Why does my child's primary call the teachers Miss/Mr Firstname?

[cockles]

I've never come across this before in the UK - anyone know why it is? It's an ordinary state primary in a mixed inner London borough.

its sweet i like it. my school (private) was just first names all around - its supposed to break down authority barriers and help kids see teachers more as indivduals - the op sounds just like slightly formalised version of the same idea

Standard practice at the two private schools my children attended at the US. However as mummytime says, some areas are much more formal. I saw a mum calling her child 'Sir' the other week which I found very odd and rather sad.

At the first school my children went to in the UK they used just first names. I really liked it - the school was very friendly and the teachers lovely. But I'm a bit of a hippy and don't really like formality.

A few of my friends went to a catholic state school where there was no uniform and teahers were called by their first names. I thought it was lovely - and despite being a catholic school it was really relaxed and just a nice atmosphere (I am told).

I have my children call me missandmyname as I feel that it breaks down barriers so teachers I have worked with do not like it as they feel that it does not give you athoroty.

bertie - Trinity?

DD's school in Bangkok was like that, she had Miss Melodia (Melanie), two Miss Angies and a Miss Lisa. She was rather puzzled to arrive in Switzerland and find she had to call her teachers by their last names.

Yes ninah it is Trinity school - they have a uniform now, but all my friends have long sine left so I don't know whether it affected the atmosphere or not.

I think my ds is the only child in his class that call's his teachers miss + first name, all the other children use the first names.

Growing up in America, I called every adult Mr or Ms + last name, from teachers to parent's friends. Moving to a first name basis was a marker of the passage into adulthood.

I can't get any adult to accept my child calling them Mr or Ms + last name here. I am very uncomfortable with my four-year-old referring to our lovely older-gentleman neighbor by his first name, the lovely man won't accept Mr + last name, so the best I can acheive is Mr + first name.

Goodness. I don't even know the last names of ds's friend's mothers. (Well, I know the children's last names, but you never can tell these days.)

I worked for years at a North London state primary where all the staff were known to the children just by their first names. There are quite a few in Islington and Camden like that.

I was only called 'Miss Firstname' by some of the older parents and grandparents, usually those who'd themselves grown up in Caribbean or West African communities, who couldn't bring themselves to call me by my first name. They thought it was disrespectful for a teacher. I didn't mind either way.

My dgs goes to a private pre-school where the teachers are Miss ***[first name]
It seems very warm and friendly.

I know a teenager from there bertie she is absolutely lovely, confident with adults and children
if i were Catholic i'd have my dc there like a shot

All teachers including the Head are first name only at DS's London state primary.

Miss firstname seems v old fashioned, and unlike Miss Surname, is not part of usual address in this country, outside nursery and pre prep schools, it seems, so not sure why anyone would introduce it.

I regularly visit a secondary school which uses just first names (no Miss) for the teachers! I'm obviously old fashioned but I still insist they call me Mrs...
Too friendly for me - I like them to use my surname & wouldn't feel right if they didn't! The other teachers laugh at me

They do it to me (TA) as my surname is a bit like Mrs Kzwyckczerny, and they call me Mrs Anne instead.

Maybe it`s due to ethnic names???

I would hate it! I don't like my first name very much, and to hear it used a hundred times a day by the class would drive me bananas.

I'm with lilac. I taught in a school with first names only & I began to hate the sound of my own name piiiiiiiiiiixieeeeeeeeeee.

I prefer being Miss lastname because only my class call me that, it's like a stage name I leave it at school.

I like it in ballet class though maybe because it's just half an hour. My dd has Miss Georgina and Miss Erin

It's an American South thing, I think.
But I was appalled to hear my DS refer to one of his teachers as "Miss" recently. As in "Miss said...." How come the male teachers get "Sir" and the women just get "Miss?"
I'm afraid I've come over all school marm-ish and said "do you mean Mrs Jones?"

We do it at our school, a British School in Spain. Playgroup to reception it is Miss firstname or Mr first name. I like it, I was quite upset to lose it when I changed year groups.

I think it's ok for nursery,probably makes the wee ones feel more comfortable but at school proper it should be miss/mr last name,a bit more respectful and keeps that wee bit distance.Then again what America does today we do tomorrow,never fails.hmm

I teach in a secondary PRU and we all use our first names- I think I would feel strange to be 'Miss' again...

When I taught preschool (3 yr olds) here in the US they called me Miss Meg. There were no male teachers but they probably would have been called Teacher First Name. When they went into kindergarten all the teachers were called Mr./Mrs. Last Name from them on.

I can't see the point of Miss in front of the first name-either it is formal or it isn't.

In southern US it's a term of respect. Adults you don't know well you call Mrs. Smith, etc, and adults you do (your friends' parents or whatever) you call Miss (or Mizzz ) Janet.

In the southern US, rather.