About parents evening?

[Drstrange]

I feel I need to start this by saying that this is not a teacher bashing thread. I think they do a fabulous job and I fully support them in their work.

We have just received a letter home about “parents meetings”, during Covid the traditional evening was replaced with a virtual meeting with the class teacher, brilliant that they tried to keep in touch and provide updates on my child’s progress during challenging times. However, the pandemic has moved on but school are still operating a virtual system for these meetings. The slots for the upcoming meetings are 2.30-5pm on one afternoon and 2.30-4.30pm on another afternoon.

Whilst I understand this ensures that teachers get home at a reasonable time what about parents or carers who work? How are they meant to arrange to attend? There is no option at all for any later than 5pm, and from previous experience of booking the slots, unless you are on there as soon as they’re released then you are only left with limited options to book. AIBU to think there should be some options to book in the early evening, parents evenings have always been a standard thing in teaching?

🙄🙄

The truth is parents evening at secondary level are not particularly important. I say this as a teacher and SENCo. No teacher should be relaying new or important information at parents evening. They should have made contact before. Generally I spend the whole time saying yes, they're doing well as all their reports have suggested. Yes they could do xyz (read more!) in their own time but let's face it they won't, parents won't pursue it and actually kids deserve a break and to spend time doing things they enjoy.

Just ask the office to pass on a message that if any teacher has concerns about your DC, could they email you. Otherwise, check our their latest report.

I wish they'd do away with them, or allow teachers to book in with certain parents only. I know it's nice to hear you child is doing well but it would be better for teachers to be marking and planning during this time!

@Aroloruns thats a really fair point and you’re right-if there was any issues I would have expected to have known about it prior to a 5minute scheduled catch up.

To all the people suggesting I just contact school and arrange another time-my thoughts are that I am not going to be the only parent in this position. If there is multiple families contacting school to arrange a convenient time for them then surely this is more disruptive and time consuming for the teacher than just extending the times for 1/2 days.

Teachers with kids - do you just accept that you will never be able to go to your own child's parent teacher meeting then, if you don't think they should be in the evenings?

My employer values education and knows the importance of parents involvement in their children's education, so would happily make time for me to go to a parents consultation as required.

This is a good question as the vast majority are not allowed to leave in the worrying day for any reason let alone parent meetings. If they are they are amongst the lucky few.

It is pretty normal. Many parents negotiate to take time owing, take leave or other flexibility around it just as you would for a hospital appointment or other engagement where you have no choice around date and time. Schools have to fit in hundreds of pupils. I fail to see how it being online makes it more difficult than in person but maybe that's just me.

Our primary is back to in person which is nice as can have a decent chat with the teacher. Secondary has kept online with slots for each teacher and it is bloody brilliant, you get to book with all the teachers and talk to them all instead of dashing round queueing and only managing to speak to 2 teachers in 3 hours. Info evenings for gcses etc are online too. Genius don't need to go in to school for a 30min presentation.

You don't expect Tesco to stay open outside their hours so that you can pop in whenever you like and you don't expect your GP to see you outside of surgery hours so why would you think that teachers should do the same. Your work is not more important than theirs so if you want to see them, be there when they're available for you

I don’t mind doing parents evening after school, I just want them to finish when they’re supposed to. In fact I recently did a parents evening on a day I don’t work (part time) and it was ds birthday too.

Both my local Tescos are open 6am-11pm. My GP now offers appointments from 8am to 6.30pm (getting one is a different matter) so plenty of opportunity for both of those examples for anyone to attend at their convenience.

Im not being obstructive but I think the schools lack of awareness in the planning of these times is disappointing

Are you expecting a teacher to work from 6am to 11pm? To be honest I regularly work 7.30-5.30 in school and then at least two hours in the evening as well so why I am not surprised that parents now expect these crazy hours from teachers.

Book a day off work then.

Couldn't teachers just work shifts like those at Tescos, so one teacher worked from 6-3 and another from 3-11.

Then the OP could have parents evening with the teacher who works 3-11 who has never met their child, and everyone is happy.

This always makes me laugh. If I needed to see a dr, I go at the time they set.The same with the dentist, solicitor, estate agent etc.

Why should teachers work all day teaching then stay late for parents meetings just to fit into your schedule?

This is what my housing officer said to me when they wanted to come out to measure my windows with 3 days notice. They weren't amused when I told them I needed 28 days notice of a day off.

For all you know, the school may have polled parents in the past to find out what times were preferred. Sure, they lack awareness of your situation, but nobody knows everything.

Most people who work 9-5 type jobs can take time out for a 10 minute online appointment. Most people who work jobs where taking 10 minutes isn't possible have different hours. Not all, of course. There will always be some people scuppered by the times allowed.

And from the teacher point of you, an early finish seems sensoble to me. Our parents evenings finish at 7pm. That's an 11 hour day of communicating with children and then parents. The final appointments suffer and the lessons the next day suffer from how tired I am. So I would be all for a school that made appointments stopping at 5, with the option of alternative arrangements where required. An extra bonus is that teachers have a certain number of directed hours a year. By reducing the number of hours for each parents evening, this time can be redirected to something else, eg. Training or group planning.

I am a primary teacher and we are back to face to face parents evening next week. We're getting complaints from parents who are wanting online meetings again!
Sometimes you can't win.

Err, you're the one being dramatic.

Teachers don't work late 'every now and then' it's constant.

For what it's worth, I am happy to work a couple of parents evening a year until 7pm but I don't like the opinion that many seem to have that I should just be available whenever suits.

Of course I don't. I know people who work much longer hours than me.

Doesn't mean I can't moan about things online...

@Stevenage689 🤣🤣 that's fair enough!

Because it is part of their job.

My child’s schools have always seemed to say if you can’t make parents evening but would still like a conversation with the teacher, contact them directly and they will try and accommodate something.

I would say all our parents evenings til now have had slots available up to around 7, but the vast majority of parents go earlier rather than later. So perhaps they’re reacting to a perceived demand for those earlier times.

Online has been so much easier. I was gutted when my school brought it back to face for face and asked for a call instead. Last year I got a virtual appointment, had a ten minute call while I was at work, the calls ran perfectly to time and I didn’t have to worry about childcare etc. this year, to manage face
to face, I’d be on my own with 2 kids as it coincides with my non-working day. I’ve said I’d rather have a call instead unless they’d prefer my 3yo to join the meeting. Im
really not sure there is any value add for face to face meetings in the classroom.

Teacher 🙋🏻‍♀️

Nothing worse than when school gives a huge scope for in person meetings and you are left waiting at the end of the night for the last appointment who has been delayed somewhere else as another member of staff is running late. 7.30pm finish soon becomes 8 if not later.

We love online as we can do it online, from home if we like, can schedule ourselves time to go to the toilet/get a drink/even eat! We can also effectively plan our childcare, knowing we will be finished at the time we should be. I’m always happy to call/email parents who can’t make the allotted time, if they contact school or even send a note with their child.

As a parent online parents evening has come into its own for us. I have parents evening next week, at the same time as my daughters parents evening, I’ve blocked out 10minutes so can attend my daughters virtual parents evening and then crack on with doing my job. I’d have thought almost all jobs would allow you 10 minutes to do something related to your child.