May I please ask a question on how your video link " parents evening " sessions went.

[bizzey]

Just dont know if this is , how it should be or not ?
6th form (yr13) ds .
Messed up 1 subject this morning as phone was not compatable , and no time to sort it .
Organised on ds 's laptop for next appointment .
Teacher asked to speak to ds ..and that was it !
He spoke to ds about course work / any problems ..I did not get a chance to ask anything .
No mic on the laptop.. so just head phone that ds had .
Why call it a parent evening ..when the parent cannot ask a question ?
7 minutes ..and the video call cut off automatically!

Sorry , should have continued ...
Would this be what you are all receiving..?
I dont understand why it was a parent evening . It was just the teacher talking to my ds ?

I still have 2 questions unanswered !

At my school, appointments are 5 mins before they cut off. As a teacher I've found that I have time to say what I want but there's less of a dialogue. Both parties are very aware of the clock counting down! Parents actually seem to quite like it - we've had lots of positive feedback.

@smoothbanagram thank you for replying.
But in your parent sessions ..do you let a parent ask a question ..or just ask the dc questions about incoplete modual 4 and 6 , ..and so on .
Surely they are questions you would ask the pupil during team/lesson time ?

I still dont know / undetstand how his grades ate all over the place !

For sixth form I would normally want to be able to give the parent an initial overview Ans then use the opportunity to have a dialogue with the student within earshot of the parent. You can normally get the student to open up to the fact that they are not doing the required amount of work to get the grade - or admit that they haven't done coursework or such like. This often needs to be said by the student and not by me for many parents to believe it. Not sure why you used a headset as the teacher would have normally expected you both to be hearing what was being said, even when addressing the student.

It seems you didn't get a chance to talk because you didn't have a mic? I'm not sure how that is the school's fault.

In sixth form we do talk to the students more as they are expected to take responsibility for their learning, but the parents would be able to contribute. 7 minutes would have been enough time for that, my last parents evening was 5 minutes. If you have unanswered questions, send a follow-up email.

We had an online video parents eve for yr13 in October. We were given time slots for each teacher lasting 5 mins. It was via zoom I think. Did it on DDs iPad - teacher spoke to DD about test results, work submitted, where is going well, what needs improving etc. DD and I just nodded. Not much time for questions really but I didn’t have any. The school really encourage the kids to be responsible for their learning and the parents evenings (even when they were face 2 face at school) from Yr7 upwards are very child centred with the parent sat listening whilst the teacher talks to the child. Albeit there’s opportunities for questions. I never seem to have any.
If I’d have had questions I would email with a follow up as time was really short. Or encouraged DD to find out the answer for me.

I’ve just seen noble’s response and had missed the bit about your son wearing the headphones. So you couldn’t hear either then? I’m not sure how you were both hoping to talk & hear the teacher in that case. Can you ask your DS to find out the answers for you? If he’s not doing the work, I’d definitely email the teacher, apologise for lack of mic and outline your concerns. They were probably surprised you weren’t involved.

Op, as others said, your problems were caused by your home set-up. Next time, make sure your laptop has a working microphone - don't use headphones as obviously only one person can hear. In our case, 3 of us (both parents and DS) sat in front of one laptop.

I've got 2 DS at different schools, in year 9 and year 12. Both had 5 minute appointments. The first event (y9) went brilliantly. The second (y12) was a disaster because the video kept freezing, but the 3 teachers either phoned or emailed afterwards to follow up.

P.s. most parent evening systems will have a "test your equipment" option so it's worth logging in ahead of time and using that, and also read any guidance that"s available.

Our school is not bothering and only sending written reports, so at least you are getting something.

We’ve just had one -year 8 DD. Went very well on Teams. Much preferred it to an in school parents evening, rushing about classroom to classroom.

I really liked ours

Especially welcome was that the slot cut off, so you never got stuck behind The Parent Who Won't Shut Up, this putting out your timings for all the rest of your appointments.

For less hassle, and we could email teachers if there was still something important to cover as we timed out, be we found we didn't need it. Much more focussed and useful.

DS Y11 she did majority of talking. Sessions booked for 5 minutes but I always seemed to be on the ones that overran so got about 3 mins tops. I tended just to say thank you and make notes of any gap analysis study urged by teachers.

DD!

We had a yr13 parents evening before Christmas. 5 mins for each subject, with a clock counting down on the web page.

Each subject teacher had time to give us a little summary and then to ask if the pupil had any response to that summary. There was time too for us parents to butt in with questions. Some times a little bit rushed, but overall it was great because everyone ran on time (and we didn't have to schlep out in the cold dark evening to school as normal!)

As PP says, we were sent a link prior to the evening to test our equipment. We used a laptop, sound through built-in speakers, built-in mic, and we could all hear and speak to the teachers as we sat around the laptop on our kitchen table.

I think this will be the way to go in the future. Parents not turning up because they have to go out on a windy, rainy evening.

I hope so! It was a much more smoothly run and pleasanter process for all involved.

Unpopular opinion but I think parents evenings are completely useless. We get a progress report every term from my DDs state school (Y8) and when something is particularly worrying I just email the teacher/tutor. I feel bad as I know these things eat up whole evenings for teachers but as far as I'm concerned it's just awk small talk.

I understand your perspective but it does give you the opportunity to get a more rounded view of how your DC are doing rather than communication over a problem area. For us, very useful to speak to DDs teachers yesterday as she has to choose options for an accelerated Year 9 curriculum so it was a useful gauge on her initial choices. And if I’m completely honest, DD2 is a hardworking and bright kid and it’s nice to hear that in a time when we all feel a bit distanced and have ? about how they are actually getting on. I’ve always come away with a sense of pride in her (whereas DD1s parents evenings were dreaded and I’d have avoided them like the plague if I could have done!).

5 mins is the usual slot whether it’s happening as usual in school or online. Lots of teachers have 2 or 3 classes and the appointments can easily total 3 hours or more - after the day of work. The nature of the technology is to cut off after the allotted time. This is vital if you think about it to ensure it runs to time and stops people eating into other family’s time. It really is up to the family to get into the call at the start to benefit from the fullimeslot.

There should be an opportunity to ask a question or two, but that will depend on you having and using the technology so that can work and everyone can hear everything and speak.

It is usual for teachers to essentially talk to students with the parents effectively listening in and chipping in with a a question, especially at the older end of students.

If you still have a question, email it.

Next time, consider how you will set up and use the technology more in advance.

@sjanes49 that's a good point. I didn't think of it from that perspective.
I think options is definitely the one I can understand and tbh I would want longer than 5mins, especially with the subjects they won't see again unless they choose them.

Had my daughters last night. Everything went really well and was easy to navigate. My daughter had to log into her school teams account and the individual teachers would call at the appointed time and we would just answer the call. Very easy.

We have done 4 year groups now by video calling and the parental feedback has been amazingly good. So much so even the head mentioned we may keep it after covid, everything runs to time, no one gets lost wandering around the school, local residents don’t get fed up with parking issues, can be done from the comfort of your own home, no need to miss work for many parents. I personally love the cur off timer, the time slots are the same as ever but that parent who lokes to go on a bit can see the timer ticking down and be concise.

We've just been told ours is cancelled though I don't find them that useful anyway. DD I know is doing well in everything, DS (SN) I know is being difficult in everything and we get grades via GoForSchools. I would e-mail the two questions you have.