what do you write on report slip?

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

Hi all,
Am just wondering what kind of comments (if any) you put on your child's report acknowledgement slip.
Our reports went out on Friday and I've only had 2 back so far. One was really complimentary and one was horrible, to the point where it contained lies about things I am meant to have said and done over the year. Obviously I am annoyed at having to store this and hand it in.

I dont want people thinking I'm looking for a stream of parental bum-kissings, but you would think if parents had real problems with me they would contact me during the year, as opposed to a paragraph of vitriol?

Sorry if I'm moaning - just wondering if anyone would care to discuss?

(No new issues, I should have added. And tbh the main one was triggered by the news of class ollocations for next year rather than by the report itself)

I put a very long comment in - of course I said thank you and praised the teachers as DS has been mostly happy and progressed - but its so tricky because I think the year five report goes towards selection for independent secondary schools so I felt I had to question a couple of bits that seemed not quite right...

we've still not had dd1's report - due this week.

But in dd2's transfer report thingy (pre-school to Reception) I've just thanked them all for dd's enjoyable year, told them she's very excited about next year, and pointed out a physical issue she has that may affect her during PE/sports - in case they didn't pick up on it.

Re PastSellBy: I still think whatever complaints a parent has - legitimate or not - the polite and constructive way of dealing with it is to talk directly to the teacher, not put it in a Report slip. That seems indirect and unhelpful to me: dumping rather than dealing.

Letthembe:

I'm a bit concerned that you see your students as "arrogant, egotistical, cotton-wooled brats!!" I admit that it is harsh to hear that parents aren't that concerned about the other children in the class - but actually sometimes a parent complaining and the individual teacher/ school responding is of benefit to the whole class.

In our case our child (along with everyone else) wasn't getting maths homework and when it came it was just much too simplistic. We complained repeatedly for ~21 months now and we basically have made such a fuss that the school has now put in place weekly homeworks and send them out on regular days, instead of as and when. This has been applied across the entire school. We're thrilled - as this is what we wanted for our children. Everyone else is thrilled. And we can all see the improvements in our kids.

I wish I could say that every teacher I've dealt with has seen what they do as creating the next generation of doctors, scientists, writers, inventors, artists, etc... . You are public servants funded by the tax payer and your job is very clear - you are educating the next generation. We need you to perform at your best - not go through the motions. I'm sure you are very good - it sounds like you have had rave reviews and I rather wish we had someone as fiesty as you to teach our DDs - but you have to admit that isn't every teacher.

PastSellByDate - a find none of my pupils this way, occasional evidence of cotton-wool wrapped, but some of the comments MN make my hopes sink and I realise that our children's childhoods are taken over by levels, homework and bloody testing! Not the fun and excitement you can get from learning. A good teacher makes such a difference and as a parent I understand that is all a parent wants for their child/ren.
And I for the record I do love teaching, passionate about it and I (and my colleagues) endeavour to make our pupils' education the best it can be ... I wasn't at best today - the stress of moving classroom and lots of tired little people (including me) but it will be better tomorrow - early nights all round.

Oh, I have made the odd complaint at my own DC's school. I understand the concerned parent's point of view and agree that parents need to express concerns/raise issues.

One of our children's teachers is very blunt and says it as it is, which can be quite refreshing in a way, so I tried being equally honest in the comments. I tried to be helpful by highlighting what we thought had worked really well for our daughter, what she had found hard and what we as parents would have liked more of/less of. Hopefully this feedback will be helpful.

We also encouraged our daughter to write a letter with how she felt about the teacher. When we read it we almost cried as it was really nice and very very personal, talking about all the little things she will remember ...

Mine said:

We are pleased with how well DD is doing; she really enjoys school and looks forward to each day. Thank you for everything this year.

and:

It is good to know that DS enjoys his time at school and is trying hard. we want to continue to support him with his writing and we would like to have a chat about how we can do this as he goes into Year One. Thank you for everything.

Our return slips were basically just to confirm receipt of the reports, but could be used to make an appointment to discuss any issues or concerns in the report.

The thing is that so many teachers are defensive and therefore one does not feel that one can be truly honest. I agree with pastthesel.... parents only care about their own children and i think that it is disingenuous to cast aspersions on an individuals character, solely because they are telling the truth.
I have recently posted on another thread regarding my dsis and her son. The school has failed to notice that her ds is now reading . When my sister brought this to the attention of the school, she was ignored. She has therefore used the report slip to vent her annoyance.

Disregard it. If you have done your best for the child then ignore it. Some people are rude and lacking awareness.

I wrote something along the lines of “Thank you for DD’s report. It appears most of it has been copied and pasted since you have used “his/him” no less than 7 times throughout the report. It also suggests that the deputy head who has written a little piece at the bottom hasn’t actually read it. Quite disappointing.”
I did get an apology and DD’s teacher swore that she wrote it from scratch. Clearly not true.