New research has revealed London school children are struggling to cope with the pressures of school, with pupils as young as four feeling stressed, unhappy and frustrated.
The survey by TP Toys of 1,000 parents of school children casts a shocking light on the effect of school demands with over half (51%) thinking schools put too much pressure on their children.
A concerning four in 10 parents agree that homework has a negative impact on their children’s mental health with 39 per cent of London pupils losing sleep over school pressures.
Furthermore, almost 90 per cent of London parents who took part in the survey said there has been an increase in mental health and wellbeing issues in children compared to when they were younger. The most common reason for this is cited by Londoners as homework and exam pressures.
Parents reveal that before undertaking homework tasks, children are worried (20%), stressed (22%) and unhappy (27%). Once completing homework, as well as many feeling relieved (36%), some children show signs of frustration and stress (4%).
The research comes just as Ofsted has announced that its inspectors will not assess how homework is being done under new framework, it states schools should decide whether or not they set it for their pupils.
Homework-overload preventing development
The survey asked parents about their primary concerns of school pressures with many worrying about personal development, added stress and family time. Over half (58%) think their child’s school focusses too much on exam results rather than individual learning and a further 40 per cent worry that extra work intrudes on quality family time.
The large quantity of homework a child is set is also impacting social development with over 40 per cent (42%) of parents stating this prevents their children playing outside with friends. Parents class exploratory play (36%) and learning from friends and family (36%) as some of the best ways their child learns and that a lot of their children’s homework is pointless (43%)
