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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

a bit sad re parents evening and "levels"

133 replies

severnofnine · 30/03/2012 13:54

a bit of an AIBU but I'm not brave enough to post there.

So DS1 I think is bright ( but so is everyone dc i guess). WE saw the teacher and he is " gaining levels as expected" and isnt it great that he achieving " what he should be" and "average".

I found the whole thing so sad. Lots of positives- always enthusiastic and works well independently. and lots of emphasis of - "isnt it great that he is gaining levels as expected".

He says school is "ok"- lots of spelling tests which he hates. he is quite quiet and very "well behaved" ( unlike his brothers), which is I think his teachers are finding him enthusiastic as he wouldnt dream of actually showing he was bored at school.

I'm not a pushy parent at all and am quite relaxed.
But even so I found the whole emphasis on average and gaining levels as we would hope etc kind of depressing.

and dont suggest private school as we really cant afford it :(

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Original poster

severnofnine · 30/03/2012 13:55

meant to add.... surely I'm not the only parent who finds the emphasis of levels depressing??
and DS is in yr 3

OP posts:

seeker · 30/03/2012 13:57

What were you hoping for?

imnotmymum · 30/03/2012 14:00

"isnt it great that he is gaining levels as expected" well isn't it ???

Original poster

severnofnine · 30/03/2012 14:05

I was hoping to find out what his strengths were what we needed to work on..... what topics would be coming up was he actually happy in school. teacher when asked just kept coming back to " hes on track for a level 3 whatever" like that was the be all and end all.

OP posts:

timetosmile · 30/03/2012 14:05

Do you mean, "isn't it a shame that 7 year olds are measured to within an inch of their lives and seem to spend all day jumping through measurable hoops and not scampering round and making dens"? sigh...

Original poster

severnofnine · 30/03/2012 14:06

I just think the way all achievements of a 8 yr old can be encapsulated in a 3b or whatever it is quite sad. might just be me though !

OP posts:

imnotmymum · 30/03/2012 14:06

OP did you actually ask the teacher ? I find sometimes teachers think parents are only interested in levels so emphasise them, however if you ask "is there anything we need to work on "etc they usually answer.

Original poster

severnofnine · 30/03/2012 14:08

yes i did ask. she looked at her sheets and gave me a "maths sheet for yr 3". generic print out thing.

OP posts:

imnotmymum · 30/03/2012 14:11

Is she a new teacher ?? Does not sound a productive parents meeting to me and if you asked all the questions and came away with nothing then I do not see the point of having them !

PosiePumblechook · 30/03/2012 14:17

Perhaps clarify what you feel was missing and ask for another chat.

And being told 'average' is always heartbreaking. xxx

OrmIrian · 30/03/2012 14:19

NQT? I'd put money on it!

IME it's the newer teachers who tend to be stuck on levels and assessment. It's not their fault - I guess it's been drummed into them during training. However I really wouldn't worry - it doesn't sound as if there are any problems. Maybe next year you'll meet a more instinctive and confident teacher.

BTW be grateful that he is 'meeting targets'. My youngest has just been taken off an IEP because he was so far behind. There were many parents evenings when I'd have given a lot to hear he was at expected levels.

imnotmymum · 30/03/2012 14:19

Yes but average at school means doing ok, not failing, not above but OK. It is a horrible word though.

BrianTheBrainSurgeon · 30/03/2012 14:23

I sympathise OP, I think I understand how you feel, wish I could help but my DS is not at school yet so don't have any experience

All I know is I would be quite disappointed if I was repeatedly told he is average when I had different hopes and expectations....

Iamnotminterested · 30/03/2012 14:26

Sorry, OP, but don't understand what your beef is? Did you want them to say he was G&T?

Believe me, average is good; I wish my year 6 was "Average" in maths.

TheLightPassenger · 30/03/2012 14:30

average is heartbreaking . yabu a bit if your beef is that your child is average, yanbu to expect a bit more information about your child's next learning goals, it's always useful to know, even if it's brief details about use of punctuation/better use of joining words being the next step.

Original poster

severnofnine · 30/03/2012 14:31

no not a newly qualified teacher. older and well thought of generally.

Dont get me wrong I dont think he is gifted or anything.

and dont get me wrong..... I have experience of going to parents meeting and discussing behavioural issues for the whole appointment so in some ways I should be overjoyed!

OP posts:

startail · 30/03/2012 14:31

I always think every school should make a policy that one day a week the "average children" should get the class TA and another day they should get the lions share of the teachers time.

The top and the bottom get attention, but the middle never do.

No one is totally average, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, subjects they enjoy more and school clubs they might like. However, too often children in the middle are allowed to drift and are not encouraged to take as active a role in school life as they should.

NarkedPuffin · 30/03/2012 14:35

Yes, I think I understand what you mean. YANBU.

To be told your child is on track for level x and meeting expectations isn't really of interest to anyone but those that collate stats.

It's natural to want to know how your child is doing - is he happy? Does he contribute well in a group? How is his confidence? What are his strongest areas? Is he struggling with anything? etc etc

PeppaIsBack · 30/03/2012 14:38

Is average good???

I am sorry what is good is for the child to be at the level that he can acheive.
If I was told dc1 was 'average' I would quite upset and would be wondering what is going on.
I was told dc2 was below average last year and was extatic because he started so far behind. What was important was the fact he had progressed, more than you would expect in a year. but most importantly he was trying his best, putting a lot of efforts in and was starting to enjoy school.

So really it depends on the child and where they started.

Lizcat · 30/03/2012 14:40

No solution, but the year we had lots of 'fine' parents evening was a experienced senior teacher. This year we have a teacher in her second year of teaching who comes to parents evening with prepared notes and she discusses DDs strengths and weaknesses we only got a level when we directly asked.
I do thing that there is variation from term to term and this time maybe average and fine and next term\year could be exceptional or a disaster.

Lizcat · 30/03/2012 14:40

Sorry meant think not thing.

Sunscorch · 30/03/2012 14:40

It's funny to me that half the parents on here aren't happy when the teacher sits down and tells them how their children are doing without mentioning levels, and then there's the other half who aren't happy with the opposite.

Perhaps you should all swap.

PeppaIsBack · 30/03/2012 14:41

The top and the bottom get attention, but the middle never do.

Humm, not sure about that one....

but there is an issue that if your child is 'average' then the teacher might not see anything 'special' to say about them, because what they do is what should be expected from them. But a good teacher will be able to say where are the strengths and weaknesses of each individual child and where within the 'level 3b' they need some support.

seeker · 30/03/2012 14:47

Can I venture to say that whether one's child is top, middle or bottom, you always think the other two groups get more attention.......!

seeker · 30/03/2012 14:49

And bear in mind that the levels are designed so that most children will be somewhere in the middle- or average. It's a bell curve.

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