10 things to ask teachers at parent’s evening

Parents evenings are an important event held once a year, for parents and teachers to discuss the progression of a child and any concerns that they might have for their academic journey. However, it seems each parent only ends up with around ten valuable minutes to discuss their worries with the teacher and get enough information to understand how their child is doing in school. It is worth doing a little bit of planning to ensure you use your ten minutes wisely, having a set of questions in mind before you get to the appointment. Here are 10 things to ask teachers at parent’s evening, as advised by this pre-prep school in Gerrards Cross. 

1. Is my child settling? Parent’s evening can be held at any time of the year depending on the school your child goes to, however, this is something that you need to ask your child’s teacher as they usually see a different side to your child and may know something you don’t. If anything does come up, be sure to book in a separate meeting to get it sorted.
2. Does my child take part in class? This is an important question to ask as many children struggle to engage with teaching due to underlying learning difficulties or anxiety. Be sure to listen to everything the teacher says such as they struggle to maintain eye contact or focus.
3. How can I encourage my child? Some parents may find that this question makes them seem incompetent, however, to teachers it shows that you care and genuinely want to do your best to help your child succeed.
4. How can I help my child improve their writing? Writing is an important aspect of learning with it making up the entirety of future exams. The teacher will be able to give advice on how to help your child work on this at home too.
5. How can I support my child’s learning? If your child is someone who is known for falling asleep in class or doesn’t always put their hand up, you need to know. There are easy fixes to these simple solutions, it’s a matter of knowing what’s wrong first.
6. What does this/that mean? Sometimes when you help your child out with their homework, you may come across terms you don’t understand. Ask the teacher to explain as they will be more than happy to help.
7. Is my child in the right set? Of course, you will want your child in the top set, however, teachers understand the learning process best and can simply explain your child’s current learning situation.
8. What are your concerns? Teachers spend a large chunk of time with your child in a day and will notice things you don’t. This may be the time to discuss things like bullies or progression.
9. Who’s the best person to speak to? Your child’s teacher won’t always be able to give you answers. Consider others too.
10. Please can I share this with you? If there has been a drastic change in your child’s life, it will definitely show in class, so it is important to make the teacher aware of it.

If you want more suggestions of questions to ask at parent’s evening, head over to a school website to find out more.