Parents Call for Clearer Guidance on School Readiness as National Crisis Grows
Parents across England and Wales are increasingly demanding more explicit guidance on what constitutes school readiness, as new data highlights a concerning gap between parental perceptions and the stark reality faced by reception teachers. A comprehensive survey conducted by the organisation Kindred² reveals that nearly 40% of children now arrive for their first day of school lacking basic life skills, a figure that has risen steadily in recent years.
The Growing Disconnect Between Home and Classroom
Teaching four- and five-year-olds has always required immense patience and adaptability, but many reception teachers report spending disproportionate amounts of their day managing fundamental care needs rather than focusing on educational development. The survey indicates that teachers now spend an average of 1.4 hours daily supporting children who are not toilet trained when they start school – equivalent to a full school day each week diverted from learning to basic care.
Felicity Gillespie, chief executive of Kindred², emphasises the scale of the problem: "Teachers and parents are telling us that this is a national crisis. We're now seeing almost 40% of children arriving for their very first day at school without the basic life skills they need to be able to access learning."
Multiple Factors Driving the Readiness Gap
The report identifies several interconnected factors contributing to this growing challenge. Rising living costs and longer working hours mean many parents have less time to devote to developing their children's independence skills. One reception teacher quoted in the survey describes children "in at 7.30am and being picked up at 6pm", noting this leaves little time for reading, homework, or skill development.
Gillespie points to "increased pressure – the rising cost of living, their inability to get access to health visitors in the way they used to, the closure of Sure Start" as key drivers. The scaling back of Sure Start centres between 2010 and 2019, particularly in more deprived areas, has removed crucial early support systems that previously helped equalise educational opportunities.
The Screen Time Challenge in Early Development
Primary school staff now identify screen use – by both children and parents – as the single biggest factor affecting school readiness. Evidence shows almost all two-year-olds now watch screens daily, often for more than two hours, while close to 40% of three- to five-year-olds use social media.
Reception teachers report children struggling to sit still, hold pencils, speak in full sentences, and showing weaker creativity and problem-solving abilities – patterns many link to early and excessive screen exposure. Gillespie explains that what matters most in early development is the two-way "serve and return" interaction between child and caregiver, which drives brain development. Passive screen time, she suggests, is like "the child's brain playing tennis – but with no one on the other side of the net."
Consequences Extend Beyond Reception Year
The knock-on effects of poor school readiness extend well beyond the first few weeks of school. Teachers report that children who start reception without basic skills are much less likely to reach a good level of development by year's end, and many struggle to catch up with school-ready peers. The disruption affects entire classes, with staff reporting higher stress, lower morale, and less time for structured learning as teachers are repeatedly pulled away to manage care needs.
Gillespie emphasises the critical importance of the early years: "Lots of us think real education is what happens at school. That it's GCSEs and A-levels that really count. But actually the most significant period of brain development happens much earlier." Between birth and age five, children's brains develop at their fastest rate, with language, emotional regulation and social skills formed in these years strongly linked to later educational outcomes and wellbeing.
A Gap in Understanding, Not Effort
The survey reveals a significant disconnect between parental perception and classroom reality. Nearly 90% of parents believe their child is school ready, while teachers nationally assess only 63% as prepared. More than one in five parents think it acceptable for a child to start school not toilet trained, and almost half do not believe children need to dress themselves independently by reception.
"This isn't about blaming and shaming parents," Gillespie stresses. "It's about acknowledging that there is a genuine gap in understanding about what being school ready actually means – and then getting that information out clearly and early." She is blunt about unhelpful framing of the issue, noting that "finger-wagging doesn't help anyone."
Special Educational Needs and Parental Mental Health
The report indicates that special educational needs and disabilities (Send) form a growing part of the school readiness picture, with 9% of parents reporting a formal Send diagnosis and 21% strongly suspecting additional needs. However, some teachers express concern that suspected Send might sometimes be used to explain developmental delays before those issues have been fully addressed, potentially delaying early support.
Parental mental health also emerges as a contributing factor. New data from the campaign group Make Mothers Matter shows that among 800 UK mothers surveyed, 71% felt overloaded, with 47% suffering from mental health issues including 25% with depression. Three-quarters were working mothers trying to balance jobs with care duties, with surveyed mothers handling up to 71% of household and caregiving tasks alone.
Potential Solutions and Government Response
Kindred² has welcomed the government's announcement that new guidance on screen use for under-fives will be published this spring. The organisation is part of a coalition producing practical, government-backed resources for parents, including a national potty training guide and the starting reception framework, which clearly outlines what children should be able to do when beginning school.
"The message from parents is really clear," Gillespie says. "They want information earlier, they want it to be simple, and they want support – not judgment." The optimistic note in this year's data is the growing consensus among teachers, parents and policymakers that school readiness is not a niche education issue but a national one requiring coordinated action.
As the long shadow of austerity cuts continues to affect early years services in deprived areas, and screen use reshapes childhood development, the need for clear, accessible guidance and practical support for parents has never been more urgent. Getting the early years right, experts agree, could make everything that follows in a child's educational journey significantly easier and more successful.
