Parents feel more confident about helping their children with reading, writing and maths after taking adult education courses, a survey reveals.

The Workers’ Educational Association, a voluntary sector provider of adult education, has published the results of a survey it carried out as it launched its parenting campaign Grow Together - Learn Together.

WEA surveyed 4,000 of its learners, and three out of five parents said that taking part in a course while their child was at school improved their confidence to help out with homework.

The research comes as the annual Varkey Foundation Global Parents’ Survey revealed that a quarter of British parents do not help with their children’s homework for fear of embarrassment.

Building parents’ confidence

Ruth Spellman, WEA chief executive, said adult learning has a positive impact on family life. “The impact we are seeing in all our students is that not only does their confidence increase after attending any course but for those that are parents their relationship with their children also improves,” she added.

“By parents demonstrating to their children the advantages and the enjoyment that can be obtained from education, they can, in fact, change their children’s attitudes and raise their aspirations. If we really want children and adults to achieve their potential, we must encourage adults into education and tackle the barriers they face head-on in order to drive social mobility.”

The WEA survey also reveals that 87 per cent of parents reported an increase in self-confidence and half said their relationship with their children improved. Almost one third (31 per cent) noticed improvements in their children’s educational achievement.

The charity’s campaign promotes courses centred around everyday life skills including confidence-building, managing stress, digital skills and English for speakers of other languages.