So just HOW important is parental support?

[McDreamy]

What I mean is will a child achieve more in an average or below average school and plenty of parental support or by attending a great school with not as much parental support?

In an ideal world we would all like our children to go to a great supoort AND have parental support.

Please just humour me as I am getting my knickers in a twist about DD as I'm trying to find her a place in Y1 when we move back next summer and I'm worried all the good schools will be full.

It depends how much time you have to invest in helping your child. School is full time (well until after 3pm) in UK which leaves less time for you to do any extra tutoring.
My dc go to a rubbish primary school here in Germany but I'm a SAHM and they finish at lunch time so we can relax abit at home then set to work. They are usually studying from 4pm to 6pm (often 7pm) with me and they are doing well but it is time consuming and abit unfair on the dc as they could be doing something else like playing out or whatever. If I had the option I would prefer they wnet to a good primary school which would prepare them enough for the next stage.

I am a SAHM too and like your children DD finishes at lunchtime here (Cyprus) but it isn't an issue here. You are of course right about the UK timing!

Why is your school in Germany rubbish, what makes it rubbish?

As you can tell I am new to all this and don't even know how to gauge a school once we get given a place!

depends on the child I think. My DS1 in particular does not like doing "school" things with me - he just will not cooperate - so my parental input is not very effective. He is more willing to do it with DH though.

I would have thought an average school is ok when backed up with parental enthusiasm and input.

The school is rubish because it's taking part in a new concept (European school) and it's all still a bit of an experiment and teachers seem to come and go because they don't like it. Ds has the bad luck to have a very bad teacher so he isn't doing work for his age group , they have not covered half the curriculum for last year let alone this year so I do it at home. Dd didn't cover teh curriculum for maths either last year and the new teacher just took off where they should have bene so it has been hard work catching up at home. The dc who have both parents working will never catch up.

'Scuse the spelling I have to zoom off now and collect the dc from school!

Oh dear that's not good at all!

I'm impressed that you've looked up the cirriculum and continued yourself. I guess you didn't have much choice really.

Thanks for your help, have a nice afternoon

Years ago I was told by the head at a state primary with incredibly impressive SAT results that parental support was THE most important factor, almost outweighing everything else put together. He said there was loads of research to back that up. I didn't know whether to believe him then, but I do now.

DS is suddenly on the top table in everything (yr 3). Of the other top achievers in his class, they have parents from a variety of bckgrounds, many in the trades or with relatively low-skill jobs. I'm the only one in the lot who I think has even been to University.

But what we do almost all have in common is a history of being regular volunteer helpers in class, on preschool committees, in the PTA, etc. The correlation is so striking and so direct; the more involved the parents are with any aspect of their child's pre-school or school experience, the more likely the children are to excel.

I agree lljkk, the children feel valued & supported, the parents feel involved & the teacher/parent relationship improves because of the working together aspect. It helpd foster community spirit & teaches the children so many valuable life lessons.

McD when you are looking for a school for your child I would say go for the one that makes you think "hmmmn yes DD would like this" The school may be old, tatty, not good sats etc but if the head is enthusiastic & you "click" with the staff that's half the battle. A happy child will do well wherever she is if well supported & liked. Obviously results can be a guide butr they are not the only marker IMHO!!

Very often the only reason a school has good SATs results is because of parental support. i.e. in a middleclass area full of supportive (pushy?) parents, the school might not have to do that much to achieve average results.

In my view, if a school is doing Ok in the SATs, in an area where parental support is likely to be less forthcoming, it is probably a better school.

I agree with bossy, that they're happy and well cared full at school (and home) is much more important that how "good" the school is on paper. If they're happy and settled and supported at home they will learn. By supported, I don't mean doing hours every night BTW, just doing their reading books,spellings if they're set and taking an interest.

I am absoultely certain that how they turn out in the end has far more to do with what they see at home, than where they go to school.

My parents are from Jamaica and I was one of the first children of immigrants to attend school in the 70s. My parents provided lots of encouragement, took me to the library and made sure I had a place to study when I reached secondary school. They themselves did not do anything to help school because they were not in a position to do that as they were working in low paid jobs. Plus they did not have the skills or desire to do so anyway (both left school when they were about 10yo).

I ended up going to university to study chemistry and gained a PhD. I outperformed my white counterparts from middle class homes and confounded my racist teachers who scoffed at my desire to go on to further education.

Parents who provide vision, self-belief, motivation and unqualified support are key imo. That is why a lot of children of immigrant parents do well academically despite going to the poorer schools and living in socio-deprived areas.

Brilliantly well put Spokette and well done to your and your parents.

That's the point I was trying to make, as I'm sure it holds for everyone, not only immigrants.

Thanks[smiles]

wow thanks for your comments I really appreciate them.