GCSE in 'life skills' should be compulsory for young people, says Parenting UK

The charity believes that a compulsory GCSE, which also covers financial management, emotional resilience and conflict resolution, would be invaluable in helping teenagers make the transition into adulthood and becoming good parents.

Pamela Park, chief executive of Parenting UK, said: "If we want to reduce the parenting issues we are facing today in the future, we need to address not only how children are brought up but also the contribution schools make to their emotional development."

She said that skills such as "setting personal boundaries" and "negotiating conflict" are among vital skills needed to be a parent. The course should build on the Seal (social and emotional aspects of learning) programme in primary schools.

Park added: "The best way to ensure the children of today are tomorrow’s good parents is to help them understand what skills you need to be a good parent and the best way to do this is with a universal offer through schools."

The idea for a "core life skills" GCSE emerged from a roundtable discussion organised by the charity.