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Insights

What to Ask at Parents’ Evening: Key Questions for a Productive Meeting

Chloe Pestell | 8 July 2024

Parents’ evening offers a valuable opportunity for you to engage with your child’s education. It’s a time to gain insights into your child’s academic progress and social development at school. Preparing the right questions can help you make the most of this time, allowing for a constructive dialogue with your child’s teachers. As you prepare for the meeting, consider what areas of your child’s schooling you want to explore further and what specific concerns you may have. The questions you choose to ask should focus on your child’s strengths, areas for improvement, and how you can support their learning at home. It’s also important to inquire about their wellbeing and how they interact with peers and staff. Tailoring your questions to your child’s unique experience will enable a more personalised conversation. Remember that parents’ evening is not just about receiving information, but also about building a partnership with the Lord Wandsworth teachers and wider team to support your child’s educational journey.

Preparing for parents’ evening

Parents’ evenings are a crucial opportunity for you to engage with your child’s education. By coming prepared with focused questions, you can gain insights into their progress, challenges and achievements. Of course, your child’s teacher will have key information and topics for discussion but having some additional focus questions from you is always welcomed.

Understanding the importance

Parents’ evenings serve as a vital touchpoint between you and the school, offering a window into your child’s educational world. These sessions can reveal how they are adjusting to the school environment, their academic development, and any areas where they may need additional support. These meetings are not just about academic progress; they are also a chance for you to understand their social and emotional well-being at school.

Questions to formulate beforehand

Ahead of the evening, it’s beneficial to create a list of questions that are directly relevant to your child’s experience. Here are some key questions that can be considered:
  • What are my child’s strengths and areas for improvement?
  • Can we discuss their recent test results and what they signify about their learning?
  • How can I support learning at home?
To develop some effective questions, reflect on what you hope to understand about your child’s schooling. Your questions should be specific and open-ended to help draw out detailed responses:
  • How does my child interact with peers and participate in class?
  • Are there any particular subjects where my child excels or struggles more than others?
Remember, the aim is to ask pertinent questions that prompt a constructive dialogue. Your child’s teachers will appreciate focused questions as they can provide specific feedback that highlights areas for encouragement or improvement. To maximise the time you have, a list of questions can also be prioritised, touching upon your most significant concerns. The format could look something like this:
  • Academics: What has been my child’s most impressive piece of work this term?
  • Social: Have there been any incidents with classmates that I should be aware of?
  • Support: What resources are available to help my child with their weaker subjects?
Preparing a list of questions, will help you and your child’s teacher take a proactive approach to the meeting and mean that you come away with a detailed understanding of your child’s education, facilitating a more productive and informative evening for both you and the teachers.

Academic performance and progress

When attending a parents’ evening, one focus might be on understanding your child’s academic performance and progress. This can help you gauge their current standing and what steps the school are taking for further improvement. It can also help you support your child at home with further learning.

Discussion topics

School report: begin by discussing the details of your child’s latest school reports. Ask for specific examples of their successes and challenges in each subject.
  • Academic progress: seek clarity on how your child’s academic progress is being measured. Discuss benchmarks and objectives set at the start of the year.
  • Update on progress: inquire about any significant changes, whether improvements or declines, in your child’s academic performance since the last update. Addressing concerns
  • Current performance: if there are areas of concern in your child’s current performance, ask for strategies that the school and you can undertake to support them.
  • Educational journey: discuss how these strategies will fit within the broader context of your child’s educational journey, and how they can be tailored to their personal learning style.
Remember, the aim of this discussion is a collaborative approach to support your child’s academic success and your teachers child’s teachers are there to support you and your child at every stage of their learning.

Social and emotional development

When attending a parent’s evening, your child’s teacher will also discuss your child’s social and emotional development. These aspects are integral to their overall wellbeing and can have significant impact on academic performance.

Behaviour in school

Your child’s behaviour in school can be a reflection of their emotional state and social adaptability in their school environment. It’s important to ask about how they engage in classroom activities and respect school rules. Key points to discuss are:
  • Respect for authority: this includes following teacher instructions and general comportment in a classroom setting.
  • Interaction with peers: are there instances of conflict or exemplary teamwork?

School day interactions

School day interactions provide valuable information about your child’s social skills and emotional intelligence. Pay attention to how they navigate:
  • Group work: their ability to cooperate and contribute meaningfully to team objectives.
  • Recess behaviour: how do they socialise with other children during breaks?
Understanding their interpersonal relationships can be furthered through conversations about character development and collaboration skills.

Educational support and activities

In addressing educational support and activities during a parents’ evening, it’s important to consider not just what happens in the classroom, but also how learning is supported at home and through extracurricular involvement. These areas directly impact your child’s education and can be crucial for their development and interest in learning.

Learning at home

Homework tasks: ask about the nature and frequency of homework assignments that are given, ensuring they reinforce classroom learning. Query whether the tasks are varied and appropriate to your child’s level and how you might best support their completion of these tasks at home. Private tutors: if your child is receiving additional support from a tutor, discuss with teachers whether this is beneficial and how they can work together to further embed learning. Your child’s teacher will welcome questions around recommendations for any particular focus or coordination with the tutor to align with the curriculum.

Extracurricular involvement

Educational activities: we have significant co-curricular and extra-curricular activities at Lord Wandsworth and your child’s teacher can discuss any club or group opportunities available that can supplement your child’s learning in areas of interest or where they may need extra practice. Daily activities and extracurriculars: understand how these activities fit into the school day – for example, are there science clubs, language clubs or chess clubs that meet during lunchtimes or after school that fit with your child’s schedule? These can be key to providing a well-rounded educational experience.

Next steps and actionable feedback

In discussing the progress of your child, it is paramount to focus on the positive steps that can be taken to enhance their learning experience. The feedback you receive will be specific, actionable, and tailored to your child’s individual needs, ensuring that you leave with a clear understanding of how to support their educational journey.

Setting targets

Establishing clear goals: In your conversations, your child’s teacher will identify any key issues and areas for support and translate them into aligned targets. These will be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example:
  • If your child is struggling with maths, a target might be improving their multiplication skills by practising for 15 minutes each night.
  • For reading, the target could be to complete a book of their choice every month.

Collaborative effort:

Remember, setting targets is a collaboration between parents and teachers. Agree on the targets together, making sure they align with what your child is expected to achieve. By being part of the target-setting process, you will be more invested and able to provide better support at home.

Continued communication

Ongoing dialogue: Effective communication doesn’t end at parents’ evening: Schedule regular check-ins with teachers to discuss your child’s progress. Stay informed about upcoming assessments or projects. Actionable steps: Communication should always result in actionable steps. This could be as simple as:
  • Reviewing your child’s homework every week to monitor their progress.
  • Encourage your child to ask for help when they need it, building their confidence to overcome challenges.
At Lord Wandsworth, we focus on actionable feedback, taking positive steps to ensure the success of your child’s educational endeavours, working in partnership with you to give your child the best educational experience. Collaboration and effective communication with teachers will empower you to provide the necessary support, helping your child to reach the targets that have been set.