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November 2021 - Education

Just three in 10 parents believe schools are doing enough to prepare children for real life: A survey of children and young people has revealed that just 29% of parents believe that the curriculum in schools adequately prepares pupils for real life events such as death and finances. 

This means that two-thirds believe schools are not doing enough to prepare children and young people for the world beyond the classroom.

The research was conducted by charity, Project Eileen, which is working to advance the education of young people and wider school communities on 'real life' issues. 

The poll of 1,174 parents revealed that more than half the parents polled (53%) believe that schools should cover the topics of death, bereavement and grief as part of the national curriculum, with almost three-quarters (72%) believing that students should be supported with lessons around finance and money management - a subject which now included in the curriculum. 

Six in 10 parents (60%) also said that they believe sex education should be taught to children in schools. 

The findings from the survey also found that some parents favour learning about real life issues over traditional curriculum subjects. Woodwork (38%), algebra (30%), geology (30%) and poetry (26%) were found to be less important to parents than learning about death (53%), sex educationn (60%) and finances (72%). 

Founder and CEO of Project Eileen, Louise Poffley, said:

“Death and grief are subjects often only covered in response to a tragic situation. At Project Eileen, however, we are passionate about making this conversation a proactive one and ensure we are preparing people for what is undoubtedly a certainty in life.”

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