Training teachers to shine on Parent Evenings

Are your teachers trained to build positive relationships with parents at parent evenings?

I’ve always been amazed that teachers are so poor at managing relationships on parents evening. For me it was the same strategy that I remember my best teachers adopting with my parents… Shake hands and immediately say something positive about their child, which may or may not have anything to do with their academic progress. Let them know that you recognise their child as an individual and respected them, before reviewing their progress.

In several schools, I’ve seen teachers barely raise their head from their mark book/laptop when addressing parents and go on to give a completely deficit driven analysis of their progress. They give the impression that they know them only as a poor mark, and not as a person.  This sets an incredibly bad precedent for developing a future relationship.

Training teachers for Parents’ Evening needs to be a fundamental part of induction and CPD activities of a school which is culturally aware and planning for success.

Read more at: Re-Examining Success by David Hughes

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About educationalist04

I'm convinced we can, as a species, do much better than this if we set our minds to being much more positive and productive towards our fellow humans. The solution is learning - creating independent and autonomous learners who can problem solve, innovate and create a better more equitable and sustainable world. My books, Future Proof Your School and Re-Examining Success together with this blog, explore how better learning outcomes for all can be achieved.

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