What's most important to you when it comes to your child’s education? Share with the GDST for the chance to win a £300 John Lewis voucher!

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We all know that education is important and the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), a family of 25 schools across the UK, would like to know what’s most important to you when it comes to your children’s education. Please share your thoughts below to be entered into the voucher prize draw.

When thinking about 'what makes a good education', what do you think is most important? Are strong academic results what make a good education? Or do you think there is too much focus on exams in schools? Does a well-rounded education involve sports and creative arts? Does learning languages and communication skills give children better life skills?

Whatever you think is important for your children’s education, please share it below and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Terms and conditions apply

For me the most important thing is support. With the right support any child can do anything!

The main thing is that my child is happy and not suffering stress that could lead to mental health issues, mental health always comes first.

In our house we talk about what outcomes they want and how we can best achieve them.

For them to have the opportunity to reach their potential, find their ‘thing’ and find their ‘people’. I went to an all girls school and am not personally convinced that single sex education is best for my children. As well as academic development school should also equip kids with the social skills they need for life.

A good education for my girls would be one that developed their life skills. I think emotional resilience and ease of being, as well as growth mentality should be given as much space and time within a curriculum as core subjects. A first class honours is pretty worthless if you have no self esteem and contentment to go with it.

My child’s safety is the most important thing. I want him to integrate well and make friends. I couldn’t care less about extra curricular activities - I can organise those myself.

I like a place that not only concentrates on academic achievement, but also builds character and understanding in an individual and opens and develops the mind of a child. That's what is important to me.

I think that treating each child as an individual and tailoring their education to their needs/interests is key. This is why we home educate for now... Though I am concerned that we also need to make sure our child learns to also be able to work in larger group/develop a teamwork mindset etc. If money were no object, we would privately educate... But we are on a less than UK average salary, so make sacrifices to home educate instead.

For me it's ensuring their individual skills are acknowledged and celebrated and they are given the freedom and support to choose their own future. I do not feel the current curriculum prepares them for real life and I would like to see my children engaging in more 'skills for life' with an emphasis on practical subjects.

The opportunity to be stretched academically, and build self-confidence and emotional resilience. A wide range of academic subjects and cultural/creative/athletic activities so everyone can find their niche. Good pastoral care.

I also think single sex education for girls is important.

The ability to read, and to comprehend what is read.

A well-rounded education should encourage students to do their best in whatever subject or task is given to them; add to this social education and learning to interact with others, and learning about non academic sides to life.

That a child is encouraged to find their strengths whatever they may be. I'd rather my son got a lower grade but was happy and well rounded, than a higher grade but stressed or overworked with no time to do anything extra curricula.

I want my children to learn how to learn so that they can continue developing long after their formal education is over.

My 13 year old attends a GDST school and I couldnt think of anywhere better for her to go. All a parent wants is for their child to go into and come home from school with a smile on their faces and thats what happens in my case. When we were looking at high schools, the main factors we looked at were that the school would treat our child like a human being, not just a number to gain better grades or more money for the school. We wanted a school that was obviously academically exceptional but which also had great pastoral care..and thats what we found in out GDST school. A school with a wide range of subjects, teachers who are enthusiastic about teaching and excellent enrichment programmes.

Equality and lifting each other up is the most important part of education to me

I think that it is important that children feel safe and happy at school. If their well being is not supported they won't have the confidence to go out there and take on the world!

It is important to know they do not need to compare themselves to their peers, and an achievement is an achievement, regardless of what everyone else gets.

I think education is incredibly important, so important in fact that two years ago I chose to educate my daughter myself. Academic results are important, finding out where a child sits on a grade table is not only helpful but beneficial. When you find out what a child already knows, you can start working on what they don't know.

I think education should be well rounded, i don't think (especially at primary school) that only Maths and Literacy make up an education. Geography, history, the sciences. Art, drama, music, physical education. ICT, languages. Everything is a fine oiled machine and most projects incorporate all the subjects you can teach.

I think that, yes, there can often be too much of a focus on exams and the results of those exams. As a home educator I do think that life skills are vital. Learning how to shop, how to manage and use your money, how to plan for the future, how to write a CV, how to cook, just plain logic, creates a well rounded learning experience.

While I teach the national curriculum, I also tailor my daughter's learning experience around her- her age, her aptitude, her likes, her dislikes, what she finds difficult, what she relishes.

Where I think main stream schools fail is on observing and modifying negative behaviour. I also feel (having taught in schools) that some of the more advanced kids get left to their own devises and this can really alter your learning experience and attainment. Priorities seem to have shifted at schools, a lot of things are really based on funding. My priority is to raise a smart, independent, self assured, engaged human being, who is not afraid to ask questions or be herself.

An education which notices, and nourishes, each individual child’s talents, whilst also supporting them to improve in areas which don’t come so naturally is what’s important to me.

That she takes an interest in what she is learning and sees the value in learning a broad range of topics. Mainly that she's happy and engaged in school.

The most important thing for me is that my child leaves school with the desire to continue to learn, to know how to learn and with her self esteem intact! Strong academic results might work for some children, but i want my child to be able to make mistakes, and not get too focussed on just a grade. There should be more chance for children to "fail", to take chances, and not always be going for that top mark. Even though my daughter is only jsut in secondary school i can see her chasing that higher grade, and i want her to learn, but be okay with what she might get. I encourage her to do sport, dance, music, drama as i feel these are what makes for a good well rounded education, and often within this disciplines there is more chance to learn differently.
It is my belief that our children will need to learn continually throughout their working lives, leavning school is just one part of that, so i want a child who can learn, who can fail, who can succeed, able to take up challenges that we are not even yet clear of what they are.

W

Quality of teaching
Leaving destination of sixth formers - ie quality of university
freedom to be themselves
Compulsory sports, with a wide variety of choice
Duke of Edinburgh and community activism
critical thinking skills

I want my children to be happy in the school. To have friends or be able to make friends easily. To have good caring teachers and feel respected within the school environment. I want my children to well in whatever subjects they choose later in life.

A chance to try all kinds of activities, not just academic studies. Self expressions is important too