Questions to ask for parents evening?

[MrsH75]

Other than "So how is she doing?"

I tend to find the teacher takes the lead anyway and tells you most things you want to know, but I find myself saying "No I think you've covered everything" at the end and then usually think of another question as soon as I've walked out of the door.

Generally I don't have any major concerns as my daughter seems to enjoy school and is bright, but I wondered if people had any tips as to how to get the most out of a ten minute chat with the teacher. Also others might be feeling the same.

Are you interested in how she compares with others in the class/what streams she is in? I find this info is never offered up but is available if you ask.

Write down everything you think you might want to ask. Have another look at the list once the teacher has finished and see if anything is left.

As a teacher I always start with, "is there anything particular you'd like to know about or shall I just talk... stop me if you want to know more about something?".

Most parents will say they'd like me to just talk and find questions arise naturally during the course of the appointment.

I also ask the children to write down what they think I will tell their parents, which pieces of work they're desperate for their parents to be shown and if there's anything they're worried I might say. I use that to guide the appointment too as I'd hate one of my class to worry about something unnecessarily or for their parents to miss out on seeing the Best Piece of Work Ever because they weren't sure where to look for it.

As a parent I'm most interested in how my child gets on with others, if there's anything the teacher is concerned about (academically or socially) and at having a look at the work in books/on display etc.