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The post Christmas parents’ evening is now upon most of us. Those ten minute appointments whizz by quickly, so Carey Ann Dodah from Explore Learning, has put together a list of advice to help you get the most out of the minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember, your child\u2019s teacher will always be available throughout the year to discuss any concerns or questions you have \u2013 you just have to ask and they will guide you,” she advises.<\/p>\n
“They may direct you to some information evenings coming up, guidance on the school\u2019s website or book a slot in with you at a mutually suitable time. If you have a long list of questions you want to ask; parents\u2019 evening may not be the best time.”<\/p>\n
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1. Come to parents\u2019 evening with no more than three questions<\/strong><\/p>\n Do come with some set questions. Sometimes parents\u2019 evening creeps up on us and we find ourselves sitting blankly in front of the teacher not sure what to ask and you know that half an hour later you\u2019ll be kicking yourself for not discussing that important thing! So it\u2019s a good idea to do a little preparation.<\/p>\n 2. Chat to your child about school and their goals before parents\u2019 evening<\/strong><\/p>\n Your child can give you the best insight into what\u2019s happening in the classroom. Is there anything that they are concerned about? What are they really enjoying? What do they think their next goals are? Make some notes on what your child said. It\u2019s really nice to see if these align with the feedback from the teacher and there may be areas that you can fill each other in on.<\/p>\n 3. Look for evidence of progress<\/strong><\/p>\n Progress is measured in different ways across schools now, following recent curriculum changes and so the way your school is demonstrating progress may have changed. Ask about this if it is not clear and find out what the next steps are for your child to reach the next targets.<\/p>\n 4. Look through your child\u2019s workbooks<\/strong><\/p>\n The best way to see evidence of progress is to look through your children\u2019s books and compare work from the beginning of term to now. Read the teacher\u2019s comments and see if there are any themes e.g. are they often running out of time, are there areas that they clearly don\u2019t understand. Note down anything you want to look at with your child at home. If you don\u2019t have time on the evening ask to take the books home overnight so you can review them properly.<\/p>\n 5. Remember your child\u2019s teacher is on your team<\/strong><\/p>\n It can be really hard to receive bad feedback and your child\u2019s teacher will not enjoy giving it. They really do want the best for your child just as you do. If they have mentioned problems with behaviour or concentration, for example, try to see this as a positive opportunity to make a change with your child with another person who\u2019s sharing your child\u2019s upbringing with you. A parent\/teacher combined approach can be such a powerful way to make a change that could be great for everyone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The post Christmas parents’ evening is now upon most of us. Those ten minute appointments whizz by quickly, so<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":27906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n