It’s the time of year when schools and parents typically meet for parent-teacher interviews.

These meetings are often short: in high school, usually only five to ten minutes per subject. In primary school, they might go for around 15 minutes with the classroom teacher.

With limited time, it’s worth thinking about how to make the most of it. What should parents ask, and what should they focus on to get the most of these sessions? Is there anything you should try to avoid?

Go beyond this question

It’s easy and common to start with “So, how are they going?”. But this can simply lead to a quick summary of grades or recent results.

While that’s useful to start off the conversation, it is important the discussion doesn’t end there.

Try these questions as well

You will likely get more useful information if you also ask about how your child learns, not just what they’ve achieved. For........

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