Whoever ends up with the education brief after this summer’s Conservative Party leadership contest, calls for assessment reform will never be far from their in-tray. Not only does there seem to be a growing consensus from education policy-watchers, we are provided with ever-clearer indications that parents have serious concerns and that the way their children are assessed needs an overhaul.
At Parentkind, we regularly poll parents about a range of issues, including our Annual Parent Survey that seeks the views of thousands of parents each year and tracks their responses. Our 2020 survey found that three in five parents were worried about their child’s emotional wellbeing and mental health at school and two in five children had experienced stress related to homework. The following year, the report found that 35% of children had experienced stress related to exams and 53% of parents reported that they were worried about the pressure that school placed on their children.
