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81% of parents worry about Covid impact on GCSE results

81% of parents worry about Covid impact on GCSE results

Two-thirds of Year 10 parents say their child is not getting ‘a proper education’, Mumsnet survey finds

5th August 2020, 5:12pm

Four in five parents whose children will sit GCSEs, A levels and other public exams next summer are worried about the impact that school closures and Covid-19 have had on their child’s potential achievement.

That’s according to a survey of more than 1,000 parents in England carried out by parenting website Mumsnet.

It also found that 66 per cent of Year 10 parents, whose children had a partial return to school last term, said their child still wasn’t getting a “proper education”, while 42 per cent said they were “worried that their child’s school isn’t on top of things when it comes to the safety and educational challenges presented by Covid”.

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That contrasts to 83 per cent of Reception-pupil parents, who said they were confident their child’s school was on top of things.

Mumsnet founder and CEO Justine Roberts said: “It’s clear that parents of pupils who face public exams next summer are wary and anxious about what will happen, given that so much teaching time has been irrevocably lost.

“These students, and their parents, will be watching carefully to see how the government and the exam boards approach next year’s qualifications.”

The survey, in partnership with the national helpline for parents on home learning issues known as StarLine, was carried out at the end of term responded to by 1,086 parents in England with at least one child at school.

While it found that 81 per cent of parents were worried about the impact of Covid-19 on their child’s GCSEs and A levels next year, it also found that 74 per cent of all parents believe it is safe to reopen schools in September.

Last month, the exam regulator Ofqual proposed a series of measures to help pupils sitting GCSEs and A levels next year, such as a later start date for exams, removing the need for science practicals and introducing greater choice in GCSE history exams.

The DfE has been contacted for comment.