Parents are more pessimistic about coping with the demands of home schooling than previously, with many feeling they’re not doing a good job
The government has committed to reopening schools as one of the first steps in easing the current lockdown. YouGov data suggests that many parents will breathe a sigh of relief when their children are allowed back.
Nearly a year since the start of the first lockdown, parents are feeling less upbeat about taking on the role of teachers. Only a third of parents who home school their children while schools are closed to most pupils (35%) are now optimistic about managing the demands, down from nearly half (47%) in the first national lockdown.
While a quarter (24%) felt pessimistic about their new duties in May, two in five (39%) now share this sentiment. This includes 42% of home schooling mothers and 36% of home schooling fathers.
One in three parents are not happy with their home schooling
One third of home schooling parents (35%) say that they “don’t think myself and/or my partner are doing a very good job home schooling our children”, compared to 44% who don’t think this applies to them.
Women (39%) are somewhat more likely to think they and/or their partner are not doing a good job of home schooling their children, compared to some 30% of men. However, when it comes to juggling work and home schooling, there is not a significant difference between parents working full time (37%) and those who are unemployed (40%).
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