Preferred Name?

[HeyGoat]

After a bit of guidance please for a preschool form (which will then become his primary school). My son has a long name and then a shortened name we use day to day. For example along the lines of Thomas-Tom, Matthew-Matt and we rarely use the long version.

On the school form we have the option for a “preferred name” - do you suggest using it or assume the teachers will naturally do it?

Why wouldn’t you put it on the form?

My DD has one of those names. When she started primary school she wanted to be known by her full name so that’s what went on the forms and that’s what teachers called her, although her friends called her by the short version.

By the time she started high school she wanted to be known by the short version, so that’s what went on the form and that’s what everyone calls her. They still put the full name on certificates etc.

My DS has a name that can be shortened. I've never used it but this has made me realise that all his teachers from junior school upwards did shorten it. So did his friends.
I don't care either way.

No need to use the form OP. When I was teaching I always used my trusty DFE issued crystal ball to determine the name the parents wanted the child to be called, the surnames and relationships of all the adults loosely connected to the child, the whereabouts of lost jumpers, if a child had or had not eaten all their school dinner, the dates of INSET days for the next three years ………… worked every time for every single child.
🙂

Feel better for being so snipey?

It's a forum, the whole point is to chat about things.

Of course you cannot assume the teacher will naturally do it.

If l get a student on roll called Alexander, I absolutely will not start calling him Alex off my own bat if I have no information about the preferred name.

Imagine the fallout if the family actually didn't actually like the shortening to "Alex"
Just fill in the box. School aren't mind readers.

I did for DC2 because they had been known by their nickname since birth and the actual name was fairly different from the nickname eg Edward- Teddy. DC2 had already learnt to write their nickname in preschool.