ALL mums and dads want to hear their child praised by their teacher, which is why parents' evening can be a great chance to catch up on their progress.

However sometimes the comments you receive can also be meant as constructive feedback to encourage improvement, so you need to listen carefully.

Danielle Lyon, 38, spent nine years as an English teacher, teaching all ages from primary school age to adult, and now works for online tutoring company, GoStudent.

She says: "A teacher's goal is always to help students reach their full potential.

"Parents' evening is a wonderful opportunity to speak to parents about the learning that has been going on over the school year, as well as to share any feedback.

"Teachers always present their feedback in a positive manner in these meetings because they are rooting for your children as much as you are.

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"Even if the student’s behaviour isn’t up to scratch, framing this positively encourages the student to improve."

Here, Danielle reveals what teachers really mean when they use certain popular phrases to describe a child's behaviour…

'They have potential'

Danielle says: "This is one of those tricky phrases that sounds quite positive but it could mean that your child is currently not fully living up to their potential.

"This phrase often means that the teacher can see they are intelligent and have the capacity to do well but for some reason
aren’t.

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"Start a conversation with their teacher and ask exactly where the roadblocks are to your child’s progress.

"Then you can work on them together – taking your child to the library, to the zoo, to a museum or to an extracurricular class can all help spark interest in a subject.

"Sometimes all children need is a moment of inspiration to get them interested in class – whether that is tying the subject to a future aspiration or to a particular hobby or interest that they have."

Follow-up questions parents can ask…

• What do you think they need to do to achieve their full potential?
• Is there anything we can do at home to help motivate them?

'Full of energy'

Danielle says: "Energy and enthusiasm are great qualities and something we want all children to bring to the classroom.

"However, this phrase may mean that your child’s energy may
be distracting for some students.

"Examples of behaviours could be: wandering around the class when they should be working, being unable to sit on their chair properly, shouting out answers, or talking over others.

"The key here is to work with your child’s high energy level and not against it.

"All children are full of beans and it is important to give them outlets for this energy at home as well as at school.

"Walking to and from school is not only healthy but can give children some much-needed exercise before class starts.

"Also, hobbies like martial arts not only burn excess energy but teach children discipline."

Follow-up questions parents can ask…

• When do you see this happening?
• Do you feel that their high energy is disrupting the class?
• Is there anything we can implement at home to help manage these behaviours?

'Very popular… and chatty'

Danielle says: "As someone whose maths teacher told my mum that I was “born talking” I am very familiar with this one.

"Everyone wants their child to be popular and have lots of friends at school and this phrase definitely means that they do!

"However, popularity can also be a very good distraction from schoolwork sometimes.

"When a teacher says this, it could also have the implication that your child’s chatting is disturbing the flow of the class.

"Again, being talkative and communicative is a great skill to have both in class and in future jobs.

"The key is making sure your child knows how to balance listening and speaking so they don’t miss important information or fall behind."

Follow-up questions parents can ask…

• Does their chatting disturb the class?
• Are they still managing to finish their work?
• Do they have chances to participate in group work in class?

'Struggles to follow directions'

Danielle says: "It’s important to know the cause of this – is it that they are simply daydreaming?

"Or they don’t understand the instructions, and so struggle to carry them out?

"Or that they are refusing to follow directions?

"Sometimes it can even be that children are struggling to see the board, hear the teacher or follow the instructions due to an undiagnosed learning difficulty.

"This is definitely something you want to rule out.

"Obviously, these all require different solutions. The key as a parent is to ask questions at parents' evening to clarify which one.

"This is a great point to open a dialogue with your child about their learning.

"Not all children are born with natural organisational skills and sometimes they need guidance from an adult or even a tutor to
show them study skills."

Follow-up questions parents can ask…

• Are there certain types of directions that cause more trouble than others?
• Do you think it could be possible that they don’t understand the tasks?
• Is my child distracted by things or unfocused?
• What’s your gut instinct about what’s happening?
• Is it affecting my child’s learning?

'They've made some progress'

Danielle says: "The teacher might mean they've made some progress but maybe not as much as expected.

"This is always something to celebrate as children can’t be expected to go from 0-100 overnight.

"Meaningful learning and progression take time and this phrase means that your child is moving in the right direction.

"The key when you hear this phrase is to know what are the steps your child needs to take to continue to make progress.

Follow-up questions parents can ask…

• Are they still behind the expected level at this stage?

• What are the next steps they need to progress further?

• What can we do at home to support their learning?

"Parents' evening is the perfect time to work together with your child’s teacher to maximise the potential of your child’s learning both in school and at home.

"Don’t forget that positivity and support are what give students a chance to do better."

'A pleasure to have in class'

Danielle says: "Every parent wants to hear this phrase and rightly so!

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"Teachers love telling parents how nice their children are.

"This generally means that your child is well-behaved and
participates in class."

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