When I was 7, my mum found the perfect job: part time hours, within walking distance of our house, fitted in perfectly with the school holidays: she was our new school secretary. Never has the phrase “double-edged sword” been more appropriate.

I quickly found that I’d never get picked for anything good because it would look like favouritism, and suddenly my teachers knew every little embarrassing thing about me. If I got sent to the headteacher, I had to face my mum’s wrath, too. She played the piano in assembly and was there to see me get hauled up in front of everybody for changing the words of the songs to be about farts (Guff the Magic Dragon, anybody?) As you can see, I’m still bitter.

It can be just as difficult for adults who have to teach their colleagues’ children. My friend is having a tricky school year already:

“I’ve got the deputy head’s son in my class this year,” she says. “She thinks he’s a genius, but he’s nowhere near where he should be.

“I don’t want to upset my line manager, but she’s going to discover that he’s not doing as well as she thinks he is and I’m going to get the blame for that.”

Nobody wants to upset their colleagues with tales of their child’s wrongdoings, but communication with parents is key, so grit your teeth and do it. You might get a few evils over the biscuit tin, but you won’t be doing anybody any favours if you keep quiet.

Try not to burst into the staffroom after an awful morning and shout: “that child is doing my head in” when “that child” is the offspring of the Year 1 teaching assistant. I hold my hands up: I did it. It turned out that her child did her head in, too, so she had every sympathy, but not everybody is so understanding.

Lisa Jarmin is a freelance writer