How long are your parent appointments?

[Stripeyshoes]

I had a dad turn up an hour late today, was annoyed when I told him I couldn't meet him as I was teaching, and then told me he needed to reschedule for an hour! I told him he wouldn't be getting an hour of my day - my lessons are not that long, nor is my lunch break. We compromised and agreed to a 30 min meeting, but seriously - an hour?
What planet is he on?
I do work at a private school overseas, ( way too much pandering going on here!)

Ours (I'm a parent not a teacher) are 5 minutes. I admit some parents seem to be in there for 20 minutes but it's supposed to be 5 minutes.

Ten minutes on a parents' evening.

Unless it is something delicate and tricky and that needs as long as it takes. Then it might be longer, or a series of appointments. But that wouldn't be a parents' evening, it would be a separate appointment.
I often see demanding parents before school starts, so that I have a definite cut off point.

10 minutes only here! Bloody cheek!

5 mins (secondary) My own kids' school (primary) is 10 mins. Parents evenings run from 4.30-7pm. By about 4.45, no one is sticking to appointments - it can turn a bit chaotic, though very good-natured. My kids' teacher sits with a timer. Once the buzzer goes off, time is up.

What sort of appointment are you talking about, Stripey?It isn't a Parents' Evening one, as you say you are teaching an hour after the appointment time. When I worked in a school with an appointment system for parent, each one was 5 mins (secondary),but if a parent phoned to make an appointment in the day I would assume it was relating to a specific problem and it would (within reason) take as long as it took. It would have to be within a (non-contact) lesson or straight after school, though.

For parent teacher conferences we plan for 15 mins per apt. Normally if a parent calls to book an apt to discuss something specific, I allow as long as it takes. But it would never occur to me to allow an hour to meet with a parent. The parent I am writing about was booked at lunchtime. It was his attitude that drove me nuts - after having wasted my lunchtime by not showing up, he still expected me to meet with him and give him another hour of my life!

A good way out of your problem, Stripeyshoes is to only be available before school, say 15 minutes before schools starts, so there is a natural ending to the meeting.

I do the same for those who want after school, telling them I have a meeting at X and can fit them in for 10-15 minutes. The meeting might well be between me and my car as I'm leaving the building, but that's my affair.