There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about falling education standards in the UK. PISA results suggest that we’ve fallen as low as 25th and 28th for the basics of English and Maths, despite having the 9th biggest educational spend per capita in the world – we were 8th & 9th in 2000. As a parent I struggle to understand the conflicting information. Education spend continually increases so government fingers target the education sector and teachers defend themselves by suggesting the PISA tests are suspect, whilst pointing to exam results – as an example in the early 1980s, just 22% of pupils obtained at least a grade “C” in maths but in 2012, it was 58.4%.
Surely that shows improvement the teaching profession exclaim. Perhaps not if you’ve ever worked in the private sector. Set a budget one year, hit that budget, celebrate then move on to the next year and a slightly higher budget. Grade inflation is as natural as budget inflation and should be expected in an environment that assesses teacher and school performance.
The fact is, we’re operating in a competitive global marketplace and if we want employment we have to be as well educated if not better than our competitors. That’s the reality. Governments are poking teachers and teachers are hitting back at governments. However what we never seem to hear is the importance of parents. The biggest social research ever carried out in the UK, led by Dr Charles Desforges over 10 years ago, showed that parental engagement in a child’s education improves outcomes by at least 15%, regardless of social or economic backgrounds and is the single biggest influence in a young child’s development.
That research is further endorsed by looking at why Chinese pupils do so well at school . It was also supported by independent research into the maths board game PLYT which showed the significant impact of parents as role models.
The is sufficient evidence to suggest the key ingredient that we need to focus on is the parents’ attitude. No matter how much money the government provides or how capable the teachers, if the parents don’t have the right attitude then the child will suffer.
However, too many parents pass the responsibility to schools – and frankly they’re being allowed to get away with it. A teacher friend of mine told me a couple of weeks ago that a mother had stormed into see her with expletive filled outrage at her child being given a book to read at home, explaining that with another 4 kids at home there was no time for any of that nonsense. Add to research such as that from YouGov, showing that 48% of adults believe it is socially acceptable to say “I’m no good at maths”. If the message from parents is negative how can we expect children to flourish.
When parents have children they accept a moral responsibility to help them grow up to achieve their potential. I agree in the hectic modern world, it can be difficult to find time. It can also be difficult for parents to know how to get involved so they can really make a difference. But it’s all about attitude. Making the time because it matters. Finding out how to get involved because you want to help. As my mother said to me when I was younger, “when you look back at your life there will only be a few moments you remember and cherish. I doubt many will involve money but most will involve family and friends – they are what really matter, so don’t look back wishing you’d made the time”. To paraphrase Kitchener, “Your children need you”.
And if you want to make a difference with numeracy and maths then take a look at PLYT – it’s proven to work and endorsed by leading maths consultants and National Numeracy – and even better, it’s challenging, enjoyable and competitive. Helping your children doesn’t need to be a burden, it can be great fun for the whole family. Why not take a closer look here
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