Transcript Parent & Teacher Interviews

PARENT & TEACHER
INTERVIEWS
How to be Prepared and
provide Effective Feedback
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A PARENT &
TEACHER INTERVIEW?
 Provide
information to the parents about how
their child is performing at school
 A chance for you to have a formal conversation
with the parent and their child and set some goals
to help improve performance
 A chance for you to put some things into context in
regards to the student and how they perform and
behave in class
IMPORTANT NOTE
 If
a student is or has been a huge concern, this
should not be the first time the parent is
hearing these concerns.
 Parents appreciate knowing what their child is
doing at school, especially if it is having a huge
impact on their performance.
 Suggestion – make any contact now before
parent and teacher night if you have any huge
concerns with students in your class
WHAT DOES BEING PREPARED INVOLVE?
 Planning!!!
 Know
what you want to say for each student
 Follow a discussion pattern
- Positive comment (anything they do well)
- Attendance
- Academic Performance
- Behaviour
- Areas that need to be improved
- Strategies for parental support
- Any upcoming dates and events
 Have
all your materials with you
- chronicle (day book)
- copy of the reports you have written
- marks
- any evidence of the students
performance (books, assessments etc)
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD I PROVIDE?
 Something
that the student does well – positive
to start, get the parent on side
 Behaviour – RISC (positive & negative)
 Bookwork – results, up to date
 Performance in individual assessment tasks
 Homework – chance to explain your faculty
homework policy and how it works
 Strategies the student could use to improve
results (it does not matter if they are top of the
class, they can still improve)
Seniors
See appendix at back of booklet – Feedback Sheet
 Inform them about:
- Learning Centre
- HSC coaching (when do you run this)
- Study sessions on Friday afternoons in the LC
- What is a band and where their child is now
- When the trial exams are on
- How much study their child should be doing at
the moment (in hours)

Juniors

Inform them about:
- Homework Centre (Tue, Thur till 5pm)
- Extra Curricula events they could be
involved in within your faculty eg debating
- Competitions to enter eg math competition
WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT NOT TO SAY

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

To Say
Something positive about
their child
Areas they have potential
Reflect on their capability
You want the best for their
child

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Not to Say
Don’t compare siblings –
parents hate this
Don’t talk or raise other
student names from the
class
DIFFERENT WAYS OF PROVIDING THE
FEEDBACK

Verbal – what you will do through the interview
BUT you could also
Provide a written goals sheet (especially for senior
students)
 Sheet with a list of things parents can do at home to
help their child succeed

WHAT DO I DO WITH A DIFFICULT PARENT?
You know they will be difficult
 Have your head teacher present
 Don’t have the student present
until you have spoken with the
parent
 Start positive
 Have your evidence ready
 Speak in a very calm voice
 Don’t engage in an argument

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
You aren’t aware that they are
difficult
Read their body language, if they
don’t look happy, signal for your
Head Teacher
If the student has been difficult in
class, don’t have them present at
first. Talk to the parent and then
invite the student over
If it gets heated, remain clam,
don’t argue and signal for your
Head Teacher
Preparation is the best tool
when dealing with a
Difficult Parent
WHAT IF THERE IS A PARENT I REALLY WANT TO SEE?
 Send
letters home in advance about the Parent
& Teacher night, inviting them to see you
 Make phone calls home to parents and schedule
a time for the night
 If you see a parent on the night and you don’t
have them down for an interview, approach
them and schedule in a time.
 If you are busy, inform your Head Teacher who
can approach them and request an interview
FINAL TIP FROM ME
If you’re not going to be present on the night, inform
parents who did want to see you via a phone call and
arrange another time or give them feedback over the
phone
 Parents get very frustrated when they come to Parent
& Teacher night and teachers they want to see are not
there

QUESTIONS?