Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of The National Parent Survey, published by Parentkind on 4 December 2023.

The National Parent Survey highlights the importance of engaging parents in their children’s education. While it is for schools to decide how to engage parents based on their particular circumstances, the department has put in place a range of support for schools and families for the issues the survey identifies. This includes support for access and attainment for those from lower income backgrounds and support for mental health and wellbeing.

The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. The department is providing total support worth £104 billion over the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living. This includes additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year for over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, and an additional £1 billion to help with the cost of household essentials.

Further support is available through the Pupil Premium, to improve the educational outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. In line with the variety of approaches set by the department, this funding can be used to support high-quality teaching and to provide targeted academic support. It can also be used to tackle wider barriers to academic success, such as difficulties in attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional wellbeing. Pupil Premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of £80 million from 2023/24.

The government is addressing specific cost issues such as school uniform. New statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms came into force in September 2022, which requires schools in England to ensure that their uniforms are affordable and secures best value for money for parents.

The department is committed to ensuring schools are calm, safe and supportive learning environments which promote and support good mental health and wellbeing. To support this commitment, the department is offering all state schools funding to train a senior mental health lead, who can oversee an effective whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, which informs areas such as behaviour, tackling bullying and exam preparation. The department is also continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams, to increase access to early intervention support.

The department shares parents’ concerns about the time spent by children on electronic devices. New non-statutory guidance will aim to ensure that headteachers and members of staff have a clear mandate and practical advice to prohibit the use of mobile phones during the school day, which further supports the department’s aim for schools to be a calm, safe and supportive environment to learn and work.

As highlighted by the report, the experience children gain outside of their lessons is important to them fulfilling their potential as they progress from schools. The department is providing support to increase access to enriching extra-curricular activity. For example, the department is supporting cadets schemes in schools and funding an expansion in access to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in secondary schools, starting in more disadvantaged areas. Disadvantaged areas now rank amongst the highest performing in the country for careers provision and the department’s guidance is clear that schools should recognise the opportunity to improve social mobility by identifying any barriers to participation pupils may have and identify the support needed to maximise their life chances.