To think parents expect too much of schools?

Schools are expected to get involved in far too many peripheral things.

Parents give their child a phone and fail to monitor its use leading to problems on social media etc and the school is then expected to sort it out under the handy umbrella of 'safeguarding', a cop put word.
Parking problems, tell the school, they have nothing better to do.
Teaching time is constantly reduced by having to do the jobs of lazy breeders.

I took it to mean that there may be a high proportion of EAL in the classroom which spreads staff even thinner, not that those kids should go somewhere else...

I couldn’t agree more. Some parents seem to hand over the reins once their children start school and take no responsibility. Basic things like road safety, toileting and cleaning their teeth should be taught at home!

I am nearly 50 and dylexic although that wasn't recognised so much when I was at school. I definitely couldn't write my name when I went to school and I remember stuggling with the months of the year in Brownies so must have been 7 I think I only knew the alphabet thanks to seasame street. My spelling and hand writting remains appalling. However I am a practicing medic and have 2 post graduate qualifications.

Everyone is aware of ridiculously large class sizes. It’s important to help at home.

My son is three and doesn’t have any concept of time yet but he does know the days of the week in order and knows what we do on different days eg nursery Monday to Thursday and swimming Friday.

he doesn’t understand time though because he will say maybe we will do it next year but he means tomorrow.

He goes to a school nursery. They do a lot with them including phonics etc. However my worry is more the amount of time they expect parents to be available for school activities, costumes for Halloween discos, something for Remembrance Sunday, coffee afternoons etc. I work and never go to these things so I do feel a little sad for DS. I know I will never be the mum that turns up to the school stuff. I do, however, do the reading stuff which is more important.

I think a lot of parents have a huge sense of entitlement when it comes to schools, but no sense of responsibility. They will actively encourage their dc to resist any authority, but simultaneously expect the whole lesson to revolve around their child's particular needs.

There's a belief that teachers are responsible for all aspects of a child's education and no feeling of parental obligation to prepare their child for school.

I was a child of the 70s. By the time I went to school, I could read, write basic words, dress myself etc. That was the norm.

@BerryTwistermy kid went to R already reading well. He can now read longer words like "accidentally" while some of the others are doing run Spot. We worry all the time that he will be bored. It wasn't enough not to do what we did though.

They did a phonics session for the parents recently, and the last slide was the number of weekly reading logs returned. First week 24/30, last week was 8. So not only do we worry he will be bored, we worry he will not have peers catch up any time soon.

Same with financial awareness, sexual health, basic nutrition, I'm always hearing that schools should be teaching all this stuff. I feel they are overburdened as it is, and they have taken on aspects of social care, plus loads of responsibility for pupils well-being.

I think the national curriculum and statutory guidance expects too much of schools, and that this combined with erosion of responsibility on parents to teach and expectations on children is making the state of education ever messier. I agree that days of the week and practicing penmanship are things that should be supported at home well before Year 2.

There is just too much in the curriculum too early, much of it little more than dick waving with other countries as to who can teach what sooner, on top of all the non-education needs schools are doing to the point a lot of foundational skills aren't getting the time and support that many kids need, crumbling everything else.

I do also understand some parents with little experience of the education system as parents or having experience of other education systems may find it confusing at times when schools put out policies or communication to parents saying X is going to be taught and it's not to the level they're expecting or it gets missed because things come up. I'm not sure the best way to help manage that when a lot of it comes back to the curriculum being too full - for example, I know in some secondaries, the maths curriculum has to be pushed back so they can cover things previous posters mentioned like telling time because primary maths has gotten too full; and I know some where they have great letters on what will be covered in PSHE and policies on RSE detailing topics that it's well known within the school isn't being followed as those subjects get more stuff in them all the time and the time from those subjects is often being used for mock/exam prep and other activities. Some of it should be supported and/or taught by parents - but those gaps and things parents from looking at letters sent home, website and policies may think are covered but aren't don't tend to get communicated to parents unless it becomes an exam issue.

We need a more realistic curriculum, which is difficult when it seems the push is to move as much to schools as possible because some parents won't - I think that low expectation, even though some parents will always meet it - has not helped anything for schools, families, or the children.

And now they're adding financial education to the curriculum. Pretty soon parents will be unnecessary.

I used the phrases surname, second name and family name and he still had no clue.
I used my name as an example. Fortunately a staff member walked past and I could get his surname from them.

I'm a secondary teacher and I've seen there's a marked increase in a lack of really basic general knowledge - knowing the countries of the UK, capital cities, the name of the county they live in, neighbouring counties, for example. It's as if they are just 'living', randomly, without really knowing where they are or what they a part of. Bit mind boggling, really.

And certainly telling the time, which I think may be a lost art soon. I suspect lots of families don't have clocks on the wall at home anymore.

I could get into all sorts, but these are the two things that I find most disheartening, I suppose.

100%

@RichardGeresTie but the use of surname is becoming vanishingly rare. Just take a look at the feminism boards. It is usually referred to as last name or family name nowadays.

Exactly. What are those parents actually doing with their kids?

I work in a junior school and I’m still surprised at the lack of basic knowledge some children have.
Some don’t know their address (this was asked by the nurses performing the flu sprays the other week to verify identity.)
I asked a Y3 child their surname so I could fill out a first aid slip for them and they had no idea what it was or even what a surname was 🤦🏼‍♀️

Parents really need to be taking responsibility for these basics.

Me too. There were 47 children in the A stream and five streams. Each morning those of us in A stream top set could go to CD or E and help the children learn to read and do sums. I loved this and as a consequence perhaps neglected my own learning. Or maybe those children who learned more slowly were motivated to be more successful. Quite a large number of them have large businesses and lifestyles I could only dream of. Not so many of the A stream were so successful in life.

Ahhhh, this post is a breath of fresh air.

You are 100% right. Parents hold teach their children their names and how to spell them, their birthdays (so many don't have a clue!) Days of the week (this is baby group stuff!) And months.

It's unbelievable how many parents never bothered to sing nursery rhymes with their children, then blame schools for speech and language problems. So many didn't bother taking them to play with other children to build basic skills (before anyone moans, I worked full time when mine were little, but I made the effort, as so many parents still do, so it IS possible).

I'd your kid's handwriting is bad, get some handwriting books (you can find some in charity shops for about 20p).

In a nutshell, it's the lazy parents that moan. Everyone else gets off their &#&@* and makes an effort. No one said it was easy.

Depends on whether their teacher taught them! I do, because it’s (arguably) why they have to label the axes. If they don’t at secondary or higher level it’s possible to lose a mark in an exam, depending on the mark scheme.

Three dimensional coordinates come in and out of GCSE specifications. They aren’t usually there, but I have taught it at that level.

Im always amazed at the number of children who dont know their birthdays.

https://foundationyears.org.uk/files/2021/09/What-to-expect-in-the-EYFS-complete-FINAL-16.09-compressed.pdf

this guide tells you what sort of things children should be doing by age

I teach in KS1. Our curriculum is vast. It isn't part of the curriculum to teach a child their middle name (or even surname). We do teach days of the week in y1 but if a child is absent the week it is taught, they'd potentially not learn it. However, it is easy to teach- sing it every day for a week and it will sink in.
Schools teach so many skills but they do need to be practised regularly if they're to be remembered! That is where homework and discussion comes in.

As a teacher I'm still shocked by how many children don't know their addresses, parents' phone numbers, or sometimes even their own birthdays. So bizarre.

I don't see it as my job to teach any of those things. The parents should actually parent.