Comment: Parents need support in role as co-educators

Barbara Hearn, NCB deputy chief executive
Thursday 10 September 2009

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report released last week was good news for children in the UK. It showed that UK families are supported in bringing up their children through government investment more than most other OECD member countries.

But there are areas of weakness and today's young people do need extra attention. We are right to be concerned that there is still a troublesome level of young people not in education, employment or training (especially in a time of recession).

In order to help those families most in need - where parents are working hard, sometimes in several jobs, to meet the needs of their children, or facing problems such as drug or alcohol misuse or mental illness - investment needs to be stepped up.

The real issue is about the relationship between school, parent and pupil. Every child needs the help of their parents and wider family to support them through learning. Many schools recognise that children need support at home to get the best out of their education but, where this is not available, there needs to be provision that helps parents take on their role as co-educators. Without a learning savvy adult at home, children who are bright can under-perform significantly and those who are less able will not achieve their potential.

"Reducing Inequalities" (by Feinstein, Hearn et al) reviewed data over nearly 40 years and concluded that "a parent supporting a child's learning is consistently significant in improving the child's outcomes, regardless of the parents' social class, education or wealth. Developing parents' skills as the 'first teacher' will do a great deal to reduce inequalities".

It is therefore essential that additional investment targets parents of under-16s in their co-educator role and finds ways to fill the gap for more disadvantaged children.