To think schools release reports right at the end of term to avoid being answerable to parents on what's in them

[Yellowlegobrick]

Why do schools do this? Its 2 weeks until end of term and still no reports.

It leaves no time to talk about interventions that might be needed or strategies to try and improve things. It also doesn't give time for parents to support on weak areas at home.

In theory there should be no surprises as there are parents evenings, but ime those aren't reliable, its when something is written down it counts.

They should be provided by spring half term so there's time to plan for the following year.

for some children year group expectations are just not an attainable goal. Some children will always be below the expected standard - for those, progress definitely is what matters.

Thats understood but it should be communicated, clearly and timely, to parents. Earlier in the year.

Some parents are working, but also some parents won't have the skills/capability to teach their child maths/reading/writing over the summer.

Maybe don't wait for a piece of paper and engage throughout the year. I know where my children are, by talking with them, discussing what they are up to, info from parents evening, spellings, reading etc.

I am shocked your sister was unable to tell if her daughter was behind, its not hard to pick this up if you bother to look.

The work involved in reports is ridiculous - it's not just the summative assessments, moderation, data drops, writing, reviewing and signing off, it's the IT in the report generation, the transferring to the assessment software, the printing, the address labels, the stuffing of envelopes, the handing out, the collecting up the abandoned, the emailing, the parents who insist they haven't had a copy when they've used the email that attached an email copy to send this message, the franking, the posting, the creating a second copy for the parents unable to communicate with one another without shouting, the multiple phone calls and emails about a single typo on the address that they input themselves...

And all at the same time as end of year procedures, end of year activities, trips, visits, events, normal lessons, behaviour being less than ideal, preparing for next year and the new intake.

The fact that a report arrives at all is a triumph of coordination between multiple people and systems. And sometimes, particularly when everybody further up the line has taken it to the wire for their part, SIMS has fallen over three times, the toner company won't deliver or the paper company is 'sorry, out of stock' and there's an outbreak of chickenpox meaning multiple kids are turning up at the office with spots they've been sent into school with - well, sometimes it's an absolute bloody miracle.

Probably so they don’t have to deal with moany parents and I don’t blame them.

I'm sure your sister the teacher does. So now she can get on with it?

Ours are a summary of the year so come right at the end of it. They really shouldn't contain any surprises as any genuine concerns are dealt with by calling or setting up a meeting with parents.
If you have concerns about your child, don't wait until the report comes out, make an appointment as soon as you can.

“Dsis dd theyve only said how bad her maths is right at end of year having done no meaningful interventions all year.”

How is your niece @Yellowlegobrick ?

Does your sister not check her child’s homework? I knew what the maths comments were going to be, because I knew how well my child did at the homework, and how quickly they could get through it.

I'm sure your sister the teacher does. So now she can get on with it?

What about the kids who don't have well educated parents who can do this 🤔

Neverdropyourmooncup
This thread has made clear many schools put considerably more effort into it than others. There's no printing at all in ours.

Clearly some schools do manage to get these out a few weeks before the end of term, so perhaps other schools have some learnings to improve their processes.

Does your sister not check her child’s homework? I knew what the maths comments were going to be, because I knew how well my child did at the homework, and how quickly they could get through it.

The school don't give back the homework marked and also give easier homework to weaker kids on the basis homework should not be too hard. Dsis was doing her best to help (PE teacher, no expert in maths) & knew it was a struggle, but the school were implying through the year that what was being done at home was enough to get her to expected level. The comments at parents evening etc were all about the effort and progress being made without conceding it was not enough.

@NeverDropYourMooncup I send them to parents electronically. They are set up in SIMS. I have to go back to teachers about the report’s numerous times. It’s a laborious task and thankless. This is on top of all the other daily tasks I have to do.

Parents evenings are never very informative. Certainly no mention of levels or grades. It's max 8 mins. Really if there are no behaviour issues, then there are no issues.
Reports say not reaching expectations, but parents evening 'no concerns'. As a parent when I raised concerns, I was repeatedly told threshold for intervention wasn't reached.....and yet every single report would be 'working below expectations'. 🤷‍♀️

Maybe don't wait for a piece of paper and engage throughout the year. I know where my children are, by talking with them, discussing what they are up to, info from parents evening, spellings, reading etc.

Im amazed some schools are giving this info.

It is hard to see the teachers at our school during term. Dc (infant age) do not really give clear feedback on school. Parents evenings seem to focus on behaviour, attendance, attitude to learning, social & emotional, child's interest eg in topics/creative activities/music/sport, and progress, without giving real level child is working at . Eg you could make a lot of progress from a very low start point and still be far behind. Even if you ask they avoid concluding and either talk about progress or specific areas. Eg "dc has learned stage 4 phonics, dc enjoyed topic on minibeasts, dc has been working on number bonds to 10" not whether child is at required level. Not all parents know the right terminology or language to ask this, then are surprised when DC are below expectations.

Garfieldeatscake

This is exactly mine & Dsis experience for primary schools. These are ofsted rated good schools, recently inspected.

agree OP, think the same every year!

Most parents really just want this information so they can do more to help their DC. Its hard when you find out at the end of the year and could have started help earlier.

I know of primaries who write them over feb half term, then hand them out around March. Others who do them later, usually write them over May half term so they are out by the end of June. The last couple of weeks of July is late.

Maybe don't wait for a piece of paper and engage throughout the year. I know where my children are, by talking with them, discussing what they are up to, info from parents evening, spellings, reading etc

How do you know where they should be by just asking your child especially if your child is your eldest?

Even for my second child, I was somewhat aware of the supposed level and approached the teacher with my concerns at the parent teacher mtg. I was told DC2 was one of the best in the class. Still concerned, I asked for help with reading recommendations. No advice, just further reassurance that all was fine. I emailed a few months later and received further reassurance. Report them issued and DC2’s reading, writing and spellings are below par.

I am very willing to get involved. I knew there was an issue all along. It’s very frustrating.

In 22 years, I don't think I've ever taught a child who suddenly started struggling at the end of the year & suddenly needed a set of targets setting for them to work on over the summer. This will have/should have been shared with them over the course of the year.

This info is from my children, yr 3/2 but always had it since reception. I barely speak to their teachers as I am only at pick up twice a week.

Yes I don't know where they are in terms of expected levels, but I can see progress, I can hear progress in what they are doing talking about, reading etc, asking what they are doing in Maths.

The report is just confirming what I already know.

Ask a direct question at parents evening earlier in the year.

I know right?

Reports take us ages to write. They are an end of year report. An overall summary of how your little darling has got on this year.

I'm half way through marking 90 tests so I can see how the kids have done, which will inform my reports. So yes, they're sent out late in the term for that reason.

If they're in primary school there's plenty of time to crack on.

And your previous complaint was that parents didn't have the resources to do this themselves over the summer holiday. Now your complaint is that they only get this info at the start of the summer holiday.

Honestly, it's an end of year report and it is your child. The education sector is in the shit. You've been given this information, what are you going to do with it? Be that crack open the books over the summer holiday, or book an appointment with the teacher in September. And if the teacher in September says 'I need to get to know them' then point to the previous year assessment and say 'er, no you don't, there's an identified issue'.

To be honest OP, I don't think the issue here is reports at all. It sounds like you're clearly unhappy with the school in general.

I had to laugh at this. I was trying to find the words myself but you've nailed it.