To think the uk education system needs a complete overhaul and parents need to be more accountable ?

[Schoolscool]

I mean teachers don’t have pencils for classrooms (and that’s the least of their worries!!) why not take a few leaves from Ireland’s book and do the following to save money!

1. Each child needs to have their own resources! Yes! We do that. We have back up stuff in class but it’s not bought for “everyone”
2. Families buy the school books and workbooks themselves from an independent school shop or the school themselves or use the school rental scheme (pay a minimal amount to rent the books)
3. We pay photocopying/admin fees (varies per school) but it could be nominal 5 or 10 etc

These are just basic suggestions I suppose but surely it can’t be up to the school to provide everything!! Some of the onus must fall on parents!!

@Faultymain5 2 our of the 3 days yes... but most people just have sandwiches etc.

Hot meals are an evening meal here in Ireland... for most.

In the 80's few kids were obese. Sandwiches and a biscuit were standard packed lunch very little kids fruit based 'healthy snacks'.
Diets got poorer, kids got fatter and the nanny state stepped in with universal free meals.

“We need a fairer system where everybody contributes and pay for their own kids. With the budgets cuts, we are getting there,”

You don’t actually believe this, do you?

Outpinked maybe if schools didn't provide stationary then they wouldn't need to do so many fun raising events.

You don’t actually believe this, do you?
that people will stop having everything for free? Of course I believe it, it's about time!

You may think paying for stationary and workbooks isn’t that big a deal but for many families it just is.

having a child is a very big deal. Of course it means having to feed them, give them a roof, buying them clothes and all the necessities, school being a part of it. Of course having a child means birthdays, parties, school outings, holidays, health issues, travel, childcare...

I can't understand why it's such a shock to expect parent to contribute!

“that people will stop having everything for free? Of course I believe it, it's about time!”

Do you understand the concept of taxation?

For me, the first change education needs is to be de-politicised. Minister for Education can be elected but should sit on a committee with parent and teacher representatives as well as educational experts and child advocates. The fact that a moron like Gove was allowed to make changes to our education system is outrageous.

The changes need to start at the top with a better understanding of what education in 2018 and beyond should actually be providing children as opposed to obsessing with ranking them.

If you haven't watched them, Ken Robinson and Sugata Mitra have some awesome talks on YouTube about how education is not evolving with us in the way it should.

Our son is intellectually advanced but emotionally very immature which means he has a lot of potential but is a total nightmare very tough to teach. We are so lucky that he is able to go to an IB school as opposed to having to sit whilst a poor teacher has to drum a predetermined list of facts into him so he can regurgitate them when required.

Until there is a change in culture and attitude at the top, I really feel that teachers are trapped and constrained whilst children are underserved.

Being brutal about the financial side of things, in terms of parents paying for their own kids, we pay for kids to be educated so in 20 or 30 years time they are able to work, pay tax and fund our retirement.

If we scrimp on education, we are scrimping on our retirement plan.

So once again for most but not all, which sadly means they can go to hell because unless they can afford to eat, they shouldn't be allowed to. Then we get the arguments about not having children people can't afford. I mean I don't undrestand the reason why people do this, but since they do, since the children are here, what would you suggest?

Ultimately, I don't really care about stationery, I don't even care about school lunches, I want to know why what came part and parcel of taxation in 1980s England, is not even nearly achievable. My primary school was (still is) in a very deprived area, yet we had stationery in the classrooms, and food on the table and were educated (although teachers strikes didn't help my grammar). For me, these are basics for a good foundation. We do pay our taxes it should add up.

Thinking about lack of textbooks being down to the ever changing curriculum, why does the curriculum keep changing?

I can understand technology based things like Computing Science changing frequently but things like English, Art and Maths surely they should be set for a minimum of 5 years?