To think schools should have a class to teach basic life skills

Maybe we could get parents off their phones long enough to raise their own children?

Trouble is, you can teach something once, but unless it's reinforced, it won't be remembered. That's why we have to revise for exams.

From your list, respectful relationships are explicitly taught as part of the PSHE curriculum. What children see modelled is always going to be significant though.

I use a Bunsen burner almost everyday at work, but I understand I may be in the minority there 😂
But a lot of those things on your list, I see it as my responsibility as a parent to teach those things.

What everyone else said. There's a wider point - if your parents can't / won't do it you as a child are disadvantaged by their failure - but really this stuff should all reasonably be on the parents. My eldest is 7 and could tell you what a mortgage is.

There are actually certificated courses in life skills - they are aimed at students with SEND.

https://www.asdan.org.uk/setting/send-provision/

Bloody hell OP - school is for academic learning, not to stand in for the jobs of parents!!!

If children don't know these basic life skills by 18 then the parents have failed. Schools have more than enough on their plate without parenting children as well.

They do some of these, such as letter writing, cooking etc. But I do agree that some of these would be helpful in school, but that would require a government change to the national curriculum.

Ideally, yes, parents should teach these things but many don't and their children are the ones who lose out. When we look at childhood poverty, it isn't only about actual pounds and pence, it's around knowledge being passed on, emotional literacy, how to navigate processes such as applying for uni and jobs.

I applied for a highly sought after university course, my state school offered no support at all around doing my UCAS form, interviews etc. My parents didn't go to university, but my older brothers private school had held parent information sessions and given significant support to him, so then my parents could help me. Without this knowledge and my parents effort I would have stood a much lower chance at getting into my degree and therefore my job. Schools should be offering this support to even out oppurtuinity based on ability rather than supportive parents

Op some is definitely covered but personally I'd be far happier with RE being dropped for anything that's been missed. Complete waste of time. If you want to learn about religion that's what churches/mosques etc are there for.

How can you not change a lightbulb?!?!

unscrew the old one.
screw the new one in.

Lots of parents think they can given the rise in home education don’t they?
Teachers are now potty training, teaching kids to use a knife and fork, helping them put their coat on etc. Teachers are meant to teach, parents should teach life skills.

Um, that's parenting ?

Far more people use a credit card than a bunsen burner though.

We have YouTube videos, Google and Martin Lewis etc for all of that. In PHSE (or whatever it is called these days) DA/V/EA etc should be covered. To make up for bad parenting. I'd say that University and the funding should be covered.

So a parent that loves their children and cares for them but struggles with financial basics is not a decent parent?

I'm almost 70 but I remember having lessons on how to write an application for a job. How to apply for and manage a bank account etc

As others have said, generally parents should be responsible for that sort of thing. As it happens, schools do teach a fair bit of it though. .

some Of this is taught.

cooking/home ec is done in most secondaries but usually on a rotation with woodwork/textiles etc. so it doesn’t get much time. It is possible in some schools to choose catering for gcse.

it’s also expensive for schools to provide.

peer pressure etc is covered in pshe fucking endlessly, doesn’t stop teens doing stupid things.

basic interest and savings is on the maths curriculum and questions are asked on the maths gcse most years.

School is for academic subjects and qualifications. Parents are there to teach their kids about life.

What shouldn't the school be responsible for?

Parents are allowed to raise and teach their children general life skills...

Do kids in England not have compulsory home economics (often called life skills now) classes in 1st & 2nd year?

Most of those are taught in school at some point. They are also not difficult. You may not personally have used a Bunsen burner, but plenty of us owe scientific advances to those who did go on to do those things for example.

"HTH" it's just so cunty and passive aggressive isn't it?

Do you think all adults could teach maths or English? So why do you think they'd all have the knowledge to explain mortgages or electricity or to avoid abusive relationships which they could be in themselves.

From your list:

Cooking - home ec / food tech generally covers some basics.
Paying bills - uses maths skills. Generally some
of the scenarios are bills. The exact mechanism changes over time, but the maths doesn’t.
Formal letters - English
Peer pressure / relationship stuff - the latest label for what used to be Sex Education.

Parents are the primary educators

That’s a parents job.