To complain about a teacher

[Upsettyspaghetti]

Advice please. I'm thinking of complaining about a teacher, DD 14. All fairly low level. Very disorganised, forgets to set homework and then cross when it isn't done. Also forgot to tell the class that they were having a test so they all got a lower mark than the rest of the year. Books are unmarked. My worry is that this is a subject that DD loves so don't want her to be put off but also don't want the teacher to take against her. Should I complain and if so to whom? Teacher came across as fairly arrogant and a bit defensive at parents evening. DD and class have complained to form tutor but nothing was done. This is an independent school if that's relevant. Thanks all

Head of year?

Head of department first

Guidance teacher

books dont need to be marked, and tests dont need to be told of in advance, so be clear about what you are complaining about.

I like to have books marked, but I dont have to, most schools recognise now that it is very timeconsuming and unproductive, and only mark tests etc instead - in line with most other countries.

I prefer to give students a lot of warning about tests, as they then revise and learn more, but again, it is not necessary - some teachers think you get a better idea of progress an understanding without a warning, and with a warning you just get an idea of who crams best

Are you kidding? Are you saying OP should pay £10k per year and not expect her child's work to be looked at?!!

depends - teachers can spend their time far more productively than marking books -we are stuck on it a bit in our culture, but other teacher around the world dont do it, and I have heard many teachers in other countries express incredulity that UK teachers do - thankfully, it is becoming less common now

I had a complaint about a gcse biology teacher. Disorganised, got distracted and even told one pupil to remind her what topic they were supposed to be in if she went off topic!
I spoke to the head of the department. I wasn't the only one. He went and 'observed' her teaching a couple times. Not sure what really came of it as she wasn't fired or anything, but they were made aware and I assume must have done something as I said I was not the only one expressing concern (and my son was a bit of a slacker so the fact he thought she was bad is saying something)!
But by all means do something!

Thanks everyone. I find the marking comments really interesting. Tbf I wouldn't expect everything to be looked at but the book hasn't been seen this year really. Surely the kids deserve a bit of individual feedback for their efforts?

Of course they do. Definitely complain but I'd go straight to the head.

Of course the kids work should be marked. How on earth are they supposed to know how they are progressing if they can’t be bothered to look.

I’d ring the Headteacher right now.

yes, but it might not be in the book. Our school, which is fairly typical of what I have experienced recently, has a policy of one piece of work looked at every 8 lessons - that could be a presentation, a test, an answer given on a white board, a kahoot or other online record, etc.

Yes, I would certainly think something should be looked at and assessed somewhere

I think rather than complain you could express concern to the Head of Dept or similar about the book being unmarked.
Ask question as to why things have/have not happened rather than complain about an individual

well, marking books has been normal in the UK for decades, but it is currently our of favour, and viewed as unhelpful and does not do anything to improve outcomes

I maybe disagree a bit, as I was brought up on marking, and have marked books for decades myself - however, I would agree that a lot of it is a waste of time, I have written masses of feedback in the past, and it is largely ignored, not even glanced at

But of course the other issue, if my school expects me to record some other form of assessment, which it does, then marking books cant really be done ASWELL. For example, question level analysis of a test takes far longer than marking a book, cant do both

However, I do still try and look at most books occasionally - most often while walking around lessons with a pen in my hand while children work.

Of course, the best feedback is immediate, and verbal

This is so insightful. I genuinely had no idea marking was no longer the thing so that's very helpful. Also allows me to ask on what way the kids are being assessed. I think I'll probably talk to the HoD and I think phrasing things as an expression of concern is a really good plan

Makes me sad when people get cross with teachers for having normal human traits like being disorganised or forgetful. I work with a fantastic teacher who cares deeply about the children and works very hard for them but who also has various special needs and struggles to stay on top of the organisational side of things. She is currently teaching my daughter and I couldn't be happier, despite the fact that homework is sometimes uploaded a day or two late.

I can see how getting cross with the kids when they haven't completed the homework would be a problem though. Maybe the defensiveness is because this teacher knows they don't do a great job with being organised despite their best efforts and is sick of parents nit picking?

Exercise book marking (rather than focused marking of assessments) is very outdated. A huge waste of time for limited gain, and from an era when teachers didn’t have the pressures on them that they do now.

Yes, my books were marked in the 80s and 90s. No, my teachers didn’t have the demands on their time or the better research knowledge we have now.

All three of my children have their books marked regularly, I'm really glad their teachers have the time and can be bothered. It seems pointless them writing anything in their books if it's not going to be looked at by anyone but themselves, and there may be errors / valuable feedback.

I'm glad none of you 'non-marking' teachers work at my childrens school.

See I don't think that's good enough. I would say organisational skills are a vital part of being a teacher. Also, how can you expect your pupils to be organised if you aren't? Surely you need to be a good role model and set an example?

Sounds like they mean well but they would probably be more suited to something else.

@Quinoawoman

Interesting that you refer to it as parents 'nit picking', implying that it's not something worthy of raising.

Consistently forgetting to set homework?? That's pretty poor, I would be requesting a meeting and he certainly wouldn't get a chance to be arrogant with me.

Don't complain, ask for somebody to explain why things are not happening the way that you would understand them to.

I would say that the most important attributes of a teacher are:
High levels of empathy
Excellent relationships with the children
High expectations of conduct and achievement
Excellent subject knowledge
Ability to inspire a love of learning
Excellent understanding of pedagogy
Excellent understang of how to support pupils with SEN

My child's teacher has all of that, and I think if you look at the Teacher Standards you will see this reflected in them. So no, she is so much more than 'well meaning' and is absolutely suited to teaching.

If you expect teachers to be super human, I'm afraid you'll be continuously disappointed.

@Princesspollyyy and as if to prove a point, DD's just come out of school with a little present from the teacher for Chinese New Year - every child in the class got one, paid for and organised by the teacher, but my DD is a coeliac so she has a separate 'safe' chocolate bar just for her. She said 'Mrs X is the best teacher in the world.' 😭😭😭

So, email HoD and see what they say.

Work that a student has done needs to be assessed. That assessment can be carried out in a number of ways. Feedback can vary. A teacher taking a set of books home to mark and providing written feedback that most students don’t even bother to read, let alone act on, is the least effective way of providing constructive feedback.
So no, books really don’t need to be marked.
I think the advantage to a student being in a private school is the much smaller class sizes. This means that teachers can give verbal feedback and support to all students as they need it - at the point of learning. This is nigh on impossible where classes are 30 or more.

Homework is not the great teaching method you think it is. Most of the time it’s pointless.