Education jargon 'baffles parents'

The parents of school age children are often baffled by terms given to the latest education initiatives, a survey suggests.

A telephone poll of over 2,000 parents of children attending state schools in England found up to 25% thought "a lot of information given by the school was full of jargon".

The survey, conducted in late 2001, was commissioned by the Department for Education to investigate the level of involvement parents have in their children's education.

The more general information alienates a minority

Survey report

The results indicated that 70% of those polled had never heard of the DfES, the Department for Education and Skills which had recently changed its name from the DfEE (Department for Education and Employment), and only 8% "knew a lot" about it.

The schools watchdog, Ofsted - that is, the Office for Standards in Education - fared better though, with 35% knowing all about it and only 12% saying they had never heard of it.

More than one in three parents did not recognise the phrase "home-school agreement" - the contract between schools, parents and pupils setting out each other's obligations.

"Over a third (35%) had never heard of the term, which is somewhat concerning given that all parents should have been invited to sign a home-school agreement in respect of their child," the report said.

Literacy hour

Primary school terms proved elusive, with 40% saying they had never heard of the daily maths lesson - the key plank of the government's strategy to raise maths standards.

A fifth had not heard of the daily literacy hour.

And the phrase "baseline assessment" - the way teachers assess children's skills when they begin school - was lost on 43%.

Despite the high profile of school performance tables in the media, 14% of parents polled claimed never to have heard of them.

However, parents did show a greater awareness of the national curriculum (just 4% had never heard of it) and only 8% did not know about the national curriculum tests or SATs.

"It seems that, while schools tend to give parents clear information about how their child is getting on, the more general information alienates a minority," the report concluded.

Positive

But it was not all bad. The poll found 85% agreed the school gave them clear information on how their child was getting on - including 56% who "definitely" agreed.

The vast majority (94%) found the school welcoming and 84% thought they were able to get involved.

Parents were generally keen to take an active part in their children's education - 29% felt "very involved" with school life and 72% wanted more involvement.

But many said work commitments, the demands of other children, childcare difficulties and general lack of time made it difficult to get more involved.

The government says the key thing is that parents know what is happening in schools.

A spokesperson for the DfES - that is, the education department - said: "The important thing is not that parents recognise the initials, but that they see how much standards have improved in schools.

"We do not call ourselves DfES because acronyms can be confusing - we always use our full name."