Parents given little feed back at parent's evenings

Do you feel you find out enough about your son or daighter's progress from parents evening? New research suggests parents have little opportunity to monitor their child's progress

By askamum

Parents receive less than 13 minutes to discuss their child’s progress at annual parents evening, according to a recent survey.

Over half (55%) of UK parents leave their child’s parents’ evening without a clear understanding of how their child is progressing at school.

The survey by LeapFrog toys found that over half (53%) of mums and dads would like more feedback as to how their child is performing and progressing in school. However, with an average time of 13 minutes allocated to each parent at parents’ evening, parents need to make the most of this set amount of time.

Over three quarters (79%) of parents do not currently prepare a list of questions or take notes during their child’s parents’ evening, suggesting that parents are unaware of the benefits that preparation can offer.

Dr Janine Spencer, child development specialist at Brunel University said; “The survey shows that without the correct preparation or note-taking, parents leave parents’ evening unsatisfied and lacking a vital understanding of their child’s development. However, with the correct groundwork and knowledge of what to expect, parents could turn parents’ evening into an entirely different experience.

She added: “As a result, I have worked in collaboration with LeapFrog to produce a helpful guide to parents’ evening that we hope will be a useful tool in preparing parents to use their allocated time as effectively as possible. Please visit www.leapfrog.co.uk for your free copy of the guide”.

Of the 2,000 parents questioned with children under 10, a third stated that their child’s school held a parents’ evening once a year. Despite this, two thirds of parents have been unable to find the time to attend their child’s parents’ evening due to work or family commitments. Over a third of fathers admitted they would rather leave it up to their partner to attend rather than find the time to go themselves.

The research also revealed how parents would like parents’ evening to be structured with a considerable 57 percent of parents stating they would prefer to receive electronic reports. Informal chats were an equally popular choice with 57 percent of parents saying they would prefer to meet with teachers at their own convenience rather than attend scheduled parents evening.