How much written documentation do you get re what goes on at school?

[whatalovelyday]

At our school we (sometimes) get a termly overview of the topic covered and some of the subtopics - one A4 sheet per term. That's it. Because my dd tells me very little about school I know very little about her day to day life there. Except that she seems happy so I know I don't need to worry, but I don't feel massively able to support her without more info. She's year 1 by the way, so still very little. It's a lovely school, but I do feel the communication could be better.

Ideally I'd like: a timetable, list of all staff working with class (eg specialist music, TAs etc), and a brief weekly update of what they're doing. This could be in the classroom window, or just a copy of the planning documents. No detail - just a list of what they are doing in a week.

Is this something I could reasonably suggest to the school to improve parental engagement? What do people get in other schools? What do teachers give out?

I should also add we have a curriculum evening at the beginning of each term too where we meet his teachers and they discuss what the plan is for the year and how they approach the subjects and what support or approach they want from us at home.

Have you considered homeschooling?

It isabigshift from the involvement you have when they are in nursery to the distance at school but you have to either accept that, maybe go private or homeschool.

At DS2's school (Y2) we received a booklet at the beginning of term outlining 'topics' being covered. We were given a timetable which I find really useful to remind me when the various equipment needed for swimming, PE, music etc is required. We also get a little photocopied handwritten note stapled into his diary at the end of the week, telling us what they've been doing in numercy ie. weights and measures and literacy, topics etc. At his previous school we received nothing just a weekly newsletter that covered general information for the whole school.

Hm, I would love it but I can see that it would be a lot of work for the teacher. And as DD is just in Y1 I doubt something like a strict timetable exists.

DD tells me they do daily exercise in writing, maths and reading. The rest is a bit of a blur. Sometimes like yesterday we got a sudden information about the Sukkot-festival they talked about in RE.

We get a weekly newsletter announcing special days for the whole school (Infant School) like Science or Book or Maths Days. Often at pick-up time there is a board in the playground with photos of the activities.

But: once a term they have a class assembly where they talk about what topic they had (they have two, each half-term one) and show what they did. After the assembly the parent has 5 minutes with its child to have a look at their work. During the termly parent evening we are invited to browse through the workbooks and the artwork on display.

So we see a lot after it happened.

At ds1's school they have a huge 'learning tree' poster on display at the back of the classroom.

It's for the children, but parents can easily see what they are doing in different subjects.
It's very brief - but perfectly adequate from my point of view.

Thank you Pipsqueak, you've put it very clearly. It's not about being a pushy annoying parent, it's just about trying to support your child and the school in their learning.

DD just turned 5 at the end of Aug and is in Yr 1. Though she was streamed up at the end of last term, along with a couple of her cohort, and is in a mixed class of Yr2 and Yr3.

We get a half termly newsletter from the class teacher. In that, she details the structure of the day (i.e. times they do core skills, Music, PE, ICT etc), what subject they are covering for the creative curriculum, what homework they will be bringing home, and on what days, and what their individual targets are for that half term. There are weekly generic school letters which detail things that generally apply to the school as a whole, such as assemblies and the like. DD attends a small village school and her teacher and TA are always available at the start and end of the day to speak to.

Personally, I am happy with the level of communication from DD's school, I don't think it is necessary or appropriate to have a copy of the planning notes - anonymous or otherwise. As the teachers on here have pointed out, the planning is often organic and the needs of the child(ren) mean that sometimes their plans aren't adhered to.