Do all children get "good" school reports???

[Blossomhill]

Just wondering as my 2 have always got good ones with no negative stuff in. Just wondered if all reports had to be positive or if it was just my little darlings

TBH Janh what you have described can be very common in boys when they move from Primary to secondary. Up to year 7 they usualy have one eagle eyed teacher making sure they toe the line (normaly a woman at that!). Then they go to secondary and may have 10 different teachers, all of whom have slighly different agenda and pet peeves, so one will forgive the forgotten pen, andother turn a blind eye to homework violations etc. And little boys seem to love to make the most of this!

Ir sounds like what he needs id a very on the ball form tutor to put all of this together and jump on him as soon as it starts. Does his school run a monitoring policy? We do and each teacher is asked to write comments on behaviour hw etc on a form, which is then signed by the parents. Can work a treat.

That would be great, hmb, but the school doesn't do that. His head of year was involved in the disciplinary things but hasn't mentioned his classroom behaviour, and he has had some merit certs for particularly good bits of work which I suppose sort of cancel out the bad things from a staffroom perspective. The only monitoring process they have is when things have got very bad (we were on the verge of asking for that for DS1 at his worst but it goes on school records I think and they didn't think it was necessary).

His form tutor - a nice kind motherly type! - teaches English which he is v good at and enjoys, so no real problems with her. He is usually OK with pens and books and games kit and I just hope that he will grow out of this [hopeful]

We run form tutor report, HOY report and also a self mentoring report....the latter runs the same way but *doesn't go on the kids school record. the kids have to agree to go onto it and help to set their own targets....it runs the same way but the kids decideds when they come off it. Works realy well. Could you sugest this to form tutor?

I could try - it sounds good to me!

I don't know how interested they would be, because being a selective school they generally have a lot less bother from the majority of pupils, but I could speak to his HOY initially. I've had quite a bit to do with him over the year, mostly requiring him ringing me at length, I bet he'd be interested in a scheme which covered the bases and connected all the teachers without so much personal involvement.

Don't the kids have to be really motivated though? How do you manage that with kids who are self-evidently a bit dodgy in the first place?

You'd be surprised! I've had a few 'mardy' girls who chose to stay on it for a month because it helped to keep them on track. I think it helps that it has the overtones of 'bad boy/girl' that gives the kids 'cred'. It then means that they have to behave ' cos I'm on report, sigh!!' Ie gives basicaly good kids a way to start to behave without loosing face.....most of this job is bloody cod psycholgy!

Ask the form tutor for unofficial monitoring, I bet it will work a treat.

I'm not a teacher but I reckon over the years I've worked out some of the shorthand!

"lively" = little sod to teach
"sensitive" = cries at the drop of a hat
"enjoys his own company" = billy no mates!

sunny - thats funny !!

i too read teacher shorthand
could imrove = really crap
tries hard = no ability

Also be aware of the 'X can produce reasonable work when he/she chooses.'

ie they are capable but never do the work

'X needs to have a more positive and consistant attitude to behavior'

X is a holy terror, please do something about it?

'Lacks focus'

Spends the whole lesson chatting to friends and does no work

agree with hmb

Target - should aim to remain focused only on their work
reads- messes around whole bloody lesson

lacks organisation - means never has their book or pen

"contributes well in class discussion" - keeps talking until gagged

Oral contributions are better than written.....

Unpoken end to that.....because they practice talking and never do any writing

My alltime favourite report, which was meant to be 10 pages long, one for each subject, in my O Level year autumn term read as follows:

"We would comment on PrincessPeaHead's work, had we seen any"

End of report.

Went down like a bucket of poo back home I must say!

PS I didn't see the point of Prep, but I did get all 10 O'Levels at A's and B's (OK, and 1 C in Geography)

I taught in an A level retake college. We HAD to be honest so that the parents had ample warning if their (very expensive) little darlings were going to get less than an A. I think for some of them it was the first time they'd had a bad report. Mine were quite gentle compared to some.

pph - that reminds me of db's report for French after scoring 7% in the exam:-

"has dropped this subject"

DS1's report from his new (special) school was hilarious. Very long. Lots of positive comments including things like "We are now able to fell confident (most of the time that is) that ds1 will not disappear through the nearest open door, or see being in the hall as an opportunity to veer around it at mach 3".

and my favourite "responses within individual sessions however can still be of a variable nature as to bth quantitiy and quality which is a polite way of saying that if ds1 aint interested then it may not get done. But we're working n it ds1 we're working on it"

The whole report is written in that tone. Very warm, very funny and very honest (which is important when your child has severe learning difficulties)

I once had, 'Excellent at Latin, except, of course, for her persistant attempts to reform the spelling of the language and writing with a blunt chisel'.

Great report JJ!

Ours arent uniformly positive (Year 1) ds got great praise from his form teacher a 'pleasure to teach' and academically fine but apparently he behaves badly in sport according to his sports teachers and his music teacher says he cant carry a note...

You cant win them all.

DS's general comment -

We had "friendly and good sense of humour".

Followed by 5 lines about how he is too easily distracted and interferes in other things going on in the classroom that are none of his business (it wasn't worded like that, but that was what was meant).

Followed by "he has progressed well this year and I am sure he will continue to do so in Year 2".

I presume the 1st and last lines were to soften the blow of the main point

well DS1's said he is easily distracted and beginning to disrupt others in the classroom.............which I think is pretty negative

I once had a French teacher who wrote "I am unable to grade her written French owing to her illegible handwriting. I cannot tell whether her handwriting is an attempt to obsure what she does not know or accidentally acts to obscure what she does know".

Ds' last school report had several comments along the lines of "Gosling is very good at XYZ and is very aware of his own abilities" - which I take it is shorthand for being an arrogant know-it-all.

another ancient thread revived.

omg - so it is LOL - didn't look at the date........

that was my fault as well, I posted first after the old ones - how did that happen?

It doesn't really matter though - I mean these topics recirculate anyway periodically. I just saw some old names & was reminded that I miss them.