Yesterday, MummyPages.ie launched the most comprehensive research into all aspects of ‘Back-to-School’ that this country has ever seen. As well as looking at the cost of education, it also focuses on real issues such as parent-teacher relations and mental health education.
While the most striking aspect of the survey was the true cost of sending our little ones back to school, we were really interested to gain some insight into the relationship Irish mums have with their children’s schools and other school mums.
While 93% of schools had a parents’ council, only 22% of mums were actually involved in them – and it’s not because of a lack of enthusiasm on other mums’ parts. The reasons for the other 78% not joining these councils ranged from not having enough time (46%) and it being too much of a commitment (24%) to simply not feeling like they belong there (13%).
It seems obvious that more needs to be done to encourage mums to get involved in parents’ councils and school activities. A simple welcoming email sent around to mums and dads could easily provide times and locations of meetings and encourage new members to come along. Similarly, more could be done to accommodate mums with limited time available to help out, be it more convenient times for meetings or making it easy to participate once-off events whenever they can.
When it comes to their children’s education, 44% of mums feel they are very involved in their child’s schooling, however the majority would prefer regular feedback from and more interaction with their child’s teacher.
85% of mums would be happy to receive regular feedback through a secure website or app on a regular basis regarding the following areas:
- 80% would like to know whether their child is having difficulty with certain tasks at school and how mum can support or help them at home.
- 57% want to know about their child's daily curriculum and development activities.
- 57% think it would be beneficial to know more about their child's behaviour at school.
- 39% would like to receive instructions regarding their child's homework.
48% of mums also think schools could do more to foster a sense of community among parents and pupils. 76% of mums are acquainted with a couple of other mothers, but 19% find it difficult to make a connection at the school gate. Furthermore, 20% of respondents say they feel judged by other mums for being a 'SAHM' or 'Working Mum' at drop-offs and pick-ups.
Speaking about the relationship between parents and schools, Laura Haugh, Mum-in-Residence for MummyPages, says: “There is no denying the powerful impact teamwork between parents and teachers can have.
“Formal parent teacher meetings are an important part of school life, allowing mums to build a picture of their child’s life at school academically, socially and physically. The use of technology could be a very effective way of bridging this communication gap and not intrude too much more on the busy day of the teacher."
To find out your personal back-to-school costs, check out our MummyPages Back-To-School Calculator. For more information on our Back-To-School Survey, click on the image below to see our helpful infographic.
