Headteachers letter to parents with teacher training link.

[itsgettingweird]

I just saw this and thought it was brilliant.

apple.news/AL86JlzklRQ2AoWEC5HeXKg

There's no denying this isn't easy for anyone.
Those WFH and homeschooling have it hard.

Many teachers are also doing this.

But there does seem to be some parents who think they can do it better and yet also cannot wait to send their kids back - because it's hard!

I get to read a lot of parental complaints in my admin role as they come through the office. The complaints are generally; there is too much work, there is not enough work, it relies too much on screens, it doesnt use screens enough, there is too much to print, cant you send things to print out, that more live lessons would be better, that live lessons dont work because thats when parent has conference call. So its very hard to get the balance right.

I dont think that letter was very professional to be honest but i understand the place it has come from.

Hopefully put some parents in their place.

What would the MN reaction be to Hopefully put some teachers in their place?

if anyone has left a rude message, he should be speaking to those people directly

Problem is if you get say 30 twatish comments (highly likely), at 5 minutes a call (gross underestimate) that's 2.5 hours of a HTs time. That is a lot of time to spend dealing with rude parents.

This letter is all over FB now. As a parent, I can see where the Head is coming from, but his agenda simply seems to be to put parents in their place. Now I feel like I can't even ask questions of my KS1 child's £12k a year private school, such as 'Why are does my child's online learning getting wall to wall Twinkl?', 'Why aren't tasks broken down so that my child can access them?' and 'Why are you suggesting at this time that I take my child to ==Fortnums== Sainsbury's to shop for ingredients for a nutritious, economical Marcus Rashford Meal?'
All letters like this do is to widen the divide between schools and parents, because now I feel that if I ask, teachers will be smugly telling themselves that if I want to know, then I should xxxx off to teacher training college.
I'm sure I must be my child's teacher's worst nightmare right now. Which is ironic, because when they started school, I wanted to be the opposite.

He also said how many millions were being made available to schools to add tutoring, summer schools etc and that talks were ongoing to see what the best way to provide catch up support is.

@manicinsomniac

While I definitely wouldn't have sent it and think it comes across as unprofessional and rude, I think it's important to remember that it is a response to whatever kickback this particular school has faced, not a embargo on feedback in general.

There's a world of difference between:
'Hi, I don't know if you realise but, on Teams, you speak quite quickly and, especially because you don't use your camera, it's hard for Johnny to follow the lesson as well as he normally does. Woukd it be possible to either slow your instruction down a little and/or use the camera when explaining?'
And
'I was dismayed and appalled to watch what apparently classed as a maths lesson yesterday. You babbled your way through a complicated concept and didn't even reassure the children by showing them your face. Were you even focused on the children or were you playing on your phone while paying lip service to education? It's not acceptable, not what we pay taxes for and my child deserves better. You need to teach the children properly, checking in with each individual that they fully understand. I will contact Ofsted if I don't see an improvement.'

(Neither of those are real - imaginary complaints about the same imaginary lesson). But I would respond to them in very different ways. If the school has received a lot of the second type of 'advice' then I can see why the letter has been sent.

Good points.

I agree with above poster that public letter may not have been best but if they have received such 'feedback' like the second one I'd want it known. I'd also want as a parent to be aware some parents are doing this. I would be more wary of falling into the what's app and FB pages of discussion about what's being provided in case some took my constructive critics and used it as evidence in a nasty attack.

I've had that done before (not school but a voluntary role I do for an organisation).

I get to read a lot of parental complaints in my admin role as they come through the office. The complaints are generally; there is too much work, there is not enough work, it relies too much on screens, it doesnt use screens enough, there is too much to print, cant you send things to print out, that more live lessons would be better, that live lessons dont work because thats when parent has conference call. So its very hard to get the balance right.

Imagine what it’s like for a parent! I regularly receive emails from the school telling me that in response to letters from parents there will be less teaching, less homework and longer breaks. I want more teaching, more homework and shorter breaks! (More or less)

Imagine what it’s like for a parent! I regularly receive emails from the school telling me that in response to letters from parents there will be less teaching, less homework and longer breaks. I want more teaching, more homework and shorter breaks! (More or less)

Therein lies the problem, you can't please everyone.

I'm not sure it helped that Gavin said for parents to complain to ofsted if they aren't happy with what's provided.

He almost gave the green light for parents to feel that they should receive the personal service they want or the school are failing.

This isn't an ideal situation for anyone. It's never going to be right for everyone.

It's not right for everyone when it's in school teaching.

But I do have an issue with Laurent's who are willing to send their child in for 7 hours a day and outsource the teaching suddenly thinking they are experts when they see what's going on teaching and learning wise.

I'd like to know how many of these parents questioned the teachers skills and training when they could send their child in for that teacher to teach alongside 30 others.

Sincerely I think it’s fairly clear that those are not the sort of questions he was referring to. Private schools have been excuses for poor provision, although many round where I live, seem to lag behind the state schools in their provision.

I think this head may have done wonders to improve morale. As a governor I found it hard to believe the awful comments made by some primary parents. The class Facebook page had a lot to answer for!

Can I just reiterate again that the provision from schools is dictated by the government. Schools have been told ofsted will inspect provision so schools are trying to appease a set of standards when they should have more flexibility to match provision to students, especially at primary level.

notevenat20 - well yes. Everyone wants what suits them and one class that is 30 different things

Therein lies the problem, you can't please everyone.

This may be unduly coloured by my experience of DCs schools, but I would have hoped that a school would lead educationally. That is have a strong corporate belief in the value of education and start from there. I am not sure it is right to change in response to some parents request for less education. Clearly there will be exceptions but I would hope the school would normally be arguing for higher rather than lower standards.

I am a teacher and think it is a little unprofessional and immature. There are ways to word these things more formally. I would have gone for this tone... Just as clear but also respectful...

We appreciate it is a stressful time for all our families and staff. I am conscious of the extremely high levels of pressure my staff are under, producing lessons, being observed so closely, trying to guess children's levels of understanding to adapt work and often looking after their own families. I strongly believe the best teachers are those who feel positive and valued, as well as teachers who have time to focus on their work rather than administration and emails. As such, I ask for your compassion and patience at this time and please consider the impact of highly negative criticism or continuous email threads. Should you have significant, urgent concerns, please contact me to allow my staff to focus on their teaching duties.

notevenat20,you do realise that the teachers are individual people, that they can only do so much, and can't accommodate every single parents/children's needs.

It wasn't the wisest letter and crosses the line past what I would have sent (been in SLT). I agree with someone upthread that parents just muddling on doing their best will take it to heart, whilst those sending nasty emails won't pay the slightest attention.

You're reading a letter from someone on the edge of a breakdown.Hopefully the chair of governors will pick up the phone and check they are alright. Teachers, even headteachers, are human too. This one is clearly near breaking point. I imagine he won't be the only one.

Problem is if you get say 30 twatish comments (highly likely), at 5 minutes a call (gross underestimate) that's 2.5 hours of a HTs time. That is a lot of time to spend dealing with rude parents.

...or he could have written the same letter and simply directed it at complainers. Not every letter is "send to all" like the polite reminders I get that the next instalment for the school residential is due

That is have a strong corporate belief in the value of education and start from there

Schools do have this. But if 90% of parents say the amount of work is too much for them to facilitate alongside trying to work themselves, then school would be failing those parents by continuing to set the work. Majority rules when it comes to school provision. There are plenty of things to do to educate your child outside of official school work. Oak academy is full of lessons you can access anytime.

@notevenat20

Hopefully put some parents in their place.

What would the MN reaction be to Hopefully put some teachers in their place?

MN isn't a hive.

If there is a clear problem with the provision your school is providing, as in
it doesnt adhere to Ofsted expectations, contact your school directly. Parents just look ill informed when they complain about;
Not all lessons are live (they're not meant to be, it is not the gold standard)
I'm a critical worker, my child is entitled to attend
Where's the free laptops?
My child doesn't get it (have they watched the video, read the information etc)
I can't make my DC do anything
They're stressed out.

Some issues are directly linked to central govt/DFE. Some issues are parental. If the school is providing 3 lessons of work (some live, some recorded, some using Oak/BBC Bitessize/educake/ mathswatch some set tasks) they are fulfilling their expectation. They will also be marking and feeding back to lots of DC, planning and creating new SOW from scratch. Having dept meetings, contacting parents and other agencies.
If a parent can't motivate their child or 'make them do anything' that is up to the parent.
And it's TRUE that schools can't win. Parents all want and expect different levels of work.

You're reading a letter from someone on the edge of a breakdown.Hopefully the chair of governors will pick up the phone and check they are alright. Teachers, even headteachers, are human too. This one is clearly near breaking point. I imagine he won't be the only one.

Or it is someone who knows that a few teachers are on the edge of a breakdown and is terrified that the school, children and parents will be in an even worse position if the abuse continues and staff become too ill to work.

@notevenat20

Therein lies the problem, you can't please everyone.

This may be unduly coloured by my experience of DCs schools, but I would have hoped that a school would lead educationally. That is have a strong corporate belief in the value of education and start from there. I am not sure it is right to change in response to some parents request for less education. Clearly there will be exceptions but I would hope the school would normally be arguing for higher rather than lower standards.

They may have said it was in response to requests, but do remember the teacher has the benefit of seeing the level of engagement and quality and quantity of work returned which would influence it too.

However i dont know your childs school. They are all so different

How unprofessional.

It seems a bit unprofessional. But honestly, having heard what some parents are like, at this stage, I don’t blame them.
There’s so many useless parents blaming everything on teachers. Obviously it’s nothing to do with the fact that their kids are fucking nightmares, won’t concentrate or engage.

Good for him. I'm not a teacher, but it's refreshing to see one stand up to unreasonable parents

Imagine the person in government who is supposed to be advocating the profession, constantly doing down the profession? Teachers are quite right to feel that way - when have you ever heard the governments consistently thanking the teachers for their hard work?

It’s all been a slew of negativity - Michael Gove sticks in my mind as a teacher hater, so not surprised they feel that way.

There is no respect for the profession.

Well you're kind of proving my point there aren't you. A lot (not all) teachers seem to have a real victim complex. I'm not saying for a second that it's an easy role because I don't think it is, but teachers are hardly the only ones having a tough time right now.

Also, Michael Gove hasn't been the education secretary for almost 7 years!