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?

Yep. It’s bound to be the lazy teachers that decided those hours. Definitely not that the school polled the parents and have set what works best for the majority (always a massive take up for early appointments in my school and nobody wanting the later ones). Oh to be so important that neither you nor your partner can take 10 minutes out of their busy days

School finishes at 3. I could easily take a phone call at that point. It literally takes ten minutes.

I don't think anyone said it was 'lazy teachers' who decided the hours did they? Just that schools could be more accommodating to people who can't get time out during the day. You know, like they always used to be.
If it could be in the evening then I'd be happy with face to face or online tbh. And what I really dont get is that every teacher I know would have the same difficulty attending their own children's meetings if they could only be done 1-3pm for example

@Zizou04 but then you're expecting your kids teacher to work after school finishes?

Our school has taken to having meetings at 1.15 in the afternoon. - very convenient! I think they’re hoping no parents can come.

I will also still be Working. I'll just take ten minutes out of work to have the call and then go back to working. Not sure what your point is.

No, what the OP wants is for the school to be more accommodating for what SHE wants, rather than what the school have obviously decided works best for most parents. Do you honestly think that schools do these things based on the needs/wants of the teachers??

I am quite worried that my school will pick up on the Tesco idea and I’ll be doing 5 parents evenings a year over two nights 3pm-11pm with some light shelf stacking thrown in.

We do virtual parent teacher things too - what a huge improvement! But they run from 4.30-7.30, and there's a facility to add in another parent from another location.
Works a treat.

I only had one virtual parents evening for ds(18) and ime it was a very poor substitute for face to face. It was a compete waste of time.

His other parents evenings through secondary were face to face, informative and very helpful. I dont think it is too much to ask for a parent to be able to speak to a teacher face to face once a year, especially in exam, or pre exam years to have a two way conversation about something as important as a childs education.

I had no problem keeping a 1/2 days holiday to get back home in time to attend a face to face parents evening as felt they were important.

Teachers coped fine with in person parents evenings (ie after 6pm) perfectly fine before covid

One of my pet hates right now is people using the temporary arrangements introduced during lockdown as a permanent solution to make their lives easier.

Teachers managed before but now can't do it after hours as it's no longer convenient? It's part of their job!

YANBU. My DS is primary. He goes to breakfast club and after school club because we both work full time. With virtual PE we never met the Teachers who were spending every day with him. A phone call isn’t the same.

Missed the end off my post for some reason ….It was always fine and expected pre covid so why not now?!

So hope.we stay with virtual parents evenings. Secondary school parents night in the hall.with teachers running late as so many parents think the 5 minutes rule doesnt.apply to them. Up to 6.30 pm is fine. OP stop moaning about needing to take time off. Unless you are actually saving a life or preventing a crime you aren't so important. You can't take 10 mins out or take leave to do this. I'd prefer teachers directed time.was actually. Used to plan and teach not put up with parents spending 20 mins saying its not little jonny fault he's not learning its due to the teacher not allowing him to stand up in class. I jest not this was one overhead at parents night. And no I'm not a teacher

I think the point is that being required to work a few early evenings for this purpose should be a standard part of teacher's contracts as it is essential to the role. Most salaried professional positions include (unpaid) overtime when it is necessary to complete the role, as and when required.

I hate virtual pe. I’d much rather speak to parents face to face. Much easier to build a relationship with them and demonstrate your knowledge of their child, it just flows so much better. For me building a good relationship with parents is key to having a good year. When parents know you they worry less and then it’s easier to call them throughout the year to relay any good achievements or equally deal with any issues that have arisen. Working in partnership with parents lets the child know that you are all singing from the same hymn sheet. As I said before I have no issues with pe and see it as part of my job. In all honesty I always come home on quite a high! It’s lovely to sit and chat about the children and share stories. I’d be happy to accommodate parents as best I could and has been standard for any school I have worked in.

Wow.

Since when is it the clients that are meant to be inconvenienced by a service, rather than the providers of said service fitting around the clients?

Its a strange world where spending a few more hours at work is more important than supporting your child's education.

Strange world when professionals believe they should have to work a few early evenings per year to complete their role properly.

But why shouldn’t she get the same ‘service’ that all other parents are getting? Schools are meant to be inclusive and penalising parents who actually want to take an interest is not the right way to handle things. I do think parents should try their best to accommodate the schools appointment times however sometimes it just isn’t possible. Normally there is enough notice in the school calendar to book an early shift or day off but again depends on your job and circumstance. My DH can never get off for our dd’s appointment and has always wanted to go. Luckily I am able too, this works in other situations too like sports day when he can attend but I can’t as I am teaching.

I’ve had a quick chat with all my parents telling them that if the allocation of times don’t work for them then just let me know.

I’m not offering really late in school but I’ll do a late Google meet where I can add split parents into the meeting. I am also offering 0730 appointments . It is an exhausting week though because all of this is in addition to a full working day.

Parent teacher meetings at my kids’ (Australian) schools were usually billed as “parents evenings” and held 3.30-7.30 (last slot). There were usually two or three evenings offered. From what I could see that gave the teachers a short break after classes ended and they would get a half hour break in the middle. DS is currently training as a teacher, he knows that he will have to attend these evenings as part of his job, I’m struggling to see how occasional evenings are seen as such a totally unreasonable ask. Teachers would always offer an alternative meeting if you couldn’t make the formal sessions too.

One thing that's interesting in these replies is the "it's part of their job."

That's not actually true. Their jobs and their directed time are dictated by the headteacher. So if parents evenings are scheduled to end at 5, their job is to work until 5. If they end at 9, their job is to work until 9. It's as simple as that. Teachers don't get to choose the times of the parents evenings at their school.

No one has said that. As a few people have pointed out before, the school sets the directed time, if a late parents evening takes staff over their directed time then they have to change the times.

Lots of places have kept covid measures in place to make their time more manageable, look at drs surgeries. Online parents evening should be the same information as a face to face except ours has a timer so we aren't subjected to listening to the parents' experiences of school rather than discussing their child's progress.

You are correct. Teachers have always been aware that this is part of the job. However, I have been a teacher for 15 years and what started out as 7 nights of parents’ evening a year has now become 12 with taster sessions and UCAS evenings and Y6 evenings. None of which we get paid for.

1teacher disrupting their working hours vs up to 60 parents disrupting their working hours.