1. Ask for specific exam results
For example:
"What was Johns test result in test X"
"What's my daughters test result, how did the rest of the class perform?"
"How did my son get on in the last class test?"
"What areas does Lucy need to improve on to achieve a better grade in the next exam?"
A lot of teachers aim to get on your good side at parents evening, more so if they like the student, this means you may not always get a clear idea of how your child is currently working at school. To ensure you can correctly support your child it's important to understand exactly how they're getting on at school. The best way to do this is to ask for mock exam results to help you better understand your child's areas of weakness and what needs to be improved, understanding how your child performs in mock exams can also give you a better indication of how they're going to perform in a real test. Never allow a teacher to be vague or get away with saying your child is lovely and is doing just fine.
2. Ask about social interaction
For example:
"How is Barry like with the other children in class?"
"Have you noticed any off behavior patterns with my child?"
Most parents miss a lot of the issues their child is having at school, as children will act differently at home compared to when they're with their friends at school, teachers have some of the best insight into your child's social patterns especially at a young age, with mental health on the rise, it's vital you keep track of both your child's educational and social needs to ensure they're living a happy, balanced lifestyle. Children can be badly effected by adverse events at a young age so having a good eye on this element of development is really important to ensuring your child's well being is looked after at school.
3. Ask for the exam board
For example:
"What exam board is my child using for math and English?"
"Please may I have a copy of the curriculum"
"Does my child use any of the following exam boards, AQA, Edexcel, OCR, if so which one?"
Even if your child is in primary school, it's important to know the curriculum the teachers are using to work with your child, this will help you understand the targets the school has set for your child over the academic year and help you to better support your child at home. Students in secondary school will benefit even more from understanding the exam board the school uses for various subjects they wish to study at GCSE or A-Level, as they progress in their education, this will help them access more exam board specific revision material they can use to prepare for their examinations.
4. Ask about general progress
For example:
"How has my child been getting on since the start of the year"
"What's my child progress been like in general"
"How often has my child been getting results like this?"
It's important to get an idea of how your child performs in general and it's actually very easy to miss this if you're asking specific questions on parents evening, understanding how your child is performing over a period of time will give you better insight as to how you can better support them, understanding the reason they may be under performing is important to ensure future prevention of under performances, and to prevent any disturbances in their academic progression.
5. Ask about what you can do to support your child
Sometimes you may be unsure about the appropriate steps to take when trying to make an effort to help your child in their education, for this reason you should always ask a teacher, educator or us, and we'll be able to best advise you on the steps to take. There are many forums on Facebook that parents use to communicate with other parents at the school, to share tips and advice.
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