28 February 2024 , 00:01
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One in four children are starting school not having been toilet trained, a major survey has found.
Early years teachers are warning they are losing two and a half hours a day supporting kids who are not “school ready”, according to a survey by children’s charity Kindred. It interviewed more than 1,000 teachers and 1,000 parents of children in Reception year.
One teacher said it was “cruel” not to prepare kids for school, saying: “You’ve got to think of your own child, the embarrassment that you’re putting on them. It’s embarrassing for some of them and you could see they’re frustrated.”
Another told the survey: “Parents need to realise that they need to work with the school and that it is their duty to be teaching simple things - getting dressed, how to brush your teeth, toileting… some of these basic life skills.” Another teacher added: “We’re failing the children we’re teaching.”
The survey, which was carried out by Savanta, revealed 30% of children can’t communicate their needs to tell teachers if they are hungry or scared or need to go to the toilet, while more than a third couldn’t dress themselves. A quarter of Reception kids don’t have basic language skills, with half of teachers saying the problem is worse than last year. One teacher said they feel like they’re “babysitting” kids more than teaching them, adding: “It’s like being the parent for them.”
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Teachers also criticised the amount of time children are spending on electronic devices, with 56% saying too much screen time has a negative impact on preschool development. “A lot of children coming to us just don’t know how to take turns or sit and play,” one teacher said. “You can put a tablet or a mobile phone in front of them and they’ll probably be able to show me a thing or two. But you give them a board game, a hula hoop or something like that, and they don’t know what to do with it.”
Some 69% of school staff said parents need more guidance about child development milestones. For instance the survey found half of parents think toilet training is not solely their job.
Schools have said extra pressures are affecting staff retention. Almost half (47%) of the teachers in the survey said they are considering leaving their current role and nearly a quarter (23%) plan on doing so in the next year.
Felicity Gillespie, Director of Kindred, said: “The shocking findings in this year’s report should be a watershed moment for schools and parents because we know that children who are behind before they begin Reception are more likely to struggle throughout life.
"The 40% attainment gap we see at GCSE is already evident at age 5. If teachers are still having to spend on average 2.5 hours of their day helping children who are developmentally behind before they begin their school-based education, every child misses out. Better, earlier information and a national conversation about whose job it really is to get children off to the best start is needed now.”
Cathie Paine, chief executive of the largest primary only Multi Academy Trust in England, REAch2 Academy Trust, said: “As a large trust we are witnessing first-hand the many challenges that schools face with young children’s readiness – this includes not yet having been toilet trained, lacking some basic skills or simply having had limited exposure to experiences such as looking at books or basic counting.
“Being clear about what we mean by ‘school readiness’ and then knowing the best way to support families is an important challenge for the sector, but one that we cannot shy away from if we are to live up to our promise of improving children’s life chances.”
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We recognise that children’s early years are crucial – which is why we are providing a package of training, qualifications and expert guidance for early years workers, which includes support for them to improve children’s speech, language and communication skills.
“Parents can also access support to help with their child’s development via the government’s Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. This is part of our £300m investment to transform services for parents, carers, babies and children in 75 local authority areas across England."