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

I would want my child to feel safe and happy in a friendly, open environment

Olivia is going through a phase where she cries every time she has to go into school. She won't say what's wrong so it's important to find out by speaking to the teacher to make sure she'd not being bullied

Our local school has great results, but the kids are basically being taught to pass exams rather than being educated. If there is a chance they will fail then they are not put in for the exam as it will pull the results down. That never used to happen.

The best school offers children pastoral care as well as education, ensuring that their mental health is fine too.

I think its important for children to enjoy learning. They are more likely to try their best and that's all that counts.

Literacy provides the base for development and education facilitates and ensures the overall development of an individual as experiences teaches a great deal of things. In turn, an empowered, independent and settled individual proves to be an asset for the country as well. Thus, education benefits both the person and the country.

Hence, we can conclude by saying that education is just like the soft mud that is required in order to shape a pot in a beautiful and perfect way. It shapes our character, moral, capacities, talents and thus our life. Without it, we would roam meaninglessly in our journeys.

Stop, think and analyze: are you really educated or just literate.

Happiness is key I think- if they're not happy and settled at school, how are they going to settle to learning and achieve as much as they could?

Having a broad curriculum and opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

For every child to be recognised and treated as the individuals they are, and for their own unique merits and skills to be recognised and encouraged

Kindness and value placed on good character.

We considered many schools indie & state that were local & first slice was academics but ultimate choice depended on ethos of school and pastoral care.

From that you might surmise that academics was most important & it sort of was, in that DC grew steadily more despondent that their quick mastery of work & kind & courteous natures meant that they had to sit next to the most difficult & disruptive children for years on end, and that rather than experience extension or differentiation, their role was seen as help the others on your table. Which of course is consolidation - but not motivating, especially if it leads to physical bullying.

So my DC ended up a school refuser. You cannot imagine the joy when school changed and DC was delighted to go to school, delighted to do homework, delighted to join clubs... so like everyone else, a happy child is most important but it takes different routes to achieve that.

Depends on the age of the child really, learning through play and interacting is important. A safe non bullying place where they can learn to be confident, express their own views and learn would be great.
Parents need to be proactive though and not leave everything to the school.

One on one time, ability for them to ask questions if confused.

I think this starts at home, children have to be able to talk to you easily If they have any problems In school or are struggling with school work

I think there is too much emphasis on results, rather than on the progress each child has made.

As a parent I was absolutely horrified quite a few years ago to hear that a school (not the one my child went to) had asked one of the children not to come in on the day of the stats as they didnt want him to bring their scores down - to me that school had failed that child because no matter what level of education that boy had reached they should have supported him and been proud of educating him over the years and of what progress he would have made.

I think more emphasis should be on how each child has progressed and got better at educatiion, and that is not just exams, its how they communicate with each other, how they problem solve and how they learn to cope with problems - life is not just about exams and the reason why children started going to schools in the first place was to be educated but in an environment where they learnt how to socialise with others as they grew up.

I think a good education is an all-rounder of not only educating academically, but also enhancing each childs social and communication skills. I do feel that it would be good for schools to educated in things like budgeting etc - skills needed in life, and of course all of this needs to be in an environment where every child feels safe.

They are happy and feel encouraged

i encourage education but i dont make it the be all and end all. my children are fortunately bright and inquisitive but a healthy home life is more important than grades

As long as they are happy and not stressed that's the important thing. My daughter has just completed her GCSEs and was getting really worked up with Physics. We told her that if she failed it wasn't the end of the world and to not worry about trying to "get it". Just do what you can. She failed it but passed her other exams.

If my children are happy then so am I, obviously I want them to thrive too but in a happy, caring environment.

Its so important to me that my child can if needed, say she is struggling or doesnt understand something, understanding teachers are a must. its also important to me she feels challenged so she doesnt get bored

That my children are relaxed and happy in their enviroment are asking qustions if they do not understand any of the work being taught and that they are making lots of friends

I want my DC to be exposed to opportunities to develop a range of skills in depth. While school is one of the education providers I use, I don’t want a “one stop shop” because I hugely value specialist courses and extracurricular activities that attract children who are deeply engaged in art/music/theatre/film/sports etc. I think it’s good for children to meet others who do not attend the same school (or even live in the same country) regularly.

I want school to be sound on the basics.

I want them to learn through enjoyment not through dates and facts. Learning like a robot didn’t do anything for me at school.

my eldest son was not great at school he had health issues that led him to be very behind his peers in social and academic skills. i pushed for 1-2-1 which he did get for a short period but i mainly concentrated on social skills as they are now what have helped him get to where he is regarding his education. He managed to pass his favourite GCSE's and go to 6th form and is now in University. He has determination and drive and is a very social and happy teenager meaning he is choosing to further his education himself

It is important to me that my child is happy and safe at school, next the three R's should be given priority and hopefully they will gain a joy in learning that will last them all their life

ultimately the most important thing is that my child is happy in their school and the class their in x

It's important that children have a supportive environment which encourages them to ask questions and also develop a lifelong love of learning. School and home must work together to accomplish this though.

honesty from the teachers, and plenty of opportunity to try new and different things. Not really interested in teachers telling me platitudes about my chidren and I would rather they were just honest

A safe environment to learn and reach their full potential without fear of bullying