2021 - "It's about raising trust and preparing them for the planet of adults"
"Schools are designed to prepare students for real life"
2024 - "children are besides tired to learn due to the fact that they spend besides many hours online on calls at home"
2026 - "children are more hard to have conversations or to focus on learning"
"37 percent of children arrive at school gate without basic life skills needed to engage in curriculum"
"37 percent of children arrive at school gate without basic life skills needed to engage in curriculum"
"more and more children have difficulty with basic life skills"
"about 28 percent of children could not usage books decently – for example, they tried to decision them or tap them like a telephone or tablet"
Forewords
automatic translation
Ban telephones in schools, says Minister Nick Gibb
February 2, 2019
Chris Mason
Students should be banned from taking smartphones to school, said the minister for school standards in England BBC.
Nick Gibb took the level before the government published fresh guidelines for schools to address online security, social media and online games.
Children are expected to be taught to limit online time.
Schools have the right to prohibit telephones from entering the school.
However, government policy is that it is the school principals who must measure whether this is appropriate.
Patsy Kane, Executive manager at Education and Leadership Trust in Manchester, she said Mr Gibb's plan "passes with how fantastically useful mobile phones can be to learn."
She told BBC Breakfast that her multi-academic fund supports liable usage of smartphones during lessons and that teachers remove these devices if they are utilized improperly during lessons.
She added: "There is now a fantastic choice of repeat applications – and students are truly motivated to usage them."
The trade union representing directors expressed scepticism over full bans.
But Mr Gibb said, "Many schools have already decided not to usage mobile phones in classrooms.
"Though it's clearly a substance of the principal, in my opinion, schools should ban students from bringing smartphones to school or class."
Katie Ivens of run for Real Education said she supported the ban on going to classes, but students should have the right to wear phones to and from school for safety reasons.
What is called "relationship education" will become mandatory from September 2020, and schools will be encouraged to teach it from September this year.
"The time of balance"
Last summer. The government has published draft guidelines on how to implement this solution.
"Children and youth grow up in an increasingly complex planet and live smoothly both online and offline," it says.
However, it was considered that although this creates "many affirmative and breathtaking opportunities", however, there are besides " challenges and risks".
Since the publication of the document, which stated that "students should be taught the benefits of balancing the time spent at work and offline", more than 11,000 responses have been received and fresh guidelines are shortly expected.
"Children should not spend hours on smartphones or iPads. The Internet, of course, brings large benefits and there is nothing harmful about spending time online," said Mr Gibb.
"But if the time spent by children on social media or playing computer games becomes besides big, it takes them time to talk to their parents, exercise, homework or play with friends.
"It takes the amount of sleep and remainder of the children, so that the next day they come to school tired and can't concentrate."
The minister, who spent more than six years in the Department of Education, added, "Ensureing children to usage smartphones and social media independently becomes an increasingly crucial life skills they request to learn."
However, NAHT's association, representing school leaders, stated that the ban on taking mobile phones to school students could be unproductive.
By giving evidence to the discipline and Technology Committee of the home of Commons last October, a elder union policy adviser, Sarah Hannafin, said, "Cell telephone bans surely work in any schools, but there is no single policy that will work for all schools.
"Total ban on mobile phones can origin more problems than solve, causing the usage of phones 'underground' and making problems little visible and apparent to schools."
She added: "In the end, schools prepare young people for the outside world, giving them awareness and liable monitoring strategies for utilizing the screen and the ability to identify and deal with the negative effects or problematic content they encounter."
---------
Cell phones should be banned in schools - Gavin Williamson
7 April 2021
Cristina Criddle
Cell phones should be banned in schools due to the fact that lockdown influenced the "discipline and order" of children, warned the education secretary.
Gavin Williamson told The Telegraph that phones should not be "used or watched during a school day," although he said schools should set their own rules.
Phones can act as a "pillar" of cyber-violence, and social media can harm intellectual health, he added.
"Now it's time to hide the screens, especially mobile phones," he wrote.
"Technology has proven invaluable in maintaining children in discipline during lockdowns and we support its application," he said.
"Beyond class usage of mobile phones distracts attention from healthy movement and conventional fun.
"What's worse, it's the crux of cyber-violence and misuse of social media.
"Although each school should set its own policy, I firmly believe that mobile phones should not be utilized or seen during the school day and will support directors who will implement specified rules."
The government will consult on assisting directors in removing telephone calls from schools later this year, he added. The vast majority of schools already have regulations restricting the usage of telephones during lessons, according to data from the teacher Tapp app, which conduct regular surveys among about 8,500 teachers. According to the app, about half of advanced schools and most primary schools do not let the usage of phones during breaks or lunch breaks.
"The real problem returned by advanced school teachers is the inconsistent application of rules and sanctions, and it is not always clear whose work lies in removing the telephone or whether they have approval to do so," said Laura McInerney, co-founder of teacher Tapp.
"When the Secretary of Education changes this problem, it is not immediately clear."
School policy
Schools have the right to prohibit telephones from entering the school.
However, government policy is that it is the school principals who must measure whether this is appropriate.
This ban was previously supported by Nick Gibb, School Standards Minister, Matt Hancock, erstwhile cultural secretary and current wellness minister, and Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector Ofsted.
However, no rules have been introduced in Britain to enforce this principle.
In France, the law prohibits children from utilizing telephones on school grounds.
And early this year, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced that students would not be able to bring phones to school without their parents' written permission.
"An approach to cooperation"
Mica-May Smith of Bright Futures Education, an education training company, said that a complete ban was a bad idea, "because children can inactive bring them to school and hide them."
Instead, there should be "an approach to cooperation with applicable rules", including prescribed hours and areas of use, she said.
"It's about building trust and preparing them for the planet of adults," she added.
Phones should be included in the lesson as "the fundamental part of the curriculum," said Susan Wessels, Deputy manager of Framlingham College in Suffolk.
"Schools are designed to prepare students for real life," she added. "We must encourage students to usage phones constructively."
'A telephone addiction'
However, half the parents support the ban on telephones, suggested a survey conducted last year by a portal comparing the prices of uSwitch.
Shile Ismaila, a parenting blogger in African Mommy, says the ban on phones "will prevent distractions and aid children focus on work".
"Children spent more time than usual on phones during a pandemic," she added.
"It was the main way to keep in contact with peers who now became more or little an addiction."
Mr Williamson besides wrote about the request for discipline and structure erstwhile children returned to schools.
"Although distant learning was a large success in enabling children to proceed their lessons at home, the deficiency of regular structure and discipline inevitably affected their behavior," he said.
Excessive pre-screen time makes children unfit for learning – teachers
19 February 2024
Yorkshire teachers inform that children are besides tired to learn due to the fact that they spend besides many hours online on calls at home.
On Monday, the government issued fresh recommendations for schools to halt utilizing mobile phones in classrooms.
Hannah Feerick, deputy chief at Wales advanced School in Rotherham, said, "We announcement students who are alternatively quiet or sleepy during lessons."
"They spend quite a few time online," she added.
"We besides note many conflicts between groups of friends erstwhile they are at a crucial point in their development.
"Many of this is happening online," said Mrs Feerick.
According to No Phones At Home data, which encourages people to disconnect from their devices and focus on spending time together, 55% of children had a telephone until they were 11 years old, and by 12 years of age increased to 77%.
Of these children, 86% had social media accounts, and this group spent an average of 2.5 hours a day online utilizing phones, showing Community Interest Company data.
At a fresh gathering in Leeds, primary school teachers talked about the impact of spending besides much online time on children.
One of the teachers said to the BBC: "They have difficulty contacting others. They're beautiful lonely."
Another said, "It lacks patience and the ability to wait for a reward – they must have it now."
The 3rd teacher said that parents "do not see full influence" of the time spent by children online.
A scientist from Leeds, Charlotte Armitage, said that parents gotta do everything they can to set clear limits on the usage of devices.
"It's about balance – everything in moderation," said Mrs Armitage.
"We know that intellectual wellness services, especially children and young people, are absolutely overloaded by children presenting with intellectual problems.
"But we can prevent it, and all parents can do their occupation to usage devices."
The government has reported that fresh guidelines for the usage of mobile phones in schools are part of the plan to "minimize disturbances and improve class behaviour".
This advice came nearly 3 years after the government first called for a school ban.
However, Pepe Di'lasio, manager of Wales advanced School, who is besides the fresh secretary-general of the Association of School Leaders and Universities, said the guidelines "close doors long after the horse has already escaped".
"The government should do much more to prosecute online platforms to which children have access and which can share very disturbing and utmost content," said Mr Di'lasio.
"This is the area on which we must focus – not on a hard device, not on the problem of having a device during a school day."
-----------
Studies show that vocabulary related to advanced prescreen time in tiny children
Tom McArthur
Monday, January 12, 2026, 11:42 p.m.
Parents under 5 in England should be given authoritative advice on how long their children should spend watching tv or staring at computer screens. The government announces that it will print the first prescreen time guidelines for this age group in April.
The survey showed that the number of children starting school are not taught to usage the toilet
The results rise concerns that children are not taught basic life skills
Jasmine Norden
"Complicated" Reasons
In 2024-25, 68.3 percent of children had a "good level of development" as part of profile assessments at early school – an increase of 0.6 percent points compared to the erstwhile year.
The Department of Education reported that although the challenges remain, "the sustained growth trend suggests that the results for the reception of children improve over time, reflecting the work of early school teachers and teachers in supporting children's development".
Ban telephones in schools, says Minister Nick Gibb
February 2, 2019
Chris Mason
Students should be banned from taking smartphones to school, said the minister for school standards in England BBC.
Nick Gibb took the level before the government published fresh guidelines for schools to address online security, social media and online games.
Children are expected to be taught to limit online time.
Schools have the right to prohibit telephones from entering the school.
However, government policy is that it is the school principals who must measure whether this is appropriate.
Patsy Kane, Executive manager at Education and Leadership Trust in Manchester, she said Mr Gibb's plan "passes with how fantastically useful mobile phones can be to learn."
She told BBC Breakfast that her multi-academic fund supports liable usage of smartphones during lessons and that teachers remove these devices if they are utilized improperly during lessons.
She added: "There is now a fantastic choice of repeat applications – and students are truly motivated to usage them."
The trade union representing directors expressed scepticism over full bans.
But Mr Gibb said, "Many schools have already decided not to usage mobile phones in classrooms.
"Though it's clearly a substance of the principal, in my opinion, schools should ban students from bringing smartphones to school or class."
Katie Ivens of run for Real Education said she supported the ban on going to classes, but students should have the right to wear phones to and from school for safety reasons.
What is called "relationship education" will become mandatory from September 2020, and schools will be encouraged to teach it from September this year.
"The time of balance"
Last summer. The government has published draft guidelines on how to implement this solution.
"Children and youth grow up in an increasingly complex planet and live smoothly both online and offline," it says.
However, it was considered that although this creates "many affirmative and breathtaking opportunities", however, there are besides " challenges and risks".
Since the publication of the document, which stated that "students should be taught the benefits of balancing the time spent at work and offline", more than 11,000 responses have been received and fresh guidelines are shortly expected.
"Children should not spend hours on smartphones or iPads. The Internet, of course, brings large benefits and there is nothing harmful about spending time online," said Mr Gibb.
"But if the time spent by children on social media or playing computer games becomes besides big, it takes them time to talk to their parents, exercise, homework or play with friends.
"It takes the amount of sleep and remainder of the children, so that the next day they come to school tired and can't concentrate."
The minister, who spent more than six years in the Department of Education, added, "Ensureing children to usage smartphones and social media independently becomes an increasingly crucial life skills they request to learn."
However, NAHT's association, representing school leaders, stated that the ban on taking mobile phones to school students could be unproductive.
By giving evidence to the discipline and Technology Committee of the home of Commons last October, a elder union policy adviser, Sarah Hannafin, said, "Cell telephone bans surely work in any schools, but there is no single policy that will work for all schools.
"Total ban on mobile phones can origin more problems than solve, causing the usage of phones 'underground' and making problems little visible and apparent to schools."
She added: "In the end, schools prepare young people for the outside world, giving them awareness and liable monitoring strategies for utilizing the screen and the ability to identify and deal with the negative effects or problematic content they encounter."
---------
Cell phones should be banned in schools - Gavin Williamson
7 April 2021
Cristina Criddle
Cell phones should be banned in schools due to the fact that lockdown influenced the "discipline and order" of children, warned the education secretary.
Gavin Williamson told The Telegraph that phones should not be "used or watched during a school day," although he said schools should set their own rules.
Phones can act as a "pillar" of cyber-violence, and social media can harm intellectual health, he added.
"Now it's time to hide the screens, especially mobile phones," he wrote.
"Technology has proven invaluable in maintaining children in discipline during lockdowns and we support its application," he said.
"Beyond class usage of mobile phones distracts attention from healthy movement and conventional fun.
"What's worse, it's the crux of cyber-violence and misuse of social media.
"Although each school should set its own policy, I firmly believe that mobile phones should not be utilized or seen during the school day and will support directors who will implement specified rules."
The government will consult on assisting directors in removing telephone calls from schools later this year, he added. The vast majority of schools already have regulations restricting the usage of telephones during lessons, according to data from the teacher Tapp app, which conduct regular surveys among about 8,500 teachers. According to the app, about half of advanced schools and most primary schools do not let the usage of phones during breaks or lunch breaks.
"The real problem returned by advanced school teachers is the inconsistent application of rules and sanctions, and it is not always clear whose work lies in removing the telephone or whether they have approval to do so," said Laura McInerney, co-founder of teacher Tapp.
"When the Secretary of Education changes this problem, it is not immediately clear."
School policy
Schools have the right to prohibit telephones from entering the school.
However, government policy is that it is the school principals who must measure whether this is appropriate.
This ban was previously supported by Nick Gibb, School Standards Minister, Matt Hancock, erstwhile cultural secretary and current wellness minister, and Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector Ofsted.
However, no rules have been introduced in Britain to enforce this principle.
In France, the law prohibits children from utilizing telephones on school grounds.
And early this year, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced that students would not be able to bring phones to school without their parents' written permission.
"An approach to cooperation"
Mica-May Smith of Bright Futures Education, an education training company, said that a complete ban was a bad idea, "because children can inactive bring them to school and hide them."
Instead, there should be "an approach to cooperation with applicable rules", including prescribed hours and areas of use, she said.
"It's about building trust and preparing them for the planet of adults," she added.
Phones should be included in the lesson as "the fundamental part of the curriculum," said Susan Wessels, Deputy manager of Framlingham College in Suffolk.
"Schools are designed to prepare students for real life," she added. "We must encourage students to usage phones constructively."
'A telephone addiction'
However, half the parents support the ban on telephones, suggested a survey conducted last year by a portal comparing the prices of uSwitch.
Shile Ismaila, a parenting blogger in African Mommy, says the ban on phones "will prevent distractions and aid children focus on work".
"Children spent more time than usual on phones during a pandemic," she added.
"It was the main way to keep in contact with peers who now became more or little an addiction."
Mr Williamson besides wrote about the request for discipline and structure erstwhile children returned to schools.
"Although distant learning was a large success in enabling children to proceed their lessons at home, the deficiency of regular structure and discipline inevitably affected their behavior," he said.
-------------
Excessive pre-screen time makes children unfit for learning – teachers
19 February 2024
Yorkshire teachers inform that children are besides tired to learn due to the fact that they spend besides many hours online on calls at home.
On Monday, the government issued fresh recommendations for schools to halt utilizing mobile phones in classrooms.
Hannah Feerick, deputy chief at Wales advanced School in Rotherham, said, "We announcement students who are alternatively quiet or sleepy during lessons."
"They spend quite a few time online," she added.
"We besides note many conflicts between groups of friends erstwhile they are at a crucial point in their development.
"Many of this is happening online," said Mrs Feerick.
According to No Phones At Home data, which encourages people to disconnect from their devices and focus on spending time together, 55% of children had a telephone until they were 11 years old, and by 12 years of age increased to 77%.
Of these children, 86% had social media accounts, and this group spent an average of 2.5 hours a day online utilizing phones, showing Community Interest Company data.
At a fresh gathering in Leeds, primary school teachers talked about the impact of spending besides much online time on children.
One of the teachers said to the BBC: "They have difficulty contacting others. They're beautiful lonely."
Another said, "It lacks patience and the ability to wait for a reward – they must have it now."
The 3rd teacher said that parents "do not see full influence" of the time spent by children online.
A scientist from Leeds, Charlotte Armitage, said that parents gotta do everything they can to set clear limits on the usage of devices.
"It's about balance – everything in moderation," said Mrs Armitage.
"We know that intellectual wellness services, especially children and young people, are absolutely overloaded by children presenting with intellectual problems.
"But we can prevent it, and all parents can do their occupation to usage devices."
The government has reported that fresh guidelines for the usage of mobile phones in schools are part of the plan to "minimize disturbances and improve class behaviour".
This advice came nearly 3 years after the government first called for a school ban.
However, Pepe Di'lasio, manager of Wales advanced School, who is besides the fresh secretary-general of the Association of School Leaders and Universities, said the guidelines "close doors long after the horse has already escaped".
"The government should do much more to prosecute online platforms to which children have access and which can share very disturbing and utmost content," said Mr Di'lasio.
"This is the area on which we must focus – not on a hard device, not on the problem of having a device during a school day."
-----------
Studies show that vocabulary related to advanced prescreen time in tiny children
Tom McArthur
Monday, January 12, 2026, 11:42 p.m.
Parents under 5 in England should be given authoritative advice on how long their children should spend watching tv or staring at computer screens. The government announces that it will print the first prescreen time guidelines for this age group in April.
This is as follows: Government investigation published
About 98% of children under 2 years of age were shown to watch screens regular – parents, teachers and kindergarten staff claimed that it was harder for children to talk or focus on learning.
Children with the top time before the screen – about 5 hours a day – reportedly were able to talk much little words than those from the another end of the scale that they watched for about 44 minutes.
A national working group chaired by the Commissioner for Children in England, Dame Rachel de Souza, and a technological advisor to the Department of Education, prof. Russell Viner, will make guidelines after discussions with parents, children and early school practices.
The scope of their work will be published on Monday.
The guidelines will besides aid parents find alternatives to prescreen time for their children.
Government studies have shown that at the age of two, 77% of children from families with the highest incomes are read daily, compared to 32% in families with the lowest incomes.
In a statement, Secretary of Education Bridget Phillipson said, "The screens are now part of household life. The question parents ask is not whether to usage them, but how to usage them."
Writing earlier on the Sunday Times, Phillipson said, "Like many parents, I had evenings erstwhile we surrendered erstwhile your kid wanted a 'one more' episode of his favourite show. But we're starting to see the hazard erstwhile 'one more' starts to add up."
She suggested that parents could share a communicative on the tablet or usage it for educational games.
Felicity Gillespie, manager of Kindred Squared charity, said that "based on evidence" clues about the time spent in front of the screen for parents are "delayed and very welcome".
Kindred's poll suggests that 40% of parents believe limiting the time spent in front of the screen will aid guarantee that the kid is prepared for reception. This underlines the request for practical, trusted support in the first years.
"We request to increase public knowing of how screens and devices can disrupt the way babies and babies learn best, that is, by looking at facials, conversations, singing and playing," Gillespie said.
Neil Leitch of Early Years Alliance said he broadly supported plans to make guidelines for pre-screen time for children under 5 years old, but added: "It is crucial that specified support in this subject takes place in a much broader framework of guidelines for families and teachers on digital skills and online security."
This announcement came after the Conservatives stated that they would ban access to social platforms for people under 16 if they gained power, promising to follow in the footsteps of Australia, which first introduced this policy last month.
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said on Today's program that "we gotta change social standards to say that children are not safe on social networks, that's truly bad for them."
She called on Members to support the amendment to the School Act, which is presently being considered in Parliament, prohibiting the usage of smartphones in the classroom.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who appeared on Monday at BBC Breakfast, promoting his fresh charity with numbers along with his wife Akshata Murta, said that the case is "complex", where "there is most likely not 1 thing that will improve everything".
"We must guarantee that the children in school focus on studying and being in school, not distracting their phones and social media in the classroom," he added.
----------
Children with the top time before the screen – about 5 hours a day – reportedly were able to talk much little words than those from the another end of the scale that they watched for about 44 minutes.
A national working group chaired by the Commissioner for Children in England, Dame Rachel de Souza, and a technological advisor to the Department of Education, prof. Russell Viner, will make guidelines after discussions with parents, children and early school practices.
The scope of their work will be published on Monday.
The guidelines will besides aid parents find alternatives to prescreen time for their children.
Government studies have shown that at the age of two, 77% of children from families with the highest incomes are read daily, compared to 32% in families with the lowest incomes.
In a statement, Secretary of Education Bridget Phillipson said, "The screens are now part of household life. The question parents ask is not whether to usage them, but how to usage them."
Writing earlier on the Sunday Times, Phillipson said, "Like many parents, I had evenings erstwhile we surrendered erstwhile your kid wanted a 'one more' episode of his favourite show. But we're starting to see the hazard erstwhile 'one more' starts to add up."
She suggested that parents could share a communicative on the tablet or usage it for educational games.
Felicity Gillespie, manager of Kindred Squared charity, said that "based on evidence" clues about the time spent in front of the screen for parents are "delayed and very welcome".
Kindred's poll suggests that 40% of parents believe limiting the time spent in front of the screen will aid guarantee that the kid is prepared for reception. This underlines the request for practical, trusted support in the first years.
"We request to increase public knowing of how screens and devices can disrupt the way babies and babies learn best, that is, by looking at facials, conversations, singing and playing," Gillespie said.
Neil Leitch of Early Years Alliance said he broadly supported plans to make guidelines for pre-screen time for children under 5 years old, but added: "It is crucial that specified support in this subject takes place in a much broader framework of guidelines for families and teachers on digital skills and online security."
This announcement came after the Conservatives stated that they would ban access to social platforms for people under 16 if they gained power, promising to follow in the footsteps of Australia, which first introduced this policy last month.
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said on Today's program that "we gotta change social standards to say that children are not safe on social networks, that's truly bad for them."
She called on Members to support the amendment to the School Act, which is presently being considered in Parliament, prohibiting the usage of smartphones in the classroom.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who appeared on Monday at BBC Breakfast, promoting his fresh charity with numbers along with his wife Akshata Murta, said that the case is "complex", where "there is most likely not 1 thing that will improve everything".
"We must guarantee that the children in school focus on studying and being in school, not distracting their phones and social media in the classroom," he added.
----------
The results rise concerns that children are not taught basic life skills
Jasmine Norden
Thursday, January 22, 2026
About 1 in 4 children who began studying in the premeal in 2025, was not taught to usage the toilet as shown by a survey among teachers despite warnings that More and more children are struggling with basic life skills.
In an yearly survey among primary school workers conducted by Kindred Squared charity, teachers estimated that 26 percent of children in their primary class frequently had toilet problems this year, which increased to over 1 in 3 (36 percent) in northeastern England.
Kindred Squared warns that more and more children are coming to the school gate "without the basic life skills needed to engage in the curriculum".
Workers besides study that about 28 percent of children began schooling incapable to eat and drink themselves, with 25 percent having difficulty with basic life skills.
This happens during government actions to increase the percent of children coming to the kindergarten "ready for school" – i.e. they have achieved certain milestones of improvement specified as basic language skills, ability to eat, usage the toilet, dress themselves and the anticipation of sitting, having fun and listening.
However, Kindred's survey of 1,000 primary school staff showed that it estimates that more than 1 in 3 (37 percent) children start schooling in kindergarten, not ready for school, compared to 33 percent in 2024.
Much more fast declines in school readiness were noted by teachers from the northeast, West Midlands and the northwest United States.
The staff estimated that they spent 1.4 hours a day changing diapers or helping children who were not taught to usage the toilet, and together they lost 2.4 hours a day to teach due to deficiency of basic student skills.
Kindred Squared's CEO, Felicity Gillespie, said, "The state of school readiness reached a critical minute erstwhile 37 percent of the children arrive at the school gate without the basic life skills needed to engage in the curriculum."
"It's not just a class issue anymore; This is simply a systemic crisis driven by tense school resources, low expectations, rising costs of surviving and parents who do not have the right information and knowing early adequate to truly support the improvement of their children," she added.
The government has set a goal for 75 percent of children to be ready for school by 2028. The latest data from the Department of Education estimated that 66.7 percent of children achieved a good level of improvement until the end of recreation in the 2023/24 school year.
Workers besides reported that about 28 percent of children could not usage books decently – for example, they tried to decision them or tap them like a telephone or tablet.
More than half of the staff found that excessive time spent in front of the children's and parents' screens was a key origin in children's incapacity for school.
However, in a survey conducted among 1,000 parents of four- and five-year-olds, 88 percent stated that their kid was ready to start school this year, and more than 1 3rd (35 percent) said it was more prepared than most children.
Almost all parents (94 percent) expressed the desire for national guidelines to guarantee their child’s readiness for school.
Paul Whiteman, secretary general of the NAHT school leaders' union, said, "The results of this survey reflect what we hear from our members – school leaders study more and more children starting school without basic skills "ready to school", specified as learning to usage the toilet.
Pepe Di'Isio, General Secretary of the Association of School Leaders and Universities (ASCL), said, "There is simply a very apparent problem with the fact that children are not ready for school erstwhile they start school in the classroom."
He said that the implementation of extended care for families and children is the right solution, but they are not a fast solution in the face of the decline in local support services over the past 15 years.
About 1 in 4 children who began studying in the premeal in 2025, was not taught to usage the toilet as shown by a survey among teachers despite warnings that More and more children are struggling with basic life skills.
In an yearly survey among primary school workers conducted by Kindred Squared charity, teachers estimated that 26 percent of children in their primary class frequently had toilet problems this year, which increased to over 1 in 3 (36 percent) in northeastern England.
Kindred Squared warns that more and more children are coming to the school gate "without the basic life skills needed to engage in the curriculum".
Workers besides study that about 28 percent of children began schooling incapable to eat and drink themselves, with 25 percent having difficulty with basic life skills.
This happens during government actions to increase the percent of children coming to the kindergarten "ready for school" – i.e. they have achieved certain milestones of improvement specified as basic language skills, ability to eat, usage the toilet, dress themselves and the anticipation of sitting, having fun and listening.
However, Kindred's survey of 1,000 primary school staff showed that it estimates that more than 1 in 3 (37 percent) children start schooling in kindergarten, not ready for school, compared to 33 percent in 2024.
Much more fast declines in school readiness were noted by teachers from the northeast, West Midlands and the northwest United States.
The staff estimated that they spent 1.4 hours a day changing diapers or helping children who were not taught to usage the toilet, and together they lost 2.4 hours a day to teach due to deficiency of basic student skills.
Kindred Squared's CEO, Felicity Gillespie, said, "The state of school readiness reached a critical minute erstwhile 37 percent of the children arrive at the school gate without the basic life skills needed to engage in the curriculum."
"It's not just a class issue anymore; This is simply a systemic crisis driven by tense school resources, low expectations, rising costs of surviving and parents who do not have the right information and knowing early adequate to truly support the improvement of their children," she added.
The government has set a goal for 75 percent of children to be ready for school by 2028. The latest data from the Department of Education estimated that 66.7 percent of children achieved a good level of improvement until the end of recreation in the 2023/24 school year.
Workers besides reported that about 28 percent of children could not usage books decently – for example, they tried to decision them or tap them like a telephone or tablet.
More than half of the staff found that excessive time spent in front of the children's and parents' screens was a key origin in children's incapacity for school.
However, in a survey conducted among 1,000 parents of four- and five-year-olds, 88 percent stated that their kid was ready to start school this year, and more than 1 3rd (35 percent) said it was more prepared than most children.
Almost all parents (94 percent) expressed the desire for national guidelines to guarantee their child’s readiness for school.
Paul Whiteman, secretary general of the NAHT school leaders' union, said, "The results of this survey reflect what we hear from our members – school leaders study more and more children starting school without basic skills "ready to school", specified as learning to usage the toilet.
Pepe Di'Isio, General Secretary of the Association of School Leaders and Universities (ASCL), said, "There is simply a very apparent problem with the fact that children are not ready for school erstwhile they start school in the classroom."
He said that the implementation of extended care for families and children is the right solution, but they are not a fast solution in the face of the decline in local support services over the past 15 years.
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Study results in less and less non-school children
The yearly Kindred Squared survey besides showed regional differences in school readiness due to the increase in the number of students not learning to usage the toilet
Samantha Booth
January 22, 2026, 7:50
The staff said About 25 percent of basic children do not have basic language skills specified as naming, which is an increase compared to the erstwhile 23 percent. However, less children could not communicate their needs – 26 percent compared to 29 percent.
More than half (52 percent) of primary school staff said that the percent of non-school children increased this year – compared to 49 percent in 2024. Only 12 percent think it's down.
Workers estimated that children lost 2.4 hours a day to class due to the request to catch up. This is an increase from 2.1 hours in 2024.
However, 88 percent of parents found their kid ready for school. The charity stated that "this highlights the continuing gap between parents' assurance and class experience".
Felicity Gillespie, manager of Kindred Squared, said: "Basic school workers study frustration over number parents who think schools are liable for development basic life skills and self-reliance."
Study results in less and less non-school children
The yearly Kindred Squared survey besides showed regional differences in school readiness due to the increase in the number of students not learning to usage the toilet
Samantha Booth
January 22, 2026, 7:50
The staff said About 25 percent of basic children do not have basic language skills specified as naming, which is an increase compared to the erstwhile 23 percent. However, less children could not communicate their needs – 26 percent compared to 29 percent.
More than half (52 percent) of primary school staff said that the percent of non-school children increased this year – compared to 49 percent in 2024. Only 12 percent think it's down.
Workers estimated that children lost 2.4 hours a day to class due to the request to catch up. This is an increase from 2.1 hours in 2024.
However, 88 percent of parents found their kid ready for school. The charity stated that "this highlights the continuing gap between parents' assurance and class experience".
Felicity Gillespie, manager of Kindred Squared, said: "Basic school workers study frustration over number parents who think schools are liable for development basic life skills and self-reliance."
"Complicated" Reasons
In 2024-25, 68.3 percent of children had a "good level of development" as part of profile assessments at early school – an increase of 0.6 percent points compared to the erstwhile year.
The Department of Education reported that although the challenges remain, "the sustained growth trend suggests that the results for the reception of children improve over time, reflecting the work of early school teachers and teachers in supporting children's development".
The full here:
yahoo.com/news/articles/parents-under-fives-offered-screen-021208946.html?guccounter=1
bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-68338395?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D
bbc.com/news/technology-56663010
bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47095053
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/toilet-training-childen-reception-school-b2904844.html
schoolsweek.co.uk/more-reception-children-not-school-ready-survey-finds/
