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?

So what do you say to your clients when they ask for an evening meeting? Even though you've offered times that are in your working hours?

And would you mind if teachers then take a morning off class and the TA sits with them instead? Because they'd need TOIL as they aren't a charity so the hours have to come from somewhere (and it will be time with the children)

Teachers don't get TOIL. Teaching contracts have a certain number of directed hours. These are the hours a teacher can be directed to work. They are a lot longer than 9-3:30 or whatever the school's teaching hours are. The two hours would be made up by reducing time allocated for something else, usually training.

Not when they're expected to stay late for 7 year groups parents evenings, open evenings, careers evenings, sports clubs, school plays, awards evenings, staff meetings. Things are going to clash.

So you're comparing teachers to shift workers? Do Tesco staff stay late beyond their hours for no extra pay? Believe it or not, the shops can stay open until 11pm because the staff are paid until 11pm. Shock!

You show a real lack of understanding towards the teaching profession and what it entails. The teachers in my school regularly stay late for a variety of reasons, ad hoc meetings with parents, when there's safeguarding issues, when the governor's want something quickly, when there's a new curriculum meeting, when they have their own performance reviews and personnel issues, to liaise with colleagues, update lesson plans, respond to urgent enquiries.

They aren't robots. And they don't claim overtime. They don't get TOIL.

Does your husband WFH? Out of the 60 parents of the children in your year, how many would you predict are in your situation? I'd predict maybe 10. Most people can get an hour off work to take a call (as I'm sure you can).

You're just not appreciating the impact on teachers and you're thinking only of yourself. Either you take a half hour off work for the call, or your husband joins and relays information to you. They are your options. In the same way I'm almost positive that you wouldn't stay late for a client when you have clear opening hours.

I think you are right, tbh. I do wish my school would go back to virtual though - with the normal time frame - as in person takes a lot longer with no time limits and parents missing appointments while they are stuck waiting for everyone else. I think it's more convenient for parents, for the most part, as well as teachers like me.

So glad I've retired from teaching and all this is now behind me!

Virtual makes more sense because there is no waffling parents making it run late. Mostly the school not the teachers will of worked out what times parents tend to actually want and the majority every time I’ve logged into the booking system actually want asap after school finishes with the odd parent wanting 6:30pm. Leaving teachers sat hanging around for that one parent.

Also does anyone actually really learn anything at parents evening. I’ve never been told anything I didn’t actually already know. It normally goes, Child is meeting all their targets in lessons, could improve handwriting a bit/could do with putting hand up more to be involved (depending on which child) do you have any questions?

We had a sweet deal in my Victorian school.

First of all, a stone cold 38-hour a week contract.* Did we work over this? Of course. BUT, we couldn't be instructed to do so. The upshot was that work outside the 38 had to have TOIL. This meant PEs ran 1-8, so accommodating parents. The morning session was the TOIL.

The other thing was the PEs were all-in, not by year level and only twice a year, so first in best-dressed.

Still run remotely and very popular with parents and staff.

The essential point is that the Victorian government didn't attempt get PEs for nothing, and saw them as part of education, so should happen in the school day.

• The 38-hour a week contact is waaaay better then then the 1260 hours per year English one as it can't be fucked around with. I'm sure this is why the English government wouldn't go anywhere near it: offers too many protections to teachers.

Well yes, I learn how my kids are doing in these meetings. We don't really get any other contact with the teacher all year otherwise (except a note in their bag when they've banged their head at break time!)

The clue is kind of in the name tbh. Parents evenings were always in the evening to allow maximum number of parents to attend, which is the point and the priority surely?

PEs are a legal obligation on the part of the school.

They should never ever be about anything the parent doesn't know already. No surprises was the rule at every school I've ever taught in: good communication means the parent would know.

In general I support the premise of the OP, though at least if it could be virtual one evening, some teachers may have the option to do this other than in the school building.

I would like it to be for parents whose approach to the school is reasonable only, were it practical though. Parents who drive half a mile in their SUVs, talk throughout carol services or other events, think basic school rules should not apply to their child, are not those who deserve consideration such as a convenient time for parents evening.

What an excellent summary of all that is wrong with education in this country.

One of the most important responsibilities of parents is to educate their children, and yet you wish to reduce that to a service transaction about clients and providers.

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.

That's entirely reasonable and is surely better that loads of parents requesting individual times on separate days because they can't make a parents evening that finishes at 5.

Virtual PE are one of the few good things to have come out of Covid. So much more efficient and private. My son’s school took a vote of parents on virtual v real life parents evenings once everything returned to semi- or al and 84% voted to remain with virtual ones.

YABU. School is there to educate your children and parents evening is to update you on their progress. It isn’t some paid childcare that is supposed to be flexible to your needs. Your children are your priority

PE is a weird thing at our school. The kids are told they don't have to do it if they don't feel like it.

And it's regularly cancelled due to class teacher illness. Twice a month at least. They only do it weekly.

Tis actually baffling!

Parents evening- clue is in the name on this one 😂

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.

You do realise not all employers are like yours don't you?

And here we have one of the biggest issues with the profession. Parents who believe they are the employer! If the OPs school have decided that's when the parents' evening is then the part of their job that is parents evening is at the times she has been offered.

I don't agree that parents believe they employ teachers! If they do then they're absolute idiots!

However, parental engagement is important. It might be that the OPs school have got it right and she is an anomaly in not being able to make an afternoon parents 'evening'.
But what happens if she's not? And attendance and therefore parental engagement drops? Shouldn't the school review this?

I huge part of my job used to be attending parents evenings at various schools across the Uk (albeit secondary school events) and the vast, vast majority of them went on well into the evening in order to maximise attendance. It's nothing new!

I stay until the job is done, whatever time that may be.

I have no problem with a TA covering for half a day, they are qualified and capable.

I have two children in the school at either end of the year group spectrum, there has been no consultation with parents about the times or options. I understand that they will never be able to please everyone but surely they could have offered early evening slots on one of the days

If teachers are in shock about parents evening, career evenings, sports awards and whatever else then that shows naivety on their part.

No doubt they knew these things existed while at school themselves.

To whine about it online because its now their job is really pathetic.

It's like a firefighter being shocked they'll have to climb a ladder....

It's really really odd. 😂 no wonder the government yawns whenever teachers kick up a fuss. It's like the little girl who cried wolf. Now there are serious issued in education - nobody is listening

The reason schools are doing things like this is nothing to do with teacher working hours and everything to do with cost. Teachers don’t get paid overtime for them but the site staff who keep the building open late do and it means keeping the building heated and lit later in the evening than normal. Even when parents evening is online the school building has to stay open late for the staff who either have too long of a commute to get home in time or who don’t have a private space at home to conduct appointments from. All of that costs money at a time when schools just don’t have it.
We are keeping ours in the evening for now but the cost is something we’ve talked about as a leadership team and other events that would usually keep the school open late have been moved earlier, moved online with staff who can conduct them from home, or cancelled. We are also having to restrict trips because we can’t afford the cover bill and it doesn’t feel right to pass the cost on to the kids.

DC’s school surveyed the parents and people overwhelmingly voted to stay online. So parents evenings run 5-8pm and everyone dials in from home or work. Far more efficient than the old system of queuing up and I imagine nicer for the teachers as well.

Can you book the afternoon off work or get their dad to do it