What would you like to see taught in schools that currently isn't?

[EllieRosesMammy]

I'd like cooking to be taught, when I was in school it was taught till year 9 and then optional after that. Plus when it was taught we were making something like scones or bread - not something you'd make every day.

I've met so many grown adults who can't cook and waste a fortune on crap and takeaways, I think teaching people basic cooking skills throughout school would help to prepare them for when they move out :)

Are you suggesting that you believe students can sit their GCSEs and A-Levels without these skills?

Making more space in the curriculum and making extra food and nutrition tuition compulsory for all kids, not just those on FSM, would help with this situation. It would make the injustice clearer, of people being unable to afford proper meals. And in future the majority would be able from a position of knowledge be able to challenge ignorant bollocks from politicians who claim the poor can feed themselves nutritionally balanced meals for under 40p a portion.

And lf you want more stuff like this in schools, vote in a different government. I agree @ArseInTheCoOpWindow

In my daughters school they had to do cooking all of them until year 9, PSHCE lessons have included emotional abuse signs, mental health resilience, condom negotiation, boundaries in unhealthy relationships, how to have good friendship boundaries, coercion in relationships, banks accounts and interest rates, online footprint, social media, basic first aid, basic car maintenance, mindfulness, eating well, drugs, smoking, contraception etc

just because your child doesn’t discuss it doesn’t mean it isn’t being taught. She’s in an outstanding comprehensive but I’ve been impressed so far -

Definitely cooking, all children should leave school with an ability to cook maybe 5 dishes and also bread/cake.
Budgeting is also important.
Parenting skills, an awareness that the responsibility is so much more than cute babies or even sleepless nights. It’s about what can you offer a baby, not what can a baby offer you. Some of the least prepared young parents choose that path to compensate for not being nurtured themselves and having a need for what they see as unconditional love. Yes, some make great parents but many need a hell of a lot of support to be even adequate.

I think things like finance and cooking should be every day occurrences in your family. You shouldn't have to rely on school for this
However I always would have liked sign language instead of say French
I am never going to go to France so that was pointless

The majority of topics mentioned are already taught in schools. They are Integrated into core subjects and form time where possible and otherwise covered under pshe.

Really though I think some posters are being ridiculous blaming schools for understanding finance, budgets etc into their 40's or whatnot.

The average school age child will moan about why they need to learn science/french/ insert random subject at all. They certainly don't see the value in learning about credit cards or mortgage terms because most of them are only getting pocket money for sweets and they do not see the relevance.

I once tried to do a budgeting lesson where pupils picked what kind of house,phone car, leisure activities etc and then cost it and work out what income they would need. I then suggested they discuss (with no need to hand in report back etc)with their parents how much typical household bills etc amounted too. The result was a very large number of complaints from parents.

All pupils are given a basic grounding in maths and English and introduced to these topics with a view to educating themselves and being able to follow the accompanying guidance/ illustrations etc. Some people are just reckless with money and this insistence that poor household skills and financial decisions would have been prevented by a lesson on a rainy Wednesday afternoon is rather deluded and indicative of the spoon feeding attitude of many citizens.

Education is intended to give you a head start and skills needed in life. It can never prepare you with everything you will ever need and should not be expected to.

I have a Muslim acquaintance whose daughter does not attend all PHSE lessons but is brought up with a strong cultural understanding that you should be chaste until married. This is quite a minority perspective in 21st century Britain but objectively chastity completely prevents unwanted pregnancy, STIs etc. I don't think therefore social conservatism is necessarily wrong but is simply a personal choice that should be respected. There is an assumption with some PHSE that all students will have liberal attitudes which may not be the case.

We only have to look at the US to see how matters of reproduction are contentious and there are a range of passionately held views and we have to be conscious of this when thinking about the PHSE. I guess in the US lessons on contraception, sexuality etc. may be very much state dependent and although we are not the US how does our Education system cater to a wide range of personal value sets?

Rishi Sunak's kids won't need lessons in household budgeting (well four households)

Teaching budgeting in schools will highlight wealth disparity in a class and could be potentially quite humiliating for some. How you budget is dependent on household income and this will obviously vary in a typical class. Personal finance should therefore be not discussed formally in class in my opinion.

Pupils may for instance realise their parents are profligate and it could be that the pupil feels the teacher is implicitly criticising the parent's financial decisions.

Agree with posters that a change of governing party helps.

I would miss out RE. In my school we spent a huge amount of time on RE lessons, preachy assemblies and church services that could have been much better spent on something practical.

I wouldn't have minded if the focus had been on mental health, meditation or even about the history of different religions but the only thing I got out of it was a memory of 100s of different hymns.

I'm a teacher (not core subjects) and I think core subjects need a total overhaul at GCSE e.g. you have to pass English but why is creative writing part of that? Creative writing is an art subject so should be a choice alongside music, drama, art etc. the English you need to pass should be practical writing like reports, media, emails, technical.....

Maths I think similar, core maths should be practical maths (I include algebra in that but applied algebra) and statistics and further maths should be options subjects.

Science the same. Some physics is immensely useful to life but so often taught in the abstract instead of as an applied subject.

My point being this frees up teaching and timetable time for students to pursue their choices and there's less pressure on core subject teachers to get students through unsuitable for exams to maybe pass them but leave with a life long hatred of core subjects.

Whilst we're at it let's ditch the not fit for purpose exam system and bring back more btecs, nvq, vocational GCSEs and coursework!

And scrap the ebacc cos that's bollocks!

What we need in schools is time...time to teach the subjects well and to allow students to make suitable choices.

I am the parent of 2 "academic" teens. I still think they're being let down, they might excel in English but it's destroying their love of reading for fun and they would have preferred a wider mix of subjects. I had to turn down the ebacc for my 13 year old quite firmly as if she took that pathway plus triple science she'd only have had one option choice 🤷🏻‍♀️ as it stands she had just 2! She's dropped a language which she is amazing at. She would never drop triple science as she wants to be a medic and that's a fairy firm requirement but in taking it she has lost the opportunity for a broader curriculum. AT 13?! She's still a child!

The whole system makes no sense and recruitment of teachers would be easier (imo) if we had more subjects based in some sort of reality and based on current trends in industry. Teaching as part of another job, teaching as a pathway not a finite career option. It's all so stuck in the past, the structure, the training, the choices.

Oops I appear to have written a rant mission statement!

@Wheretheskyisblue if you don't go to a faith school this is no longer what re looks like. I love teaching RE (not my subject) you'd be amazed at how eloquent 11 year olds can be and how firm in their ethics and morals.

At my kids school it used to be called philosophy, politics and ethics. I can get on board with that for sure!

I fully take your point, but not all parents can necessarily do this (some may just not want to, some may not have the skills,etc.), and not every child necessarily has a parent, or two, in the first place.
If these life skills were taught in school alongside the curriculum they'd at least provide some help.

I do have some misgivings about the taught curriculum as it is. Not sure why doing algebra and square roots are that necessary, when people are unable to work out taxes or budgets. What is taught should all be relevant both socially and educationally.

First aid, every child should complete a first aid course.
Finance and budgeting, I really think explaining things like interest rates inflation rates, pensions, mortgages, loans, credit card interest rates etc to kids will help them engage with public discussions and politics.
Cooking

it would be lovely to think parents are always willing and able to help their children with these things but it’s not always the case. It’s a small thing that could make a lot of difference to kids lives

Teaching about mortgages?

Simple.....kids with wealthier parents are given a deposit to buy their first house. The children ultimately will have an asset worth hundreds of thousands of pounds that they can pass into those children.

For poorer children they will most likely rent and give a significant amount of income to a landlord for no ultimate return.

We shouldn't talk about finance to children as it will make them acutely aware of their parents financial status and will ultimately be divisive.

I think this knowledge has to be gained elsewhere in my opinion.

Other than BSL nothing anyone else has mentioned has not been taught in any of the 4 secondary schools I’ve taught at over the past 20 years.

It would certainly be beneficial to children to learn how to forage while avoiding anything poisonous. There's so much free food out there that people avoid because they don't know what's safe to eat. Also learning about the natural world surrounding them will teach children to appreciate and respect nature and hopefully be more respectful of it as they grow older which is a lot more important than fronted adverbials and suchlike.

I don't know how much has changed since I was at school but there wasn't much technical stuff available at GCSE level (there was health and social care and one other thing in my school) so mostly you had to get through GCSEs first which aren't for everyone. The difference in Finland is that the big high stakes exams don't come before choosing between academic and vocational, and vocational is an equal option to academic, about half choose it (much more than half in my area, the academic high school usually has a graduating class of less than 15). In my experience the vocational options were rather looked down on in the UK, considered lesser.

Is foraging an essential life skill?

Im 58 and have never foraged.

I forage every summer, berries are far too expensive to buy from the shop when you can pick them for free (and of course nicer picked fresh). If I liked mushrooms I could get even more free food.

ls picking berries foraging?

Getting food from the wild is foraging, that's pretty much the definition. Obviously picking berries at a pick your own farm is not, but that's not what I'm talking about. There's a lot of edible stuff out there, one I only learnt about because my DD learnt it in school is wood sorrel.

How much talk goes on in schools about mental health nowadays? I think some basic coping skills would be good, such as tools to use (walking, writing, exercise, talking etc) when going through a difficult time. Do they already teach that? Sorry for my ignorance, it's a long time since I was at school.

I’d like it if they taught about marriage (rights and responsibilities). I’ve met so many (clever, educated) people who think that being a common law husband or wife is a thing in the UK and that living together gives a load of rights over a partner’s assets.

I would not say "less content" because content-wise UK math curriculum is 3 year behind Eastern Europe but definitely for longer, more logical order and more practice.