A new survey has revealed that one in three UK parents don’t think it’s essential for children to go into school everyday.
The reason for this? Well, it’s apparently all due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a new YouGov public poll, which has been conducted by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) thinktank, around 28% of parents surveyed said they felt the several lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021 proved that youngsters did not actually need to physically be in the classroom five days a week.
On top of this, apparently only 70% of parents are confident that their child’s needs are being met at school anyway, and this figure was even found to have dropped to 61% for children at secondary school.
The shocking results of the poll – which questioned 1,206 parents during December 2023, and is part of a wider report titled The Missing Link: Restoring The Bond Between Schools And Families – has led CSJ chief executive, Andy Cook, to claim there is “fundamental work” that needs to be done in order to “rebuild the contract between families and schools”.
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He also added that it proves the “bonds of trust” between the two parties have been broken for a “significant minority”.
“This is not a one-way street,” Mr Cook continued.
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New survey reveals one in three parents think children don’t need to go to school everyday / Credit: gov.uk
“Parents have legitimate expectations of schools, which the Government must help them to deliver, but as parents, we need to take responsibility for getting our kids ready for school, at school, and for keeping them engaged in school.
“Restoring the bond between parents and schools will help us to do this [but] failure to address this will be catastrophic for the future of our people, communities, and state.”
The results of the survey come as the Government unveiled plans for a major national drive aiming to improve school attendance figures nationwide yesterday.
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Improving attendance is my number one priority, so I’m glad that there are 380,000 fewer children persistently absent or not attending school than last year.
But we know we need to go further.
So today, we're taking action to improve attendance.
With tackling persistent pupil absence at the centre of the new “stronger” measures, the Government says more than one million children and young people across England will be supported into regular education thanks to the expansion of the already-existing ‘attendance hubs’.
The ‘attendance hubs’ work to provide “a range of tailored support” to families to boost time in school.
There’ll be 18 new attendance hubs across six regions, which will eventually bring the total to 32, and see nearly 2,000 schools helped to tackle regular absences.
“Tackling attendance is my number one priority,” commented Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan.
“The benefits of our success in raising education standards can only be when all children are in school… [and] we want all our children to have the best start in life, because we know that attending school is vital to a child’s wellbeing, development, and attainment as well as impact future career success.”
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Six Nations to stay free-to-air as broadcasters strike new TV deal
Danny Jones
Good news for rugby fans as the Guinness Six Nations is set to remain free-to-air for the foreseeable future following a new deal being struck between the competition and its current broadcasters.
With the 2025 tournament approaching its conclusion, the organisers are already looking ahead to the next year and how to contest will be marketed, with many predicting the rights to be snapped up by a major sporting channel.
Fortunately, however, the Six Nations‘ present coverage partners have managed to keep the games as part of the current TV license package after striking a new four-year deal.
The agreement between BBC and ITV, who air all of the annual fixtures between them at the moment, will see the pair host the matches until 2029 at the very least.
As mentioned, it was thought that broadcasters and streaming platforms like TNT Sports might secure the licensing for at least part of the tournament as they continue to expand their large and varied service but, for now, UK coverage is staying right where it is.
Under the new contract, ITV will show 10 games per season, including every England match, while the BBC will air the remaining five fixtures.
BBC will also host all Wales and Scotland home games bar when the two nations play England at Murrayfieldand the Principality Stadiums, respectively.
Better still, not only will the men’s competition be staying free-to-air but BBC will continue to show every game during the Women’s Six Nations as the interest in female rugby continues to grow.
In fact, it’s having quite a boom here in Greater Manchester on its own.
Greater Mancs making strides for the next generation.
This year’s tournament has been as blockbuster and nail-baiting as ever, with England still in with a chance of winning the whole thing if they beat Wales with a bonus point – provided France fail to beat Scotland in the final game.
England’s last game gets underway at 4:45pm and it’s all to play for.
You can find all the best places to watch the remainder of the action down below:
Featured Images — Sum_of_Marc (via Flickr)/Guinness Six Nations
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The incredible £5m Hollywood-style mansion with ‘one in a million’ views
Thomas Melia
Ever fancied waking up in a property that feels so LA, that if you walk past your window fast enough you can imagine catching a glimpse of the Hollywood sign?
If the Oscars has you feeling like you want to live a taste of the high life, then fear not, because we’ve got you covered with a property that feels like it’s straight out of the land of lights, camera, action.
This five bedroom mansion is located in Alderley Edge within Cheshire, and with its oval shaped exterior, you can see a full 360 of the surrounding landscapes.
Before you even see the property itself, you make your way up a private road leading straight to the just-over 10,000 square foot house.
The first floor is mesmerising from its amenities such as a music room, media room, study and sitting room as you walk in, to the collective gym, steam room, sauna and pool at the other end of the house.
What a way to let the light in.Who doesn’t want a pool in their house?Credit: Rightmove
Your eyes can’t help but focus on the wide circular hall, lit up perfectly by the sun roof overlooking it, even on a dull day some natural light is always appreciated.
The second floor has five large bedrooms all with en suites and individual dressing rooms, so you can get yourself all dolled up without having to worry about whose turn it is to use the mirror.
One of the bedrooms even has its own lounge space for when you want to admire how beautiful this grand dwelling place really is.
Obviously the master bedroom has the largest wingspan and is curved in nature with doors opening out onto the balcony terrace which is curved like this house’s exterior.
Those remarkable floor to ceiling windows are stunning.The only thing missing is a glass of sangria.Credit: Rightmove
Every window segment for all the rooms contains three floor to ceiling slabs which are all attached to each other, allowing you to see the outside world without having to leave your room.
The land attached to the property is all contained within a walled proximity featuring a formal garden, a wider dome shaped green space and a final rocky terrain with a stone patio taking up one half.
Still not enough to win you over? How about four adjoined stables and an accompanying garage which makes up the surrounding space on the opposite side.
Adjacent to the oval shaped home, the row of stables are detached from the main house with the garage free standing as well.
Stables and a garage, wow.Bird’s eye view of what could be your next mini oasis.Credit: Rightmove
Emily Sergeant -
10th January 2024 
