Did you know we’ve been asking three questions a day for over three years?
Not on Parent Ping, but over on our sister app Teacher Tapp! So, because they already know we’re GREAT, a lot of parents who are also teachers are using Parent Ping. Sometimes they have different views to non-teacher parents, but FEAR NOT! Our analytical wizardry enables us to separate out responses from each group and then find really interesting stuff. See below for more…
Also, in today’s blog we look at the classic autumn activities of conkers and Halloween 👻.
1. Exams
Exams are being cancelled in Scotland and there are worries over what is happening here. What do you think? We asked about all the possible tests from reception to leaving school.
Teacher-parents had very different views to other parents, particularly at primary level. Nearly twice as many teachers-parents said that the reception baseline assessment should be cancelled this year. There was much more agreement around secondary schools assessments which most parents think should continue.
2. Half-term
A quarter of you (who are not teachers) told us that you will have to take time off over half-term due to lack of alternative childcare. Only 20% of you are planning a holiday in the October half-term and 0% are planning to go abroad. But what do you think of those who are heading overseas?
The problem is, if someone heads overseas in half-term, they may have to quarantine when they get back. For children & teachers alike, that means missing school. So, should there be consequences?
Whilst all of you felt more strongly that teachers should forgo pay than parents should be fined, overall parents who are also teachers were more in favour of both! Harsh!
Who wants to be a teacher?
As it was International Teacher Day last week, we wanted to know how you would feel if one of your kids wanted to become a teacher, or if you had thought about becoming one yourself. For obvious reasons, we had to look at the responses from teacher-parents separately from those who aren’t…
But there’s relatively little difference between the two on the question of whether you would encourage their child to become a teacher (most would be supportive).
Excluding those that are already qualified teachers, quite a high proportion of you have at one time or another considered teaching as a career. For those of you that ruled it out, the most common reason was not having the ‘temperament’ for it.
And also
Halloween: Is there an equivalent of The Grinch for Halloween? If so, parents of secondary-age kids (or the secondary-aged kids themselves) would be it! Whilst parties are ruled out for just about everyone, dressing up, games and films look like they’ll still be on the agenda for at least some of the younger kids this year.
Conkers: Although a whopping 94% of dads say they played conkers as a child, nearly half of kids nowadays don’t know how to play. And this isn’t just the young ones… a quarter of secondary-aged kids don’t know how to play either.
Coming up next week
This week, we have lots of questions about parenting but very few about school. Topics include snacking, swearing and secrets. Don’t miss a question! Download the app and setting your notifications to PING every day!