P ARENT & T EACHER I NTERVIEWS How to be Prepared and provide Effective Feedback

W HAT IS THE P URPOSE OF A P ARENT & T EACHER I NTERVIEW ? 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

I MPORTANT N OTE 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

W HAT 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)

W HAT INFORMATION SHOULD I P ROVIDE ? 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

W HAT TO SAY AND WHAT NOT TO SAY To Say Something positive about their child Areas they have potential Reflect on their capability You want the best for their child Not to Say Don’t compare siblings – parents hate this Don’t talk or raise other student names from the class

D IFFERENT 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

W HAT 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 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

W HAT 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

F INAL T IP FROM M E 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

Q UESTIONS ?