Almost a third of parents are “more relaxed” about their children attending school after the Covid pandemic, a survey reveals amid widespread concern about high pupil absence.

In a poll for the charity Parentkind, carried out by YouGov, 31 per cent of parents said they were more relaxed about school attendance now compared with before the pandemic.

This proportion rises to 43 per cent for parents of children on free school meals (FSM).

And almost half of parents are worried about the cost of school uniforms, according to Parentkind’s National Parent Survey, which asked 5,500 parents about their views on schools, curriculum and attendance.

Parents’ attitude towards school attendance

The findings on parents’ attitudes towards school attendance come after the government announced a £15 million expansion of its attendance mentor pilot programme, and they echo other research showing a shift in parent attitudes to school since the pandemic.

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Although most of the parents polled by YouGov (76 per cent) said that “every school day matters”, almost one in five said it is now harder to get their child to school compared with before the pandemic.

Despite fines being imposed for term-time holidays, more than half of parents said that either their child has missed school for a holiday or they would consider taking a holiday in term time, citing the cost of holidays out of term time as a significant factor.

Parentkind is calling on the government to review the marketing and pricing of family holidays.

Commenting on the findings, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, described the fines as a “blunt tool” and urged the government to invest in support services for schools and families to improve attendance.

Families struggling with school costs

The polling also shows that one in three parents is struggling to make ends meet, with 47 per cent of respondents worried about the costs of school uniforms.

A further one in five admitted to difficulty with the cost of sending their children to school, rising to 47 per cent for parents of children on FSM.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the research shows that school leaders are being left to deal with the fallout of a “child poverty crisis that leaves many pupils without basic amenities”.

Pupils missing extracurricular activities

Around one in four parents said that young people sit too many exams at GCSE level, echoing experts’ calls to reduce the number of exams.

Survey respondents widely backed universal breakfast club provision (70 per cent) and free school meals for all (73 per cent).

However, almost a quarter of pupils do not participate in extracurricular activities, the survey suggests.

Parentkind is calling on the government to fund every child to take part in after-school clubs.

Screen time causes problems

The parents in the survey reported that their child spends an average of more than three hours a day on electronic devices outside of school.

Almost half of parents said they have had a disagreement with their child over screen time in recent weeks. Respondents were worried about their children missing out on important family time because of time spent on devices.

Parentkind said ministers should publish the evidence on the harm caused by smartphones, and also urged the government to introduce legislation to ban smartphones for children.

One MP is hoping to achieve a statutory ban on the use of phones in schools through a private member’s bill being introduced to Parliament this week.

Challenges over homework

The survey also shows that challenges around homework are a big issue for parents.

Nearly four in 10 said homework caused arguments, and half of secondary school parents said they lacked sufficient information on how to support their child’s learning at home.

One in four parents also said homework was not useful, with a similar proportion of primary school parents warning that their children do not have a space at home to carry it out.

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.