The (Not So) Dreaded Parents Evening, 2014 Edition

Tonight, we had to stand around in the cold even longer than usual after school, as it was that time of year again where you are herded into a classroom which comfortably fits 25 5-6 or 6-7 year olds but is slightly tight for space when filled with parents.

Yes, the group Parents Evening.

I think, despite the claustrophobia, that I prefer the mass Parents Evening to the scarier individual one. You can generally get away with a glance at the books, a few positive nods for a certain drawing or piece of maths and a quick chat with the teacher and be done and dusted in under 5 minutes per child. 

I also have to admit, that, now both Brats seems to be doing very well, and Mini's teacher this year gets her and her, shall we say "artistic temperament" (and encourages her), and we are no longer the parent's everyone listens out for, I can now assume the position of eavesdropping on other parent's teacher conversations.

And before you all pour scorn on me, don't say you've never actively tuned in to the discussions between the harassed teacher and the parent's of that kid who you know is always being told off (and in the case of our school, habitually pulled aside outside of the classroom where it is far too loud to listen in on).

 Being nosy aside, I have to say both The Brats are doing pretty well. Littlest is catching up considering he is half a year behind and has time off sporadically due to his ill health. He is far outreaching other's in Maths. They do some new challenge where they ask the kids to pick what maths they do (I'm assuming that there isn't a "not for me, I'd rather read comics or surf the net" option), and how hard the maths in, and he always picks the hardest level. He clearly does not get this maths skill from me. I can barely add up with the aid of a calculator.

Mini is still not interested at all in maths- my fault entirely as to be fair I was exactly the same. However, her handwriting is much improved, and when they all get together to make up a story, she is by far the one who gets into it, and would carry on for double the time the rest do before they get bored or go onto doing something else.

It's nice to see two kids who are mine doing well at a mixture of things. As I said to a disappointed Mini, if you're great at everything without trying, life would be pretty boring. It's much nicer to have something to work towards, and, in the same way she read Green Eggs and Ham over and over for a month before she could read it without stumbling, so she will eventually do the same with maths.

As for Littlest, he appears to be much more able to keep up than previously, and has gone from someone who could barely hold a pencil to writing and problem solving for fun. 

Safe to say that regardless at this age it's all relative, I'm happy if they are happy, and at this age they are still so young and have plenty of time to progress.

I am still quite a proud Mummy this evening though.

Are you off to Parent's Evening? Do you dread them? Let me know below....

The Dreaded Parents Evening

As you'd expect when one of the children starts school, there are a lot of new things, firsts, to contend with.


There are new friends, new classes, new routines, and then there is one that I feel most parents dread- parents evening.

SPECIAL REPORT: Parents Evenings-Do you Know How Your Childs Doing?

You may have seen this covered in the news, but it appears that a new survey reveals the shocking truth that Parents Evenings are not the use to parents we would imagine them to be.

On average, UK parents spend 13 minutes with their child's class teacher, leaving 55% with little insight into their child's academic progress. When a third of parents are only invited to one of these evenings a year, can a parent really be equipped to help their child improve at home?

Further survey findings included that over three quarters of parents do not prepare for the conference by preparing questions, whilst 57% say they would prefer to receive an electronic  reports instead of having informal chats. And one third don't get a chance to see their child's work whilst at the meeting.

The most surprising figures showed that  two thirds of parents don't attend at all as the time of the meetings is inconvenient, and over a third of UK Dads admit they have never attended a parents evening, leaving their partners to attend on both parents behalf.

So what can be done to rectify this seeming lack of knowledge?

Dr Janine Spencer, Child Development Specialist at Brunel University has joined up with LeapFrog to give a comprehensive guide for getting themost out of those 13 minutes.

Tip 1 Write a list of questions

The best way to find out how you're child is doing is to ask questions, so Dr Janine suggests that parents have a prewritten list of important questions, such as asking what are their strongest and weakest subjects, and what work could be done at home to help them improve.

Tip 2 Have a clear outline of what you want to get out of the discussion

Stemming from the questions suggested above, Dr Janine also suggests a parent writes down each topic that their child studies, so as they can quiz the teacher on their child's attainment and strengths and weaknesses in each subject area. Decide in advance what you want to learn from the discussion-its a great way of knowing what help you can give to aid further improvement at home.

Tip 3 Take notes

It may only be a short period that you spend with the teacher, but its easy to forget some of the points raised. If you have your pre-written questions with you, you'll have a notepad anyway-bring a pen and jot down important points to read back later- especially if your partner who is one of the third who don't attend with you! Its also a good way of making sure you understand what is being said-that way if the teacher asks if you have any further questions, and they have brought something up in discussion you are unsure of, its easy to refer to your notes.

Tip 4 Talk to your Child

It may seem obvious, but it's vital you find out any concerns your child may have, that you can raise with a teacher. Some children may be struggling with a certain subject, but this may not have been picked up on by their teacher-this is the ideal opportunity to raise the issue at hand. After the conference, speak again with your chlild giving constructive feedback, and praise too where appropriate.

Tip 5 Leave the Kids at home!

Plan ahead for the day of the conference, and where possible leave the children with your partner or better still a babysitter. Having the children with you will distract you-you need to be able to focus on the feedback you are being given, and how this affects your child. You need to be able to concentrate fully so youcan go through it with the child at home. If you can't leave the children at home, ask an older child or relative to sit outside the room with them.

Tip 6 Don't be late

You may only get a few minutes with the teacher, so don't waste it- if you are late this will be taken from your allotted time, so don't waste any of it!

Tip 7 Ask to see examples of your child's work

Its vital that you get to see their work, as it will help you absorb the points being made. Some schools will allow parents a chance to see their child's work prior to meeting the teacher, so use the time to see if anything concerns you compared to others work in the same class.

Tip 8 Be prepared for positives and negatives

Whilst it's difficult to hear negativity being voiced about our child, we all know they are not perfect, so be prepared to use the negatives to their advantage to help the child improve. Listen carefully to what the teacher says, however hard it is!

Tip 9 Request next steps from the teacher

To help you streamline your child's development, ask the teacher for some ideas of next steps to help improvement.This could be recommendations for games or books for use at home, that the child will find fun whilst helping them make educational progress. One idea is to use the Leapfrog online Learning path, which is free to use and can be set depending on your child's age and attainment.

Tip 10 Put Yourself in the teachers shoes

When considering questions to ask and feedback, its important to remember that the teacher has your child's best interests at heart, and that they are an important part of your child's day to day life. They want to work with you to make sure your child gets the most out of their education.

Hopefully, if we all follow these tips, we can improve our childs' educational progress for the better, and be more confident when speaking with a class teacher too.