Parents willing to lie for school place
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Many parents would move house or even lie to ensure their child got into a good school, according to the latest findings from the Good Childhood Inquiry.
Just over half of parents - 51 per cent - said they were prepared to move, while one in seven would go as far as giving false information, for example about their religious beliefs, research for the inquiry found. The latter figure rose to almost one in four in London.
Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of The Children's Society, which is behind the Good Childhood Inquiry, warned the current educational system risked entrenching inequality.
"The lengths that parents are prepared to go to show there are huge variations in school standards," he said. "But for many parents, the costly exercise of moving house to get their child into a good school is not an option.
"The current system is in danger of embedding inequality by making a child's social class and economic status the key influencer in their educational success."
The survey also examined the National Curriculum. Two out of three of 1,184 adults surveyed said there was a greater emphasis on tests and exams today than when they were at school, while six out of 10 "strongly agreed" a priority for schools should be to support children's social and emotional development.
Kathy Sylva, professor of educational psychology at Oxford University and leader of the inquiry, said: "Teaching children to be literate and numerate is not enough; we need to invest in their emotional and social skills."
- www.childrenssociety.org.uk.
