New Yr7 Parents Evening

[tiggytwig]

Has anyone been to the New Yr7 Parents evening yet? I have this tonight for my DS, any advice on what to expect?

Don't expect much!

I can't remember them saying anything useful at all. They just have them to reassure you.

Salty thank you for your comment.

TheDailyMail hopefully DS's school will have the same kind of information. I know that the uniform supplier will be there so that all the parents can order / pre-order uniforms and the customery sports kit. As DS's school is being re-built into a new state of the art new school hopefully they can give us a progress report on if the build is on track to open next Easter 2017. We have had the New Intake Booklet sent to us already as well through the post.

Ours was basically the Head asking us all to donate as much money as possible to the school funds, and then some current year 7s speaking about their experiences.

All parents events are a bit of a scrum, compared to primary.

Hi sunnydayinmay
Same at my yr7 sch
I'm guessing it was the same sch

Ours was basically the Head asking us all to donate as much money as possible to the school funds

Yep, this was the experience at my sons' school and my daughter's school. Not the same school as sunnydayinmay but in the same consortium. Standard voluntary contribution is apparently £40 per month per child.

What I particularly hated was that at both schools, parents of new Y7s were asked the question: "Before the offers came out on 1st March, how much would you have been willing to donate in order to secure a place for your child?"

Er, £0. Because they are state schools and I don't agree with bribes or corruption. And my impression of your school has just gone down a couple of notches.

Thankfully, after those initial meetings for parents of new Y7s, my experiences were a lot more positive.

Gosh, that is bad, thesecond. Ours,was more of a sales pitch about what wonderful things they could do with the cash, but no actual pressure.

To be fair, they are doing the school up bit by bit (science block next).

We had an hour information evening tonight, and he only mentioned money once.

A lot of secondary schools ask for monthly contributions now, but they are voluntary. It's not bribery or corruption.

Schools keep having their funding cut and they need to make it up somewhere.

We have made monthly voluntary contributions to both schools (one school for nearly five years) and I'm very much aware of why they need the money and what they use it for.

When I mentioned bribes and corruption, I was referring to the hypothetical scenario they were asking parents to imagine (paying a lump sum to guarantee your child's place). I've just re-read my comment, and I don't think my meaning was unclear. Thankfully this scenario would be illegal, but I didn't appreciate the idea being used in the sales pitch.

Sorry, SaturdaySurprise my last comment was a bit stroppy. I was trying to say that I don't object to making the contributions. I object to the way we were asked for them.

tiggytwig I hope last night's meeting was useful. Some schools do another one at the beginning of the Autumn Term, which is helpful as by then you know what questions to ask.

Ours included some really useful stuff about behaviour expectations, assessment and what equipment they are expected to have, the ethos of the school and ideas about how to support them at home through the transition.

No scrum, no appeals for cash, and a free bottle of wine per table. It felt a bit like a quiz night.

The "voluntary contribution" appeal was done as part of the paperwork sent out separately.

TheSecond the meeting was great, no sales pitch on contribution to the school. Met the Form Tutor who was very nice and engaging, which did a 45 minute take on what the expectations would be required from pupils and what would be happening on the first day and weeks when they arrive at school. It was good reasurance really that the school had a good attitude on looking after the pupils well being and education.
Also had the standard uniform suppliers there selling the uniforms.

I found our 'Year 7 Parents Evening' very intense (3 hours) but informative in particular the part about the new academic 'grading' was very useful. Parents were split into 'Forms' introduced to their child's form tutor, shown the new classroom and given complete list for subjects' tests and test results + reviews dates for the entire academic year.
The form tutor highlighted the 'new rules and expectations' of the school & answered to our questions. We also received a full pack of forms to be signed, list of school's uniform, etc.
At the end of meeting we viewed a hilarious DVD (video clips & photos) put together by the NEW Y7 cohort (with the help of some Six Formers & teachers) DVD's content included every single new Y7 pupil taking part in the 'Activity Day' organised previously by the school. During the break we had nibbles and drinks of all sorts. :) I must say that by the end of the evening I was exhausted! The next meeting is in September.