Do you let your children read their school report?

[FawnFrenchieMum]

YABU - Yes of course I do
YANBU - No I don’t

What’s your reasoning behind your answer?

Same here. We used to have to get a parent to sign our report to prove they had seen it and then show that to our form teacher. My Dad always wrote a comment back to them. Usually something along the lines of them not being very encouraging. I used to enjoy the reaction when they read it!

We used to get ours in an envelope at school to give to our parents but most of us opened it and read it before we even got home tbh. It might have my mum's name on the envelope, but it's about me, and it was handed to me, so I'm going to read it first, end of

indeed! It's amazing how they used to go on and on about handing it unopened to parents. Yeah right. As you say, it's about me, why shouldn't I read it?

Yes. I'm in Sweden and here school reports are given out at a development meeting with form tutor, parents and child present. Usually lasts about an hour and you discuss it all, plus the child's perspective of how things are going, and come to an agreement on objectives until the next meeting.

Of course.
Having had kids go through the entire school system- primary and secondary reports are always a positive tool.
Even in areas where kids are stuggling teachers always find ways to praise effort and highlight opportunities to succeed.
My kids would rush in from school with reports so we could read through them together.

Surely the teachers didn't compare them though, and just wrote individual reports about the individual child?

Reports at my kids school are super positive, the kids have input into them and write what they’ve enjoyed and what they are looking forward to in next year etc they are fairly basic. Anything that needs flagging up is dealt with directly at the time not at end of term where there’s nothing you can do about it,

Yes definitely!

Usually the reports are worded in a positive way.

I find if you read it aloud then it’s much better as you can emphasise the good parts - like oh wow well done you must be working in that area.
And just read the more negative ones as they are. Or you can say I’ll help you find a way to make this easier in future etc.

I find if they’re negative then it’s also a good thing to hear too.

It's their report and I always let them read it to me. I used to let them tell me what they thought about it.

I let them open it and read it first.

Ditto. I’ve told him some of it (great effort in PE, did well in this activity, excellent reading - well done DS!) but he doesn’t need to see his behavioural problems, struggles in some academic areas, friendship problems etc all put down in black and white. He has low enough self esteem.

He’s actually, by his standards, had a very good year and has made amazing progress. And school is just being honest, which is helpful for me in pursuing support. But it would seriously dent DS confidence and it’s not been written with him as the intended audience.

My NT child is too young to care much about reports, beyond “yay, Mrs X said you worked really hard at y and z this year, good job”.

I don’t have kids but I always read my own reports right from when I first started school. Reports were quite different then, I think - handwritten and I suspect a lot more blunt. My primary ones were always very positive and my secondary ones used to vary so wildly from subject to subject that my form tutor once told me that she’d genuinely wondered if the reports for two different pupils had got combined by mistake because it was “like the school report for Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.

Not if it's negative and you know why it is, and that the child will do better because you are going to do something about it. We all know the false story about the school report of Thomas Edison's Mum. The kid already knows what the teacher thinks about him, but what you think about him might be more crucial. They are actually waiting for your own appraisal in my experience. Especially as they get older.
If it's positive, why not.

Obviously.

They get good reports, so it's a boost. Maybe I wouldn't if the report said "they're a little arsehole and frankly the school would be better without them" but then reports never say that, do they.

In case of illness, I'll scratch it. It's not reflective, after the catching up it's another matter.

I always read mine & it followed on,never bothered me,when would it?

Yes of course, it's a report about them. My children have shining reports but if they weren't they absolutely would know about it as we'd have words. Reports also say what they need to work on not just if they behave and are reaching the expected targets, so it's good they know what it says. My children at 6 and 4.

No. They're all very academic so I tell them they done well, I would a) be afraid they'd compare notes in school or b) get feel like they don't have to try

Btw my kids read their reports before giving it to me then ask for a list of things. 🙄

I was 9 in 1967 - we didn't get school reports at all until secondary school. Then, we got a booklet in which twice-yearly reports - one sentence comment, plus marks for twice-yearly tests and place in class in each subject - were recorded for our whole compulsory school life. We were presented with this ongoing document by our form tutors and carried it home to our parents.

The one sentence comments were usually of the 'Worked hard/Excellent work/More effort required' variety, though I still smile wryly at the PE teacher who wrote, when I was in Y11, "Vicky shows little interest in games".

I had played every season for school teams in netball, hockey, basketball and tennis from Y7 all through to Y11, had school colours in basketball and was team captain and was at practices for my sports 3 nights a week. my mother barked with laughter when she read this comment and said "She doesn't know who you are, does she?"

Yes of course, we've always opened the report with them and gone through it together.

My kid's primary school send out the reports with a feedback form; half the feedback form is for the parents to fill in with any comments/questions/concerns. The other half is for the kids to fill in with how they feel about their report and if they want to make any comments etc.

We're expected to show the kids the report. why wouldn't you? If they're doing badly then they need to see it, same as if they're doing well.

Not just the kids....I have some acquaintances that share them on Facebook 🙄😬

Yep, I always read mine before my parents could get their hands on it

Mine are early primary, I've read some bits about good behaviour, kindness and consideration to classmates etc to them but they find academic work very easy atm, they don't need to know how well they're doing at this stage as either they'll feel pressure to keep it up, feel bad if they find things trickier in later primary and don't get such a good report, or get big headed or get used to coasting.

😂