ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Available for over a year

Good morning. The report of the Commons Education Select Committee, Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children, attempts in its own words to hold up a mirror to a real and persistent problem. It comes just after Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, suggested that parents should be fined if they don’t read with their children or support their homework. The report itself suggests incentives to attract high-quality teachers to schools and longer days to allow pupils to do their homework. But how much should we expect of parents and how best should society deal with this? As a parent, with my daughter doing an exam this morning, it seems to me that Sir Michael is entirely right to remind parents of our responsibility, even if I’m not convinced that fines are the way forward. From my own Christian perspective, all children are a gift reflecting the image of God, to be nurtured in wisdom, creativity and knowledge. Parents are the key focus for this, yet often we fall short - sometimes because of selfishness and sometimes simply because of circumstances of life . Christian faith sees the reality of this, and therefore the need for support, recognising that parents can’t do everything. An outstanding example, here in the North East, is Safe Families for Children, a collaboration between faith groups, volunteers and childcare professionals designed to support parents. It works with families who may be isolated and coping with crisis, providing through volunteers, friendship and practical support to both children and parents. Of course, it’s not just faith groups who give of themselves in such support. I find it amazing that over eighteen hundred volunteers through Durham University’s Student Community Action go out into projects across the region, with many mentoring and tutoring children. I grew up in this region in a white working class former mining village with parents who did value education. Yet in the pressures of life even they needed help. This is where my Auntie Hilda came in. She would often give my mother a break and give me tea. However before the world’s best steak pie, we would do homework and in addition she would have neatly written out a number of sums for me to do. When I eventually came to work on the mathematics of galaxy evolution, I owed a lot to outstanding physics teachers, but I couldn’t have done it without her. Not everyone has an aunt like mine, but this all reminds me that underachievement in children is not just the responsibility of parents, schools or government - it is the responsibility of us all.