Your First IGCSE Parent Conversation: Earn Trust with a Plan

The parent is trying to make a decision

A parent asks about your experience. You describe your degree, your subject knowledge and how much you enjoy teaching. All of that matters, but it leaves their immediate question unanswered: what will happen to my child if we start with you?

The opening IG Career session returned to this gap between a capable new teacher and a family looking for reassurance. A useful response is to make your process visible. Show what you need to learn about the student, how you will assess their starting point, and when the family will hear from you again. You can describe that process honestly even before you have a long list of former students.

Start with the student’s route, then discuss lessons

Use the first conversation to build a small student brief. Ask the family to confirm anything uncertain with their school or exam centre. Cambridge’s syllabus year refers to the year the examination is taken, so ‘we started the course this year’ does not settle which document you should teach from.

• Which exam board, qualification, subject title and syllabus code is the student following?
• When do they intend to sit the exam, and which papers or route are planned?
• Is this their first attempt, a revision course, or preparation after a previous result?
• What recent work can help you understand their current level?
• What other subjects and commitments share their week?
• What does the family hope to improve, and how will you report progress?

Make your next step specific

Here is an example you can adapt: ‘Before I suggest a schedule, I’d like to confirm the syllabus and look at a recent piece of work. In our first lesson, I’ll check understanding and how your child approaches exam questions. I’ll then explain the priorities and propose a plan we can review together.’ This is a sample response, not a promise about any particular learner.

A short diagnostic should help you distinguish the problem. A student may know the content but struggle to interpret questions. Another may complete familiar exercises confidently while missing the underlying idea. Those students need different teaching decisions. Explain the distinction in everyday language rather than filling the call with terminology.

Agree how the relationship will work

Before the call ends, make the practical arrangements clear: lesson format, expected independent work, fees, cancellation arrangements and how to contact you. Set a realistic rhythm for updates. A useful message names what the student can now do, what still needs work and the next teaching action.

If a parent asks a question you cannot yet answer, say what you will check and when you will respond. Registration arrangements belong with the exam centre; university requirements belong with the relevant admissions authority. Helping a family locate the right answer is more useful than guessing confidently. Record unresolved questions alongside the teaching plan so they are followed through.

Prepare one page before your next call

Create a reusable page with five headings: student context, confirmed exam details, evidence to review, proposed next step and questions still open. After the call, send a concise summary of the agreed plan through the channel you have arranged with the parent. This makes expectations easier to revisit later.

Parent communication is one of IG Career’s five modules because knowing how to explain a subject is only part of teaching professionally. Alongside the live subject track, practise explaining why you have chosen a particular next step. That is something a parent can evaluate from the first conversation.