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Original poster

Secondary school open evenings back to normal

130 replies

noblegiraffe · 18/09/2021 10:19

Lots of secondary schools are gearing up to having sixth form and prospective Y7 open evenings over the next few weeks, entirely back to normal - this means adults and children crammed into classrooms and corridors and lots of mixing.

Teachers are obviously used packed classrooms, but I'm not sure what parents will be thinking about it? Particularly ones who may be working from home or in workplaces that still have covid measures in place.

OP posts:
herecomesthsun · 18/09/2021 17:33

@Peteycat

Thank goodness schools are going back to normal.
Are you going to any parents evenings Petey?
Kaley3043 · 18/09/2021 17:37

Great news. I have a son with sen and picking a school without visiting is hard work.

FrippEnos · 18/09/2021 17:40

One of the few things (maybe only thing) that covid improved in schools was the online parents evenings.

beenrumbled · 18/09/2021 17:44

All secondary school open evenings have been moved online in our area. We got an email from our council last week saying this was due to the level of Covid in our area.

Colleges in our area are still planning in person open days but have been told to have alternate plans in place in case they are told to change to virtual.

Peteycat · 18/09/2021 17:49

"17:33herecomesthsun

Peteycat

Thank goodness schools are going back to normal.

Are you going to any parents evenings Petey?"

Why do you ask?

herecomesthsun · 18/09/2021 17:55

Well, since you are posting on a parents' evening threads, and you are very keen on sharing your real world experience, maybe you'd like to contribute?

Are your parents evenings online?

Or are you going into the schools?

Peteycat · 18/09/2021 18:00

"17:55herecomesthsun

Well, since you are posting on a parents' evening threads, and you are very keen on sharing your real world experience, maybe you'd like to contribute?

Are your parents evenings online?

Or are you going into the schools?"

That, @herecomesthsun is none of your business. This is an anonymous forum so if I want to voice my opinion without divulging personal information, I will.

Angel2702 · 18/09/2021 18:00

Ours are a mix of very very limited booked time slots and online, none are back to 2,000 visitors.

herecomesthsun · 18/09/2021 18:07

@Peteycat

"17:55herecomesthsun

Well, since you are posting on a parents' evening threads, and you are very keen on sharing your real world experience, maybe you'd like to contribute?

Are your parents evenings online?

Or are you going into the schools?"

That, @herecomesthsun is none of your business. This is an anonymous forum so if I want to voice my opinion without divulging personal information, I will.

That's fine, but of course if you value real world experience, you will understand that people who actually have children have a particular perspective on these things, as opposed, say, to armchair activists?
Warhertisuff · 18/09/2021 18:16

@noblegiraffe

They had mitigation where possible, 1 way system, multiple rooms set up for same subject to separate people.

We're not doing this either.

I wonder if parents will be turning up to ours expecting mitigations then and will think us reckless because we don't have them.

I expect most will just get on with it as they're no longer especially concerned. I genuinely don't think most people are now...
Warhertisuff · 18/09/2021 18:19

@MrsHamlet

We're keeping online parents evenings. Parents preferred it.
I preferred it primarily because it was more efficient!
SionnachRua · 18/09/2021 18:21

Primary here, we're keeping it all online. Especially parent teacher evenings - loved being able to boot chatterbox parents out with an airy "oh my next appointment is in the waiting room" instead of them eating into the next timeslot and delaying everyone!

herecomesthsun · 18/09/2021 18:21

Our senior school is doing an in-person information evening and will send the information out by email as well.

I am sure the parents' evenings with feedback about children's performance will stay online. it was a bit of a disaster when the whole thing crashed, but otherwise it is pretty time efficient.

User5827372728 · 18/09/2021 18:24

Our school is doing it during normal school hours and having tours around the whole school, lead by our kids…!

bumblingbovine49 · 18/09/2021 18:29

I completely disagree with a previous poster about parent's evenings. The online parents evening last year was fantastic. I spoke to every teacher I wanted it and it took much less time than every previous year and was so much more pleasant and informative.

Antsinyourpanta · 18/09/2021 18:38

Our school used to schedule back to back apts in different buildings 5 min walk from each other so the default position was that youd be late for some meetings regardless of whether you "outstayed" your 5 min....then youd join a queue and have no idea who's meant to be first. Sometimes we just gave up so we could be on time for the next one! Online meant not having to get childcare and actually getting to speak with all the teachers!
...Although contrary to what a previous (teacher) poster said, with one of the apts it was actually the teacher that was the chatterbox and she filled every second of the 5 min (with very complimentary comments) but I didnt get to say a word, other than hello at the beginning! (and I had a couple of questions that would have been fairly quick to answer)

Faffinator · 18/09/2021 18:42

I think parents evening online is here to stay. It is much more efficient and our experience last year was really positive. Open days are a different beast and online open days are not useful. It was impossible for DD to choose a sixth form for this year based on a Teams Q&As or a virtual tour so she ended up staying on at school, as did many others for the same reason. Open days needed to return.

user89000005 · 18/09/2021 18:43

Our parents' evening in October is on site.

RuleWithAWoodenFoot · 18/09/2021 19:32

We haven't discussed parents evening at my school yet, but I think most parents preferred online meetings.

I'm running a parents info meeting on Monday night, in person. 30 minutes, in the biggest room we have, all windows open. If all parents turn up, it'll be 90 families. But they won't. Last time pre covid I had 19 families. I put in the letter that everything will go online from Monday too. I've videod the presentation.

Regulus · 18/09/2021 20:04

I wish to clarify. Parents evening, ie teacher pupil discussion are online due to parent preferences (we had a questionnaire, they were massively preferable for both staff, pupils and parents)

Open evenings are completely different and now back to pre covid no mitigations. We are expecting 2000+ on one site, (repeated several times over on other sites in the MAT) parents from all the local schools and parent from the current year 7.

Interestingly for the first time all y10 and y11 have been strongly encouraged to attend and privileges handed out to those that do. Read into that what you will.

Peteycat · 18/09/2021 21:34

"That's fine, but of course if you value real world experience, you will understand that people who actually have children have a particular perspective on these things, as opposed, say, to armchair activists?"

? @herecomesthsun

Why are you singling me out on a thread again? I joined the conversation as it is of interest to me, and you are responding to me with bizarre comments.

user1471443411 · 18/09/2021 21:41

I'd definitely want open evenings to go back to in person as I feel you need to visit in person to get a proper feel for the place. Parents evenings by phone would be ok (maybe even better) but we didn't get the chance last year, no parents evening at all (daughter year 10 now year 11).

herecomesthsun · 18/09/2021 21:50

@Peteycat

"That's fine, but of course if you value real world experience, you will understand that people who actually have children have a particular perspective on these things, as opposed, say, to armchair activists?"

? @herecomesthsun

Why are you singling me out on a thread again? I joined the conversation as it is of interest to me, and you are responding to me with bizarre comments.

It is perhaps more of interest to those of us who have children at school?
Starlightstarbright1 · 18/09/2021 21:50

We didnt have parents evening last 2 years- last year was 10 minutes with tutor

Peteycat · 18/09/2021 21:52

"It is perhaps more of interest to those of us who have children at school?"

You have no idea if I do or don't. I'm finding your approach to me very odd.