This is a document I made for our more inexperienced staff who had some anxieties around parents evenings. It isn’t overly long to read and digest (it’s two sides of A4) so it didn’t cognitively overload them but they really appreciated it. I emphasised that it was intended as a reference and a guide and they obviously weren’t meant to memorise all the responses (and also I explained how I couldn’t anticipate every scenario!) but it certainly helped ease their anxieties and make sure they were confident in their interactions (as well as communicating in the right professional tone etc.) I got some great feedback from staff on it so I thought I’d share it and I hope it saves you some time in terms of producing something that staff can really use. I also found it a useful starting point for more experienced members of staff who perhaps needed a little reminder of the importance of interacting with parents friendly but in a professional manner, no matter how parents might present! It isn’t exhaustive but it was really useful in terms of conveying to our staff the tone and manner we wanted them to communicate in, so I hope it’s just as useful for you too! Thanks for taking a look :)

This PowerPoint presentation is ideal for an assembly or a talk to parents of any exam cohort. It could also be used for an hour’s lesson if students were to try different techniques as they are introduced on the screen live. We actually also used it for Staff CPD to help them guide students revision lessons - it worked really well and staff appreciated having guidance to ensure the tasks they are setting in revision lessons are valuable. It is simple and clear and grounds all the suggested techniques in the cognitive science research into which revision techniques actually work and why, It means students can have confidence that the revision tasks they are completing actually have a high chance of making knowledge stick and ensuring they retain key information they will need for their exams. It has worked really well with our students and hopefully it can save you a little bit of time reinventing the wheel. Thanks for taking a look :)