Spring is the school term when you often have the last vital parents’ evening before the summer exams begin. Mocks are over and schools schedule the parents’ evening as a chance to get vital messages across to parents and students. There should be an opportunity to ask the teachers questions…so what are good questions to ask at parents’ evening?
This interaction between parent and teacher is not helped by a very limited time. During lockdown parents’ evenings were moved online. This usually involves being given designated time slots of five or ten minutes with teachers that can end abruptly, cutting you off in mid sentence. With a countdown clock ticking away, this can be a highly pressurised and unnatural situation to ask questions. As a parent, you are panicking about what to say and when you are asked if you have any questions, you can end up being like your fifteen year old teenager, smiling sweetly and saying that everything is ‘fine’.
Many schools have retained the online parents’ evenings while others have returned to in-person ones. Some parents prefer the online parents’ evenings because they find them more efficient with time and don’t have to make the journey to school after a busy working day and instead speak to the teachers from the comfort of their own home. Other parents however have embraced returning to in-person parents’ evenings where there are no technology issues and you can have that personal interaction with the teacher while discussing your child’s progress. Both should provide opportunities to ask questions. With remote parents’ evenings you might have more privacy to ask a personal question, whereas with a face to face parents’ evening there is more flexibility with time to ask that extra question.
I have been to many parents’ evenings, both as a parent and as a teacher. As a parent, there are teachers you are looking forward to seeing and there are teachers where you know the conversation might be more awkward. Occasionally emotions can be heightened especially if your child is with you. Meetings can leave you feeling jubilant, proud, excited, downhearted and even protective. This is why having some good questions to ask at parents’ evening is so important.
Good questions to ask at parents’ evening
Ask questions that move the conversation away from a generic conversation and instead move it towards pinpointing progress (or lack of) that your child is making:
Is Lily on track to reach their target by the end of the year? Then follow up with asking for reasons why they are or not.
Ask questions about specific areas that they find difficult or need further support with:
Are there any specific topics or skills that you have identified as being in need of development?
Where do you think Josh needs support?
If there are any areas, ask questions which might help to pin the teacher down to offering support or confidence on a specific need:
When could Charlotte best approach you for help in this area?
Can I give Isaac a day or time that is best?
Will you be running revision sessions in this area?
Ask questions about revision resources and support that you can offer at home:
Are there any revision resources that you recommend?
Are there any additional resources we could get to support learning in this subject?
Finally, think about questions that you are wanting answers for and not getting them from your child about homework, upcoming tests, dates for mock exams etc
How much time should Sara be spending on homework each evening?
Should she be getting maths homework every week?
Does Adam have any tests coming up?
Will you be finishing the course in time for some revision?
A useful tip is to write questions down in advance, especially for subjects that you may have concerns about. Also, to make notes about what the teachers say. These are just a few good questions to ask at parents’ evening. Remember that if you forget to ask something, or you think of something afterwards you can always phone or email the school to ask a question.
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