Parents invited to school to observe lessons

[redwinebluecheese]

I'm looking for some advice. My son's school has invited parents to come in and observe some Sixth Form lessons. A few of my friends, who also have children at the school, are considering attending.
My concern is that my son, who has struggled with his A Levels, might be seen struggling in class by other parents, which worries me.
Additionally, this seems like it could put a lot of pressure on the teachers. Am I right to think there might be a confidentiality issue here? Shouldn't the school seek permission from parents like me before allowing this?

It seems to me they want to put on a performance yet I am paying a lot of money for my son to be taught at this school.

This is reasonably common.

Many schools will do an open morning with pre-booked tours of the school where parents can see the school.

It's normally known well in advance which lessons these will be and teacher and students are both fully aware.

I am aware it is common to see lessons on open morning, the classroom doors are open and we can take a look. It happens at my youngest sons school. But never heard of any school invite parents INTO a classroom for the sole purpose to sit and watch!

Is your son worried about being observed?

Is the purpose to encourage parents to keep their children in the school for sixth form?

Not yet as he does not know, but he will be if he knows it is one of his friends father.

I don’t know what the purpose is.

I have no problem with parents briefly coming in on open mornings. The idea that parents should be able to sit at the back of the class and watch a whole lesson? Fuck no, that one would be going to the union.

I agree. I cannot understand how it would benefit us parents.

Email the head and say you don't give your consent for this. It sounds unnecessary and it's not fair on the kids.

We were invited to watch a phonics class last week (DTs are in reception).

I've never heard if this and it seems a bit odd to invite parents to observe 6th form lessons. As a teacher I wouldn't be thrilled about this.

DS (primary) school does this every year. Two sessions for each class so that you can visit siblings.
Amazing how often the lesson is an art type project that benefits from a few extra TAs but have also sat in on maths
I'm guest 6th Form it's an opportunity for parents to see how A level teaching and expectations differ. It'll be a special lesson and will be set up to show off student or staff strengths rather than a normal lesson.

But it assumes that parents are any judge of what makes a good A-level lesson when actually they’re going to be mostly sat there bored to tears by complex algebra.

It’s nothing like watching a phonics lesson.

That's a bit disparaging of phonics lessons. I suspect many parents would be equally baffled by them.

This is a very odd idea! I’m a teacher and would find this very, very stressful. The lesson would be entirely artificial as I would choose an activity/ ies that would involve me not doing any talking as I’d be so nervous (I’m not a performing seal!). I’d set it up the lesson before and have them working on a task or tasks for the whole lesson- probably group work so it wasn’t just silent. It would be very, very boring to watch and absolutely stressful for the children too - at my school it would render my small group silent whatever I tried. Another adult in the room always changes the atmosphere, they are used to us having lesson observations - but that it is from other teachers that they know and trust and even then they clam up. Not their parents - mortifying for them! I’m sure they’ll all be begging their parents not to come!

As a teacher I would hate this. A pop in yes fair enough but to sit at the back and observe a whole lesson? No thanks.

We did this at my kids high school. The teachers had mostly come up with lessons that we could kind of join in with. All low key and light hearted. It was actually quite fun for my husband and I to go and be students again. The teachers may well have hated it. Certainly the kids were in no way put on the spot.

If it’s fee paying I’d email the school and ask -

Who benefits from this?
What is the aim?
Are the parents expected/allowed to participate?
What lesson is it?

It might be a fun interactive lesson.

If it’s a standard bums on seats heads down lesson - which would actually be excruciatingly boring for the parents and uncomfortable for most kids - I’d say you are keeping him home and to send you the work for that lesson.

We had this in kindergarten but I’d feel the same way as you if it was A Levels. Schools do come up with stupid ideas sometimes

You're suggesting that parents would be baffled by a lesson aimed at Reception children?

Because parents are expected to support their children learning to read at home then it might actually be useful for them to see how the school does it, although our primary just put on a phonics workshop for parents.

The same doesn't apply to my A-level maths lessons.

With @noblegiraffe on this. I've had teachers from our Geneva exchange sit in on one of my Paradise Lost lessons (context covering Calvinism - I was a little nervous) they loved it. But parents would be a different vibe. I'm pretty sure my students would clam up.
But then there'd be no room for all their parents anyway.

I think it’s weird that it’s sixth form. I thought you were going to say pre-school or something. What’s the point of it? By that point they already are working at a certain standard of academia given that they would have had to get the right GCSE’s to be there…

Very odd IMO.

My DDs' school did it in y7. You could come in for a morning and sit in. I found it interesting and informative regarding organisation and expectations and i think it helped me help them settle.

In 6rh form it seems a bit strange though.

Perhaps I worded poorly. The vast majority of parents would of course be fine with the content of a phonics lesson, which certainly wouldn't be true of A-Level maths content. But they wouldn't be able to evaluate if it's a good or bad lesson any more than they would in an A-Level lesson. I don't think any school should invite parents in to any lessons to decide if the school is good enough for their child.

A phonics workshop is different. Even if pupils attend, the intended audience is adults, not 5-year-olds.

A pp was invited to watch a phonics lesson. I didn't mean that the parents would be invited to watch a phonics lesson to decide whether it was good phonics teaching, that would be so that they could see what good phonics teaching looks like so they can help at home.

The OP however is being invited to observe sixth form lessons - they're not going to learn maths from it so why? To decide whether the sixth form is any good?

I used to work in an independent school where there were several open mornings each year for prospective parents and students. They were on Saturday mornings when many parents were not working and their children not in school. There were talks - the tours happened during one particular lesson.

There was always the chance for each teacher to opt out of being visited, eg because the class was doing a test, but you didn’t have to say why. It could equally well apply to a student who didn’t want their class to be visited.

A family wouldn’t stay in one classroom for a whole lesson, though.

There were also frequent visits for individual families possibly, with tours guided by a volunteer sixth former or member of staff. Again, they could visit any classroom but weren’t expected to stay in any one for long, so not long enough to form a judgement if any child were struggling. I’d usually say hello to the visitors and then carry on with the class.

Didn’t you (and your son) have a tour of the school before he started, @redwinebluecheese? Is it the fact that they might stay for a whole lesson that’s concerning you? If it’s not a frequent event I imagine the teacher can choose part of the syllabus that’s accessible to most, eg the beginning of a new topic.