Parents urge schools to teach 'life lessons' including budgeting and healthy eating

Research shows mums and dads believe preparing children for adult life is as much of an essential task for schools as academic study

Most mums and dads want their children's schools to prepare them for adult life rather than to focus on school grades, research has found.

The study also revealed that a majority of parents back Ofsted reform, and want the 'one-word' judgment of schools in Ofsted reports (such as 'inadequate' or 'good') to be scrapped.

However, the parents surveyed also believe that school accountability should be retained, but to be more transparent and well-rounded.

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Ofsted inspection 'contributed' to teacher's death

Some 1,000 parents of school-age children were surveyed for the report into public support for education reform, in addition to focus group meetings held with children, parents, teachers, governors and trustees.

The findings have now been published by Laidlaw Foundation, a charity who campaign for equality in education, and who commissioned the study.

The publication of the report comes just days after an inquest ruled that an Ofsted inspection 'contributed' to a head teacher's death.

Ruth Perry, whose school was downgraded by Ofsted, died by suicide in January of this year.

Her death came after she was told her school would be ranked as 'inadequate' from a previously 'outstanding' rating.

Parents want kids to have 'life lessons'

The study found that while parents and carers want schools to maintain a focus on academic outcomes, they also want their children to have wider opportunities and lessons in 'life skills' such as financial and digital literacy and healthy eating, with 57% of mums and dads saying that prepping children for adulthood was an essential task for schools.

Parents also said they would like to see more extracurricular activities available to students, with 54% saying that they would prefer their child to attend a school that prioritised extracurricular activities and life skills.

Only 37% of the parents said they would prefer a focus on academic achievement and exams.

Parents also expressed that they wanted their children's wellbeing to be valued above all else.

More work needed on meaning of life skills

While both parents and teachers both wanted more 'life skills' education for children, and lessons in character building, the report found there was not absolute clarity on what this actually meant in practice, and concluded that more work was needed in this area.

Today’s #OECDPISA results show England is among the highest performing European and Western countries for education.

Since 2009, England has risen 16, 12 and 3 places in rankings for maths, reading and science respectively, demonstrating our commitment to driving up standards.

— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) December 5, 2023

Exams cause 'needless stress'

Both teachers and parents who were polled said they believed exams were a cause of needless stress.

It was suggested that fewer or shorter exams should be introduced, although the study found that generally, parents were more open to exam reform than teachers.

However, head teachers agreed that tests and exams did excessively dominate schools’ priorities.

Longer days needed for extra curricular activities

While all those surveyed were in support of greater extracurricular and enrichment activities and opportunities, it was accepted that they were limited due to funding and curriculum time.

The report concluded that an expansion to extracurricular opportunities would only be achievable by significantly extending the school day and opening in the holidays.

Last week we launched our annual report.

Read what we found about early years and childcare here: https://t.co/tUsdvgIV1a

Watch the key findings here: https://t.co/jnxkRSxt1n

And read the full report here: https://t.co/DMpYW1Yjdj

— Ofsted (@Ofstednews) December 6, 2023

How have people responded to the report?

The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, said the comments in the report echo what his organisation has been asking for.

He said: 'It is clear from this research that parents support what we’ve been calling for — reform to inspections, and an accountability system and funding which support a broader curriculum offer.

'The use of single-word or phrase judgments in Ofsted inspections is brutal and counterproductive.'

Labour’s shadow schools' minister Catherine McKinnell said the study was in line with Labour's proposals for changes to Ofsted.

She said: 'These findings show that parents overwhelmingly support Labour’s proposed reforms to Ofsted to move beyond single-word assessments, which simply can’t capture the breadth of school life.

'Labour will introduce a new school report card that will give more information on what’s happening in schools. These reforms would create a modernised inspection system that is fit for purpose.'

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