PTM is held on every second Saturday or the last working day of each month or it may be arranged keeping in mind any special need of the students. Meeting can also be arranged when found necessary. Date will be mentioned in school diary. It is compulsory for the parents to attend PTMs failing which the student will not be allowed to sit in the class. PTMs are quite compulsory as they greatly help to improve Parent – Teacher understanding. Hence leading to overall improvement in the performance of the pupil.

Some Important Points about PTMs

Whether your child is in Primary or Secondary level, the Parent Teacher Meeting is an important time to meet your child’s teacher(s) in a one to one setting. Furthermore, it lets your child know that you care about their progress.

At Primary level parents will usually only meet the child’s class teacher. At Secondary level, however you will meet all or most of their subject teachers (around six to ten individual teachers). However, at each level the objectives are similar. It is a chance to see how your child is getting on in school, where their strengths and weaknesses lie, how they socialise with other children in the classroom, playground, extra curricular activities etc. It is also a chance for your teacher to learn more about your child in order that you can work together for your child’s success.

Facing our child’s educational problems can be daunting for some parents who carry feelings of anxiety from their own schooldays. However, many parents are surprised to learn that teachers, especially new ones, are equally anxious about meeting parents! So, the best way to approach, is to be positive and remember you are working for the same cause.

The time limit for each parent(s) at the annual Parent Teacher Meeting at Primary level is about 10 to 15 minute long. And at second level just a few minutes with each subject teacher. It is, therefore, important to stick to the time allotted, as it can be irritating for other parents if the teacher’s time is monopolised by a couple of parents. (If there is a lengthy issue to discuss; schedule a later appointment.)

So, it helps to do a little advance work to draw the maximum out of this valuable time. Here are a few pointers that may help:

Talk to your child. Let them know about the meeting and ask them if there is anything they would like you to raise with their Teacher/s

(1) If you have any previous reports, check them for progress, trends, repeated behaviour and names of your child’s subject teachers!

(2) Come prepared with questions. Jot them down and anything else you want to raise in order to keep focused.

(3) The teacher will usually start with an outline of your child’s progress and will probably have examples of their work, test marks etc. So try and keep your questions specific and ask the important ones first.