School reports decoded: What your child’s teacher really means

There is a lot to be learnt from the phrases used to describe your child’s class work. Caroline Delaney asks some teachers to translate

HERE it is — the summary of your child’s educational achievements over the past year. Reading skills, maths ability, gaeilge prowess — it’s all here in the much-anticipated End of Year Report.

But this little document may contain much more than notes on your child’s class work. For teachers it can be a chance to unburden themselves about your wound-up little monkey or an opportunity to reveal how much effort they put into coaxing a nod or a grunt out of that surly, sulky pre-teen you shunted out the door and into their classroom each morning.