First Parents’s Evening - what should I expect?

[dazedandblue]

DC is in Reception and today is my first ever parents’ evening.

is there anything I should be expecting?
Any questions I should have on hand?

I’d like to make the most of my 10 minutes and not get a very generic update.

It will be reasonably generic, they are only little and basically as long as they are happy and reasonably settled that's a success at this point. If you have any concerns ask about that e.g. eating at lunch, do they play with specific children, any points of conflict. And then two things that the teacher feels they could work on at home e.g. following three step instructions

Probably How your child doesn’t always pay attention, or wiggles on the carpet too much at quiet reading time etc

good luck

It will probably be running late. You’ll probably get to see the classroom and look at dc’s books for different subjects, which will have a little bit in them, not much. They’ll talk about behaviour issues if there are any concerns, but probably just say they are lovely to have in class. The chairs will be very tiny! If you are like me and have joint issues, you might need assistance being hoisted out. 😂

Would remember that this will be the first parents evening for your child for their teacher too. They are just getting to know them.

Some kids are notable because they are nice, top of the class, helpful, some are more notable because of the challenges they can both face and exhibit.

Mine were never either... the invisible middle... "everything is going well so far, make sure to update their reading record". 7 years, virtually the same sentiment if not actual sentence. One year we were out in literally two and a half minutes.

Low expectations OP.

At this stage, our parents event was mainly focused on how DS had settled in. I asked a couple of questions about who he played with and if there was anything we could support with.

Please don’t be that parent that asks 47 different questions and goes over the time. Teachers are very bad at moving people on and it leaves people waiting getting very her up. At this stage, the questions should just be related to any concerns you might have on anything you’ve noticed, and whether there is anything they are concerned about. They are not going to pronounce your child a genius at this stage. Reception is about learning through play and learning the routines and rhythms of school.

Thank you everyone! Oh my gosh - it was in the assembly hall with a giant timer on the wall. Felt a bit like speed dating!

The parents before me overran about good 2m30s into my slot - which is like 25% of my slot (they were the parents who asked 47 questions and follow up questions). It caused an impact and meant the teacher couldn’t get all the topics chatted through without going 1m over on my slot…

But they covered all bases from maths, phonics, reading, friends, behaviour, handwriting, approach to learning - so my 8ish minutes felt informative enough.

Aww the invisible middle makes me so sad! Thats just poor from the school !
I am so sorry @ChubbyPuffling

At least it wasn’t you.

TBH, primary parents evenings are a doddle compared to secondary. 8-10 teachers to see. And that parent in front of you! DH and I had to split up more than once to make some appointments.

Then Covid came along and they all went online. The system cuts you off after 10 minutes. Genuinely life changing!