 06:55

I haven’t read all the posts so I’ll just say this.

I won’t be replying to anything other than Safeguarding over the Summer.

However, you COULD go in on GCSE results day if you really can’t wait...

cantkeepawayforever · 23/07/2018 08:45

Returning briefly, for a secondary child I would expect that if the teacher had answered the question verbally in class they would not also feel the need to reply in an e-mail from a parent:

Teacher to class: Your reports are based on your performance in X exam

Child has got a 4 in X exam but then gets a 7 in a later exam, Y.

Parent sends e-mail to query.

Teacher to class: Remember that the reports are based on your performance in X exam, not Y exam.

Parent gets very grumpy not to have received an e-mail stating exactly what the teacher has already specifically told her DS in class.

ChrisNReed · 23/07/2018 08:56

Not sure if one exam mark will make a difference in the big scheme (ie the next 60-70 years of his life). Talk to him and ask what he wants to do, but as an adult, you explain the consequences of it being true or a marking mistake. Does this mean more to you than him?

MaisyPops · 23/07/2018 09:17

cantkeepawayforever
I agree.

I told my y10 class what they needed to work on over the summer.
I wouldn't expect multiple emails asking what they need to work on.

babyyorkie · 23/07/2018 09:25

I haven't read the show thread but what your son got in his exam might not be a reflection of his current grade overall. The grade on the report might be what he is currently averaging out at, and the exam he just did particularly well in.

ThisMightAlsoInterestYou · 23/07/2018 09:31

I had a very similar thing happen with my DS a few years ago. One subject was marked way down and we couldn't work out why. Like you, this was at the end of the summer term, so I emailed the teacher several times and got no reply. Eventually I emailed the head and then did get a reply - it was a mistake. It took several weeks though. My DS's school does run a skeleton staff over the summer with the school office open for a few hours a day. I'd keep trying.

Tabathatwitchett · 23/07/2018 10:05

rare occasions I have contacted a teacher in the past, I remember receiving a reply at 9pm at night

And that should tell you all you need to know about a teacher's workload and why they need and deserve a break in the holidays.

BillyWilliamTheThird · 23/07/2018 10:05

OP, not a snippy question but a genuine one. Have you looked in detail at the data collection sheet? My school sends home an expected outcome grade in ks4 - what we think they'll get in their actual Y11 results - as well as, when relevant, an exam grade to show how they're doing now. Bonkers system, but one that lots of schools use and causes lots of confusion. Could that be the difference?

I'd suggest that a student we expect to get a 7 at the end of the course could easily flunk the Y10 exam and get a 4. Happens all the time because y10 exams are just a diagnostic tool for spotting weak points to work on in Y11. Y11 is all about exam skills, knowing the paper and doing it in timed conditions to get the extra 15-20 marks or so for the top grades (disclaimer: that's my subject, not sure of the grade boundaries or board for your son, mind).

I'd also suggest that, if your son has been a grade 7 for the whole of y10, then you should be expecting progress in Y11 and consequently an 8 or a 9 this time next year!

As far as emails are concerned, I think it's poor that they haven't responded; I reply to parent emails immediately to avoid exactly this sort of turmoil from people fretting and then it becoming a problem for my students. That said, was it activities week in the final week or similar? Teachers might have been off site? Also not really an excuse, as we're still working but possibly an explanation. Are they part time and had already finished when you emailed?

If you're really desperate then a member of SLT might reply I suppose, but they probably wont know the specifics and ime would just give a load of PR bullshit anyway.

There are plenty of opportunities for him to make up the difference next year. I routinely see high ability students jump from rubbish y10 exam grades to top grades in Y11 because y11 is just about sharpening their exam skills.

Mistressiggi · 23/07/2018 14:51

Nope, still don’t see the inaccuracy kmckenna Did you read this bit?
*

Mistressiggi · 23/07/2018 14:54

Sorry can’t paste for some reason, in about op’s Second post she gives the explanation given by the teacher for the apparent discrepancy

Noodledoodledoo · 23/07/2018 16:23

I had a complaint made about me once about not replying to an email from a parent, sent at 4pm on a Friday (I didn't work Friday's regardless of the time, the student knew this). Normally I would probably have looked at my email over the weekend, but when they emailed me I was say in A&E with appendicitis. I was operated on on the Sunday.

I replied when I got out on the Monday, to say I wouldn't be in that week but gave as much info as I could in the email. I explained why I would not be in as well - when I don't need to.

The reply I got was rude complaining I wasn't in and then forwarded as a complaint - which was squashed but still made.

What annoyed me the most was it was a parent of a child who did nothing in class, refused all help offered, was more likely to be the disruption than a joinert, had done nothing on his controlled assessment even with constant cajoling but it was all my fault he was behind as I missed one lesson due to an emergency operation!

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