End-of-year Reports

[tryingtokeepintune]

When should I expect to get school report. I was told that school had to give them to parents at least 3 weeks before the end of school year. Is that correct?

[lljkk]

Squee! DD got a heavy hint today that she did well in her SATs. We're both happy. :)

[Feenie]

Cleary Feenie's school is issuing reports on last day and making it pretty difficult for parents (concerned, confused, happy, just interested or otherwise) to come along and discuss it a bit more fully or find out more about what they can do to help at home over the summer.

Just to make it clear, this is a total figment of PastBy's imagination, who doesn't know me or my school. All our reports and all data went home tonight - a full two weeks before we break up for summer on Tuesday 23rd July.

[wheresthebeach]

We get no information from the school about when to expect reports. It would be nice to have date and don't really understand why the school doesn't say ... end of year reports will be given out on XYZ.
I suppose if SATs threshholds not available til mid week that we'll be lucky to get reports end of this week.

[finallyasilverlining]

As late as possible in our area, so there's no time to query anything before the big hols.

[bico]

Ds's school's end of term was Friday and we received the report by post on Saturday. His previous school gave them out on the last day of term. In both cases it makes it impossible to question anything that has been written in the report, which I assume is deliberate.

I had a meeting last week with a couple of ds's teachers about his exam results. One of them said something really nasty about ds regarding a subject she doesn't teach him. There were two aspects to this subject so two end of term reports. Both absolutely glowing both in terms of how well he has done over the year and what amazing potential 'very special'. I'm minded to email this teacher to tell her what I think of her unwarranted comments but I am going to be a grown up and move on.

[mrz]

We usually make ourselves available after school from reports going out until the final day of term and on occasions at the beginning of the next school year ... when teachers are ill or as in recent years when the DfE messed up the results

[Feenie]

And it isn't an interpretation of the guidance - there is no statutory time limit, and the DfE have stated that a meeting could take place after the summer term if a school so wished.

www.usethekey.org.uk/sample-articles/reporting-pupil-progress-to-parents-statutory-requirements

I did actually say that I couldn't think of any reason why a school should do this. But carry on generalising wildly about schools you cannot possibly know anything about, it's quite funny.

[OnTheNingNangNong]

We got ours on Friday just gone, and there's an open school meeting next week, so we can see the class teacher from this year and meet the teaxher for next year.
I was a bit miffed at the contradictions in my sons report this year, so I will have to have a meeting with the teacher to see why.

[mrz]

Probably because most state primary teachers have much more contact with parents and students over the year than university lecturers PastSellByDate and take the view that it is more important to sort things out before the child leaves your class. I speak to parents when issues arise rather than leave them for a report and brief end of term parent's meeting ... that might not be professional in your opinion but it's much effective IMHO.

[spanieleyes]

We have an open evening when parents can come along and discuss any problems arising from the reports ( although as mrz said, there shouldn't be anything in a report that comes as a nasty surprise!).

Last year, no-one turned up
We sat around and drank coffee for 3 hours

[MrButtercat]

We had this,no levels in reports either.Only found out by being a major pita on.the.last.day.of.term that my bright DS had made poor progress and had been "flagged up".

No time to discuss why or how to rectify it as teacher was clearing out the classroom.

I think all schools should have the same format re reports,parents evenings and date of issue.It isn't fair that parents in some schools get outstanding parental information and only the confident m/c bolshy parents in the rest get information that benefits their child.

[PastSellByDate]

Feenie raises an interseting technicality in the interpretation of this guidance. (The only statutory obligation I was discussing Feenie was what was reported & provided link - I suggested that reports had to be issued (if including KS1/KS2 SATs results) in the window after July 9th and before end of Term - which doesn't seem unreasonable.

Cleary Feenie's school is issuing reports on last day and making it pretty difficult for parents (concerned, confused, happy, just interested or otherwise) to come along and discuss it a bit more fully or find out more about what they can do to help at home over the summer.

From the perspective of the University sector - there is exceedingly strict procedures on the reporting of results at the end of each academic year, opportunity to re-sit examinations or appeal results, etc... And all students have the opportunity to talk to their tutor - often when upset with results, they can bring along friends or parents. (Russel Group University).

I have to wonder why state primaries are not showing equal professionalism?

[schooldidi]

I got dd1's report just before half term and then had a parents' evening a couple of weeks after half term to discuss it (all was good anyway).

My own school hands out reports for Y7 and Y8 on the last day of term, and any pupils who are absent get them posted. Y10 got theirs around half term, Y9 got them about Feb so they could make appropriate choices for GCSEs and y11 got theirs much earlier in the year (can't remember exactly when) so that any problems with their GCSEs are flagged up in time to do something about them.

[EllenJanesthickerknickers]

Reports came out yesterday. DS3 is in Y6 so still waiting for KS2 SATS results (waiting for thresholds, I guess) though teacher assessments were reported for literacy and maths.

We have an open evening on Monday to discuss the reports. I'm sure with DS2 the open evening was after SATS results.

[TheWoollybacksWife]

DS brought his home yesterday. His school has an open evening next week where I can speak to his current teacher about any issues and also meet his new teacher. He'll actually have the same teacher next year so my visit is half as long as it could be.

I've had 2 other children pass through the same school over the last 15 years following the same procedure. Didn't realise until I joined MN that this wasn't standard practice.

[mrz]

if there is anything in it that you don't know by this stage in the school year there is a bigger problem than reports going out late.

[Hulababy]

Most of ours were written over half term. Examples of 3 sent to head on return. Then another couple of weeks iirr to finish writing. Then ht reads/checks them, adds own comment and signs. Then office collates and prepares them inc copying them all for records. Long process!

[MaybeBentley]

I know our teachers wrote the reports before and during half term as the deadline to pass them to the head was first week back after half term. The head reads and comments, then they are collated and copied, plus other data and information sheets added. Can't see how a child who has joined during this deadline can have anything written about them by the teacher.
Surely levels from a previous school can't give a teacher sufficient information to write a narrative report about a child as the levels don't show which bits of that level they can/cannot do. Also the transfer of the child's files can take quite a few weeks after the child starts at a new school, so the levels may have only just arrived.
(From personal experiences - I did some temp work in a couple of primary school offices when they were between/short of office staff and this was at about this time of year)

[Feenie]

Just to expand on what Feenie is suggesting.

HT can decide when to issue reports but the statutory guidance is that they have to give parents the opportunity to discuss these reports with teachers (i.e. you can't issue them on last day of school year and not allow parents opportunity to talk to teachers/ you can't issue SATs scores prior to thresholds being released on July 9th - which has been an issue we've been heatedly discussing elsewhere on MN & in real life here, where our school is attempting to do so & we've reported them to LEA).

You haven't 'expanded' on my point, you've dived in and authoritatively posted a load of rubbish again.

Regulation 6 of The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 does indeed require headteachers to:

... make arrangements to enable the recipient of the report to discuss its content with the pupil?s teacher, if he so wishes.

But up to date advice is that there is actually no time requirement as you suggest - that advice has been removed.

There is now no statutory time period a school must allow for parents to respond to a report. A school does not have to arrange for a discussion of the contents of a report to take place within any set period of time.

Although schools are expected to meet the requirement to arrange a discussion reasonably promptly, they should manage the timing of this themselves.

Schools may even do this after the summer, if they want to.

I have no idea why they would - but the assertion of a statutory time limit is totally erroneous.

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

We had ours yesterday, along with the national testing results that started here in Wales this year and a list of the class teachers for next year.

There's 2 weeks left at school and an open day next week where you can book an appt with the teachers to discuss the report if you wish to.

[mrz]

Basic information is now on line but for some children who move frequently it is difficult to track down their last school if it is in another LEA and they were only there for a short time.
It is a huge worry that children can just vanish from a school and staff have no idea where they have gone until they turn up often months later