Another Parents Evening question!

[Fluffymonster]

Apologies if this has been asked a million times.

Coming up to our first ever Parents Evening for dd1's Reception class. I think we only get 5 mins with the teacher. I don't want to waste the time umming and ahhing, and then wishing I'd asked this question or that question.

So, what are the most important questions to ask the teacher - or put it another way, what is the information I should hopefully come away with?

I was thinking of all-rounders, like how's she doing, does she seem happy, who does she play with, what can we do at home to help progress?

Or should it be more practical and specific?

I would expect the teacher to cover your general questions anyway.

I would think about specific concerns/questions that are relevant to you e.g if you are worried about him settling in focus on that etc.

You might find the teacher says something that surprises you in which case you will want to ask follow up questions on that.

I tend to go to parents' evenings with an idea of what I think the teacher will say and things that I am concerned about - and will only really ask questions about concerns or unexpected things that are raised.

Also, there is nothing wrong with thinking about what was said and requesting a followup meeting another day. So don't worry if you don't ask all the right questions at the time.

Thanks for your replies, both. I'll just see what the teacher says, then and take it from there.

I'm going to ask - which two children does he play with most (so that I can invite them over for tea), how does his reading and writing compare to the class as a whole (don't think I'll get much of an answer on this but would like to know if he's in the top/bottom quater or middling) if he is showing a grasp of nummeracy on par with his age, and if she thinks he needs speech help as he can't pronounce "th".
In reality I will simply nod and grin at whatever she says, feeling intimidated, whilst sitting perched on a tiny chair.