parents evening advice, what do I ask?

[thatsnoladythatsmywife]

Hello MN ,

We have dd 7yo just moved to new school this year and is in mixed y2/y3 class. They are doing ORT scheme, one book home each week which she manages with a bit of help and prompting from me or dh. They are the Biff and Kipper ones, she seems to like them and thinks the stories are funny. She is on about stage 6 now(it says on her book).

Parents evening on Friday, we don't really know the teacher and haven't had much feedback about dd yet, she has only started the this term. What should we be asking? If anything? TIA

BUMP

The teacher will probably tell you how your DD is doing academically, and what her targets are.

She may tell you about how she gets on socially, and how she is organisationally.

Basically, let the teacher do the talking, and then ask about anything she missed that you really want to know.

You don't have to ask questions for the sake of it.

Ask how she has settled in and if she is working at the expected level for her age. I'm sure the teacher will provide all that kind of info anyway

BTW it's good for books to be a bit challenging so sounds like all is well.

we don';t kow what the expected level for her age is, does anyone?

she seems happy and likes the teacher though.

If you know that she is happy, that is a good thing to communicate back to the teacher - parent-teacher conferences are a two-way process

If everything seems hunky-dory, you might want to consider whether your DD is being stretched enough - other than that, it will be one of those meetings where everyone can pat themselves on the back

SST why would it be a patting on the back meeting? Are you a teacher? We don't know whether she is good or poor or in the middle. Our last school didn't use ORT books and I have only briefly met her teacher. I think dd is bright but doesn't everyone, lol

bupm

Yes, I am a teacher, and I find that most of our PT conferences belong to the mutual admiration society. I say that as a parent as well.

My dd is Yr 2. Last month we had a curriculum evening where the Year teachers gave an idea of what the children would cover in that academic year. We will now have a parents evening in November to cover personal targets and any other ishoos from both sides. We have been told they will be streamed this yr and I believe this has happened (according to dd) so I guess we will be informed officially by the teacher on this.

I hope it won't be a nodding and smiling parents evening, that would be a bit pointless!

does anyone know roughly where a yr 2 child should be on the ORT please? she has been to a few different schools which probably won't have hepled.

have just seen another thread on here tonight with someone else's dd on cruise control at school, it must be somthing in the water!

ort reading ages

Does this help?

I am no expert lol!

As I said earlier, you might want to consider whether dd is being stretched enough.

yes I see what you mean, thanks.

I was a Y1 teacher until ds came along. At parents evening I would tell them where there child 'was'...

e.g. child x is working above the expected level for Y1 in reading, child x is working at the expected level for writing and child x is working towards the expected level for numeracy.

So, it hopefully gives the parent an idea of what needs most work on at home (for child x maths would be priority).

You should come away from the meeting with an idea of:
What is he/she working towards next at school and home? what target is in place for him/her to work towards at school and home?

Please don't go to the meeting and smile and nod. Ask about your child and what support they need.

hope this helps

BTW, when I say support I don't mean just children who are struggling. All children need targets to work towards.

I would say, after hearing what the teacher has to say - I'd ask how I can help if at all at home, and even ask for some material (like books, work sheets) if available. That's what I did anyway and I got quite a few helpfull work sheets for hand writing practise. I also asked my dc before the meeting if there was anything they were worried about or not happy about that I could maybe talk to the teacher about.

I think I would be a little concerned if she is struggling a bit with ORT stage6, especially as she is one of the older Yr 2s

My 4 yr old ds can read at that level with relative ease, as can most of the children in Yr 1 at his school, my 6 yr old dd (also Yr 2) is pretty much a free reader now - obviously all children are diferent, i just mentioned that for a comparison.

I think I would want to know a bit more about what she is learning in class - does she do phonics, spellings homework etc Our dc's school do something called VCOP - vocabulary, conjuntions, openings, punctuation and they are learning to use and spell some wonderfully descriptive words in Yr 2. Even ds has come on really well in his writing - tells me he did a page of writing for news on Monday, any writing at all was a bonus when he started in Sep!

There are some sites that give you an indication of what chidlren should be learnign and what they should be achiving at various stages have a look here. Generally at the end of Yr 2 a child should be at level 2

Wow Carbonel, you have a 4yo reading at Y1 Y2 level! That's really special, you must be so proud

Thanks Greensleves - I think he is a star (as is dd of course) but not that special - he is 5 next month

He basically learnt 2 years ago when dd started reception, just picked up what she was doing and hey presto one day he surprised us all and started reading!!!

Mine are at a lovely school and it's easy to say something nice. But as well as asking questions, I make a point of saying how much child is enjoying a topic or liked a trip. I think teachers like to hear that their lessons have met with interest and they know that you're aware of what's going on. And I always say thank you (a tip from a teacher friend). But like I said, my children's school is terrific and I don't have to perjure myself to find nice things to say.