Vocal Voices

Just a query as I want email the head at Tom and Joe's school.

Those with children and/or grandchildren in secondary school, do their schools still issue an end of year report?
The school used to, along with reports at Christmas and Easter, but the last two Summers haven't seen a report sent home and last academic year we only had one report per child which came just a few days before parent's evening. It's not like there's a lot of work involved, it's just a table of numbers - 1, 2 or 3 - which grades their work, behaviour, homework per subject.

Thanks in advance!

They do at H's school, but as it is a special school I'm not sure it is typical?

B's did too, but that was 4 years ago now!

Yes Jo, you should get reports as this shows.

Surely any school worth their salt would want to send out a report on each child's progress etc. In any case, not doing so would surely go against a school at the time of Ofsted.

Thanks for that Frank, we have had one but they were issued earlier in the school year - for Tom it was last January so hardly shows how they've finished off the year. Joe's was April, both came just before their parent's evenings. Looking at the school calendar for this year, Joe is due to get his report before his parent's evening in January. So they are producing a report before the end of the Summer term...but it may be issued as early as January!
It just doesn't seem right that they end the year and parents have no clear idea of how they've progressed over the whole academic year.

You'd think so Rodo! New head a few years ago and everything changed and not for the better!

Joe's just come home complaining about his science teacher, an NQT teaching a GCSE group. He says he asks for help and she's giving him none. That's a big concern. I've just got off the phone after voicing my concerns with the head of science who admitted that this particular teacher has very little experience but they have to gain it somewhere - she couldn't answer when I said that I understood that but surely they should gain experience with Year 7s and not a group who will be sitting GCSEs in less than two years!
When I was at school, back in the dark ages, the most experienced and strongest teachers specifically taught the O Level and CSE classes. Seems it's not the case now

Jo, from my last post click on the link 'More details on school reports and pupil records' and head to the paragraph 'Head teacher’s annual report to parents and adult pupils'. There you will find the relevant details to quote.

We get two a year.

One a few days parents evening which has the numbers on but also comments from the teachers.

The one near the end of the school year is pretty pointless and just has the numbers on.