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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

Receptino Teacher Home Visit - anything I need to do to prepare?

26 replies

LilyDisney · 25/08/2017 11:55

I'm assuming no as they've not told me so.

Just figuring it's a good way for her to get a feel for the kids, and of course beneficial for the children too.

DD is so excited.

I don't really have any concerns but will write down any questions I have as I think of them, as I know we won't have long.

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Original poster

LilyDisney · 25/08/2017 12:01

Of course the title should be "reception" and not "receptino" Hah! Italian vibes.

OP posts:

sirfredfredgeorge · 25/08/2017 12:26

Nothing.

Lucysky2017 · 25/08/2017 12:34

Seems a bit nosy to me. I would not want teachers in my house.

almightygirl · 25/08/2017 12:39

It's not about being nosy. It's a chance for parents to share any info about their child with the teacher and ask any questions. The TA will usually play with the child finding out a bit about what they like. The child gets to meet who their teachers are before they start which helps settling in. That's all.

sirfredfredgeorge · 25/08/2017 13:01

And if you don't want teachers in your house, simply decline!

Original poster

LilyDisney · 25/08/2017 14:00

Thanks :)

I can't fathom at all why you wouldn't want the teachers in your home - something to hide?

I'm very proud of our home and how we raise our daughter and am over the moon to do anything at all that will make her transition into school easier and help her have a great time there.

OP posts:

Countvesuvius · 25/08/2017 15:11

I wouldn't want teachers in my home and I have nothing to hide.

Anybody who thinks they're not nosey is very naive. I read a discussion elsewhere amongst ks1 teachers who were agreeing that home visits were useful to see what kind of background the kids were from.

sirfredfredgeorge · 25/08/2017 15:27

countvesuvius but teachers will form views on what sort of background the kid is from from declining the visit, from meeting at the school gate (or that you never drop the kid off), from the things you write or not, from the kids appearance, from the kids attitudes, from the address, from what the kid says. There's really nothing that they are going to know differently from a 5 minute visit where they chat about Little Jonny, that they don't learn from little Jonny and your interactions over the next week.

Malaco · 25/08/2017 16:28

Make sure you dust the mantlepiece and tidy your knicker drawer as they will check.

EnormousDormouse · 25/08/2017 16:35

I won't judge you on your home. It's the quality of the biscuits I go by.

southchinasea · 25/08/2017 17:41

Might be nice to have a favourite toy or activity out so your child can show the teacher. Or photos from a day out/ grandparents/ pets etc. Anything that might help the teachers get to know your child better.

When we do our visits, generally I chat to the parent about any queries you may have, go through paperwork, check I've spelt your child's name correctly, any health needs etc, and my TA plays with the child.

We might bring a picture book about the classroom and starting school to share with the child and we may take a photo to put up on their coat peg before the first day. We are absolutely not looking to see how tidy your house is or anything like that. Far too busy finding all the houses in the time- and stressing about parking- to judge!

Home visits are great for getting a feel for the children in the environment where they are most comfortable and for hopefully reassuring you and a chance to ask your questions one to one.

2014newme · 25/08/2017 17:45

Bullshit of course you want a nose at the house. Mansion or council house. Its not the case that you don't care about the house or you wouldn't visit at home you'd ask parents to meet you at school which is what ours does. It's only human to be nosy!

southchinasea · 25/08/2017 17:48

We give parents the choice of an in school meeting or home visit so whatever suits them best.

ElizabethShaw · 25/08/2017 17:53

When they're visiting 30, unless you have a pack of Rottweilers/everything is gold/there's a stripper pole in your living room, the teachers won't remember the details of your house.

catkind · 25/08/2017 18:00

Don't be surprised if your confident excited DC is suddenly mysteriously struck dumb when they arrive Or vice versa if super shy child suddenly talks the hind leg off a donkey...

You don't need to do anything, sure they'll have their own plan for the visit. Being so tidy there are no toys or books around for teacher to engage your child about might be a bad plan - though I expect they have a contingency plan for that too, was never going to be a problem in our house!

KingLooieCatz · 25/08/2017 18:00

Prepare to use a days annual leave waiting in for a 10 minute visit where they barely have time to put their bag down. I'm not opposed to taking a day off to spend with my child but I don't want to spend it hanging round the house with a hyperactive 4 year old. Wish i'd had the nerve to say no. They most certainly did not play with DS or get to know us. Looked round the living room and fucked off again.

Countvesuvius · 25/08/2017 18:54

You may not be judging how tidy a house is but I bet you take notice of certain things such as are there evidence of books, does it smell of smoke etc.

Lucysky2017 · 25/08/2017 22:25

I never heard of it until this thread and I would never agree to it in a month of Sundays! How do teachers have time to go to the house of every single pupil and who pays the travel costs?

ElizabethShaw · 25/08/2017 22:29

Often do it at the beginning of term especially if there are a couple of inset days. Most schools have fairly small catchments so not too much travelling, though I once had a family that lived so far from school we asked them to come to us!

southchinasea · 26/08/2017 16:57

Yes we do ours at the beginning of term- normally during the inset days and the first day of term then the Year Rs start a day later.

Have been offering home visits for at least the last 15 years (in a variety of different catchments) and find them really valuable. Helps build a trusting relationship with the families from the start, get to know the childrens personalities and interests- and the children remember and refer to the time we came to their house all year!

Parents can always opt out if they prefer, and I completely understand it can be tricky with work and annual leave etc. We offer lots of settling in sessions in July and other chances to meet with us and we visit the children at Nursery/ pre schools too. So hopefully they come in in Sept feeling more confident and ready to settle and learn.

southchinasea · 26/08/2017 17:23

And I'm afraid we pay our own petrol costs! (Along with bringing in quite a lot of our own resources for the children...)

Original poster

LilyDisney · 29/08/2017 14:23

@Lucysky2017 Reception don't start until the second week of term so that's wen they do the visits.

And catchment is 0.5km so hardly any travelling at all!

OP posts:

slightlyglittermaned · 30/08/2017 00:22

DS enjoyed the home visit last year and it made the first day less intimidating for him as he'd already met his teacher and TA on home turf and he had a photo of us plus a drawing of his to look for on the wall in the classroom when he went in. Plus he enjoyed playing with the toy they brought.

At that age, no adults got a word out of him in any strange/new emvironment, but in his own house he was able to be quite chatty and outgoing.

slightlyglittermaned · 30/08/2017 00:33

Oops, forgot questions - we asked what the routine was on first day, general morning routine - do we bring him in and leave, stay for a bit, etc. Whether he needed PE kit while settling in etc. Can he bring any toys (answer: please no, they get lost and there are plenty at school!)

dameofdilemma · 30/08/2017 08:55

Dd's primary school did these - we found them useful, am glad the teacher and TA came round. It was as much an op for us to ask questions/get info on the school, as it was for the teacher to ask us about dd. Dd met them both properly (the TA played with dd for ages) which helped with the first day of school.

I don't understand the hostility to be honest, we found it nothing but helpful. And the teacher told us what time they'd be round roughly and stuck to it so it wasn't a wasted day.

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