Most parents said school absence fines would not deter them for taking their child on holiday during term-time, with the majority saying it’s fine to skip class to get away.
The finding is part of Parentkind’s latest national survey of all four nations – Britain’s largest annual parent poll.
Other key findings included a quarter of parents considering home educating their children and a fifth of secondary parents say their child doesn’t feel safe at school.
The YouGov survey of 5,490 parents – 84 per cent who lived in England – looks at attitudes to schools and education, with findings on attendance, thoughts on homework and GCSEs.
Here’s what it found…
1. Most parents say it’s fine to miss school for holiday
Three-quarters of parents believed that every school day matters and 86 per cent said their child’s school takes attendance very seriously.
But 57 per cent said they have or would consider their child missing school for one or more days for a holiday, compared with 29 per cent who disagreed.
Fifty-seven per cent also said the risk of a term time fine for holidays had no impact on their decision to take their child out of school or not. However, 36 per cent did say it would make them less likely to do this.
Half of parents opposed the policy of fining parents when their child misses school for more than five days without authorisation or good reason. Forty-four per cent supported them.
Parentkind is calling for the government to review the marketing and pricing of family holidays “to reduce the gap between the cost of a holiday in term time and one in the school holidays”.
Meanwhile, 22 per cent of parents said it was harder to get their teenager to school since the pandemic – which rose to 39 per cent for free school meal-eligible pupils and 43 per cent of parents with a child with SEN.
Nearly a third of parents of secondary school-aged kids were “more relaxed” about their child’s attendance compared to pre-pandemic.
2. Two-thirds of poorer parents have considered homeschooling
Thirty-seven per cent of parents have considered homeschooling their child, of which 13 per cent had “very seriously” thought about it.
Parents whose children were eligible for free school meals were more likely to have considered it – 63 per cent compared to 33 per cent for non-free school meal pupils.
Meanwhile, half of secondary school parents said their child’s school doesn’t give them enough information on how to support their child’s learning at home. This sat at 32 per cent for primary aged children.
Fourteen per cent of parents with secondary school-aged pupils did not know the headteacher’s name. This rose to 23 per cent for the name of their class or form teacher.
A quarter of parents didn’t think they’d be able to talk to their child’s headteacher within 24 hours if they needed to.
Parentkind said this suggested “more work needs to be done to help parents feel included in the education system”. It recommended school inspections looking at how well a school communicates and engages with parents.
It also called for government to create a new “kitemark” for engaging with parents.
3. 1 in 5 say too many GCSEs
While 64 per cent of parents thought the number of subjects taken at GCSE was about right, 20 per cent thought it was too many. A further five per cent said it was too few.
If follows calls by a major exams board for fewer GCSEs.
There was more agreement post-GCSE, where 10 per cent thought there were too many subjects taught. However, eight per cent thought there were too few.
Parents were asked whether the core subjects should be mandatory after the age of 16.
But only a third of parents thought maths should be studied until aged 18. This was 27 per cent for English and 24 per cent for science.
4. Support for parents’ evenings and reports (less so homework)
The survey revealed how 90 per cent of parents thought school reports were useful. Eighty seven per cent felt this way about parents’ evenings. But this dropped to 70 per cent for homework.
Nearly a quarter of parents with primary-aged school children said they did not have space of their own to do their homework in, but this dropped to eight per cent for secondary.
Nearly four in 10 parents said homework causes arguments – which rose to 48 per cent for free school meal-eligible pupils.
One in five secondary school pupils were using artificial intelligence for homework, which rose to 31 per cent for free school meal students.
Parentkind wants an “expert review” of homework and “how we can encourage children to enjoy learning again and find time for clubs outside of school”.
5. A fifth of secondary parents say their pupils feel unsafe at school
The survey found that 15 per cent of all parents said their child feels unsafe at school – nearly one in six.
This rose to 30 per cent for parents with a child eligible for free school meals, 28 per cent with a child with SEN and 22 of ethnic minority parents.
Nearly one in five parents said their secondary school-aged child felt unsafe at school.
6. Most support primary breakfast clubs
The government had pledged to fund free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England.
Seventy-nine per cent of parents supported scheme. This dropped to 70 per cent if breakfast clubs were for all school children.
Asked about the benefits of the school breakfast clubs, 77 per cent of parents said it helped them to get to work on time.
But only 33 per cent said it helped them to get their children to school on time. A quarter said it helped their child to learn.
The survey also revealed nearly a quarter of children spent no time on after school club or out of school activities. Parentkind is calling for funding for every child to take part in after-school clubs.
