Does your school insist that parents' evening appts are booked online?

[FrChewieLouie]

Just curious about this, because dd2's primary school recently introduced ParentPay accounts - no problem with that. But they now say that you can't book a parents' evening appointment unless you do it through your ParentPay account, which strikes me as possibly discriminatory, since surely not every parent in a school of 600+ pupils with a very mixed catchment is going to have access to the internet.

Obviously it doesn't really affect me - I just don't want to open yet another bloody account, as dd2 is in y6 and I won't need to pay for anything much beyond a couple of cheapie school trips now. Also it rankles that I'm going to have to give the school my bank details purely because I want to talk to dd's teacher!

But I think this could really discriminate against people like e.g. my brother, who works a ft min wage job and can't afford an internet package.

Does anybody else's school do this? Would it bother you if they did?

We have an online system anyone is welcome to book with the staff in the office if they want.

It helps that they are lovely :)

"making the online element compulsory is against the spirit of inclusivity"

I agree. The online system has been a massive improvement on the old system as far as I'm concerned.

But of course schools should offer an alternative, otherwise it is excluding people with no access to the internet.

Our school does not do it online. You have sign up at pick up or drop off. I think this is at least as discriminatory - plenty of parents use breakfast and after school clubs in order to work. Not sure when or how they're supposed to get a slot.

My children's school do little slips that the kids are supposed to complete as they go around their rotations. The whole school has the same parent's evening so slots can run out pretty fast and my children are not always great at getting organised. This year generally worked OK, but I was very impressed when my colleague told me that her kids school did it all online. Although her ds had forgotten to tell her and the system was shut (the parents evening was tonight) so there were obviously still a few flaws!

"and we have to rely on the pupils booking an appointment with a teacher"

That used to be the case at DD's school. They introduced the onlne booking system last year and it is so much more efficient. It is a secondary school so I have to see several teachers. The feedback from the parents on the annual parents survey was very positive as well.

To be fair the demographic of the area the school is in means that most, if not all, families would have internet access, but I agree that provision needs to be made for those who can't use this method.

My school does it online. Parents who can't sign up online can go to the office who will do it for them. Works pretty well except no matter how much we tell parents to leave a gap between siblings, they seem to book immediately after so any late running appointments have a knock on effect.

My sons' school has sign up sheets outside the classroom door. I am a full time teacher. I have to rely on them to sign up to as late an appointment as possible (like everybody else - they finish at 5pm! Why??? Ours finish at 6:30 / 7:30pm) then check each others lists to make sure they're not at the same time / immediately after one another. It's so bloody stressful but the Head WILL NOT listen to parent suggestions that ANYTHING would be better, more equitable

Our primary school gives a slip with a choice of 2 days and time slots which you have to put 1st/2nd preference and they try their best to match them up.
OP - We don't have to give bank details when signing up for parent pay just an email. Everytime I pay I then add card details for that payment.
Our school has changed to parent pay for payments but allow parents to go in and use the computers in the school library between 3.30-5 and also direct you the library and leisure centre which have free computer access. A high proportion of kids at the school do not have computer access at home.

We still do it the old fashioned way. You return the form by the due date with your preferences (and any absolutely can't do times, such as 'don't finish work until 5pm etc), then the office staff sit down and tear their hair out organise times. You get a letter back telling you when. There's always someone whinging though that they didn't get exactly the time slot they wanted. There doesn't seem anyway to win with all parents.

At dd's school, you have to be early or there are no slots left. It is an online system, with something like 40 time slots for 60 children in some subjects. If you don't get a time you are told to email any questions you have!

We use online booking with the option to call the office or call into the office if you can't do online.

Ours have just introduced it. They use the schools own login though not parent pay so no bank details needed. If you have no internet access the office will book for you.

I'm confused as to why some schools book through parentpay. DD's school has the booking system on the school website. Parentpay is nothing to do with parents evening.

Does anyone else have the problem of being unable to see a teacher because all the time slots have gone?

Yes, richmal, every bloody parents night for high school. And I've also had to hang about 40 minutes for an appointment ( big gaps) only to discover that the teacher wasn't in and no-one had bothered to let me know.

Never had a problem at primary though.

How can it be acceptable that a minority of the parents who were unable to book fast enough should be unable to see a teacher? If they did a raffle to decide who saw the teacher, that would be more fair, but would bring more criticism. If you do it on a first come first serve basis, it seems like it is the parent's fault for not getting an appointment. The booking system, however, does not open when it says it will, so it is a lottery of who is online checking it when it does.

When I was teaching the appointment system always struck me as bizarre.

Loads didn't make an appointment and turned up anyway, or did make an appointment or didn't show up, and they never kept remotely to the allocated time.

Easier isn't it to say 'parents evening is between 4 and 7' and just see parents in that time.

Ours isn't online but the teachers give away all the spaces to the first class leaving none for the next, or by the time the kids get to them the only appointment available clashes with one they already have with another teacher and teachers don't let them book it even though on the evening nothing runs to time so you could probably have made it.

I agree with these things being online - so much easier for the majority - but there should be an option for people who find it difficult to phone the office and book one that way. I also don't have a problem with printing out homework, but think schools have the responsibility to provide a 'homework club' or equivalent access to computers at school so that kids can print it out there instead if they need to. As someone else mentioned, local public libraries are an option too.

All our kids are going to need basic computer skills for the modern job market, so schools do need to be aware of families that are struggling in this area - there are schemes that can help them get online.

DCs secondary school is fab, you tell them which teachers you want to see and when you would like apts from, and they send you back your list! Whatever system schools use, you would hope they try and engage the hard to reach parents

Our school's system is online, but you can ring the school office and book with them if you need to. We have a very mixed catchment, the school are aware that there are families without Internet access and printers and do everything they can to help.

I really like the online system, but I'm a nerd.