Anyone got their CfE schoo report and not have a clue how their child is doing?

[soontobeslendergirl]

Just that really, there are loads of standard paragraphs obviously selected from some databank, a little bit of narrative and plenty of description of what my son has been doing but nothing that really tells me how he is doing.

I've been to parents night, I know that he is apparently doing really well and his behaviour is great but actually i wouldn't really be able to tell that from the report. I know with the new CfE there are no levels etc but there is just nothing :( so it's impossible to see if he has actually progressed at all.

Anyone else hate them?

I don't like them either, and feel bad for the teachers that had to spend hours writing them.

I have to say that my DCs had some comments that were taylored on their personality/achievement, so it was nice to see that the teacher really knows them.

To see how well they are doing, I cheat: I think you can look at the two tables (one for Maths and one for English), and see what level they are at, and see where the ticks are. I think I have an idea of where the ticks for able/average/below average pupils should be, depending of which primary they are.

For ex.: for P6, if it's level 2 and all secure, then the child is above average.

Which primary is your DC in, and where are the ticks? That will give you an idea.

He is in P7 and I have no ticks and no boxes to put ticks in :(

There is an explanation of the levels on the first page but none of the subject sections gives a level.

I know his teacher is really good and I come away from parents night with a clear idea that he is doing well, but that doesn't seem to translate onto paper at all.

I also feel sorry for them, this isn't a complaint about teachers or whether they work hard, just simply that the report format and content is rubbish.

It literally tells me very little but has loads of words.

I have had to write them and I hate them! When I started teaching we just got a blank sheet of paper and wrote about the child- it was much more satisfying all round.

exotic, I can believe that :)

Even a tick box would actually be better in some ways to this "sometimes x, X can...., confidently use...." etc etc.

As a parent I do not want to know x studied a,b and c this term- I know he did! I was told in curriculum news, I saw the homework, I had open evening and he talks to me! I know he can confidently....... I don't want the stupidity of writing a comment on RE for a 5yr old- 'he listens carefully to moralistic stories' in DSs case!
The only bit worth reading is the personal comment- and that is woefully short.

Hmm - I don't even have a personal comment - I have a box headed up "Head of Establishment" which is basically a stock sentence from the Head saying that he is more than ready for High School.

I have been looking back at his early reports where we had comments about him being a pleasure to teach and being a gifted mathematician and about his vocabulary and I guess it kind of seems that his last ever primary report is just a bit of an anticlimax.

I guess I just wanted someone to tell me what a lovely, hard-working, clever son I have.......I'll just have to trust my own judgement :o

Just read it over again - he can confidently do a load of stuff , Soooo as long as that 's the stuff he is supposed to be able to do then the fact he can do it confidently means that he is doing well, I take it that's it in a nutshell? :o

I really reminds me of a work Personal Development thing where you have to provide examples of things to justify that you have been doing your job.

I totally agree. DD is just finishing P3 and is consolidating at first in all areas - exactly where she should be if you work out developing/consolidating/secure across the stages. The comments about DD did this, that and the next thing in the various categories (eg for art DD learned about painters x and y and created work in their styles) were totally pointless, as I know that as DD talks to me at the end of the day and as someone said above I read the termly plans and helped with homework)!

I agree that there is a whole load of generic info and very little actually about DD. I know from parent's evening that she is doing well and able in most areas of the curriculum but it would be nice to have a bit more personalised info in the report. The personal comment on hers was 'DD is a lovely, friendly girl who it has been a pleasure to teach and who will do well in P4". Nice to hear, but hardly a report on academic progress.

We've raised this before with our head at Parent Council but have been advised this is the council's agreed format for reporting.

DS's (nursery) report is actually a bit more informative and personalised as there aren't so many sections and boxes to fill in, so a bit more free text.

I actually like the personal comment bit as I feel it's good to get a view on how they are as well as academic progress and that's probably the bit I feel lacking as much as anything else. Luckily my boys have always done well academically and have never had to work on it, however I don't think they were ever pushed enough but that's a different story. So, my main focus has always been on how they behave, do they get on well with people etc and are they still where they need to be academically - But, you can't really tell that from the report without digging a bit.