Parents are important to success says leader (From Worcester News)

Parents are important to success says leader

2:36pm Tuesday 1st June 2010 in

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PARENTAL aspiration is an important aspect of a child’s academic success, says a county leader.

Councillor Barry Gandy said not enough recognition was given to the important role parents play in the success of their children when he spoke at a meeting of Worcestershire County Council’s overview and scrutiny performance board at County Hall in Worcester.

The board was discussing educational achievement and skills across Worcestershire’s 246 schools which between them educate about 750,000 children.

The section under scrutiny was part of a draft of the county council’s annual report.

Coun Gandy said: “Fundamental educational success isn’t only about the classroom.

“I’m concerned that one of the most important external factors that determines educational success – or lack of – is parental aspiration. I’m concerned that there is no reference to parental aspiration for children in some sections.”

Board chairman Coun Tom Wells said: “It’s not a point I have heard before but it’s quite a profound one. The aspiration of parents is as important as anything.”

Coun Bob Banks said he wanted to see more statistics in the report to illustrate performance and said he was “disappointed”

the report was purely narrative.

Coun Sue Askin said she was concerned that 94 per cent of schools had travel plans but said that traffic “chaos” was persistent outside many schools across the county.

Her views were shared by Coun Gandy, who lives in Tennyson Road, Redditch, near The Vaynor First School, who said he sometimes had trouble getting out of his own drive because of school traffic.

He said: “Until we can persuade people to relinquish their love relationship with their motor car, you’re not going to solve that problem.”

● Your Worcester News was the only member of the media to attend the meeting.