School Reports Are In, What Are They Really Telling You About Your Child?

This time of year can stir up a lot for parents.

School reports arrive, and for some families they’re a relief, confirmation that their child has settled well, progressed, and “met expectations.” For others, they’re heavier. Familiar phrases appear again: easily distracted, needs to apply themselves more, bright but inconsistent, struggles to stay on task, emotionally reactive, has potential but…

If you’re reading those comments and feeling a knot in your stomach, you’re not alone.

I meet many parents who tell me they’ve seen the same feedback year after year. Different teacher, different classroom, same concerns. And often, despite genuine effort from both child and family, nothing really shifts.

Here’s the important thing I want parents to hear: school reports don’t just measure achievement. They often give us clues about how a child’s brain is working, and where it may be working differently.

For some children, those comments are not about motivation, intelligence, or behaviour. They’re about regulation. Attention. Processing speed. Emotional load. They can be early signs of ADHD, dyslexia, or other forms of neurodivergent wiring that are still widely misunderstood.

ADHD, in particular, is often masked in younger children. High energy can look like enthusiasm. Creativity can look like daydreaming. Coping strategies can hold things together, until the demands increase.

Transitions matter here. Moving into intermediate or secondary school, or even starting school for the first time, places new pressure on executive functioning. There are more instructions, less scaffolding, higher expectations around organisation, emotional control, and independence. For an ADHD brain, that can be exhausting.

What I encourage families to do at this time of year is pause.

The summer holidays give us something rare: breathing room. Space to reflect without the urgency of weekly deadlines and classroom expectations. It’s an opportunity to ask different questions.

Not “How do we get them to try harder next year?”
But “What does my child need to thrive?”

Understanding how a child processes the world, how they regulate attention, emotion, and energy, changes everything. It shifts the focus from managing behaviour to supporting the nervous system. From correcting to understanding.

Sometimes, all it takes is one informed conversation to bring clarity. To connect the dots. To replace confusion with direction.

Because when we understand what’s really going on, we can enter the next school year prepared, not with fear, but with confidence.

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