British Parents Want To See Religious Studies Removed From The Curriculum To Be Replaced By Finance And Healthy Lifestyle Lessons

The back to school team behind MyVoucherCodes surveyed 2,414 British parents, all of whom stated that they had at least one child in secondary school. The research looking into the perceptions of the current curriculum and what subjects parents think their children should be learning for their futures.

Initially all respondents were asked what subjects they felt their children were learning that they wouldn’t go on to need and could be replaced by other subjects. The top subjects parents felt could be replaced were found to be ‘religious studies’ (31%), ‘physical education’ (30%) and ‘geography’ (28%). This was followed closely by ‘science’ (25%) and ‘history’ (23%).

All respondents were asked what subjects they would like to see introduced in the upcoming curriculum that they feel their children would most benefit from. When provided with a list of possible subjects – some that may already be available in some schools and throughout certain years, but not available to all – and told to select all that they felt would be a good inclusion, the top subjects were found to be the most popular:

1. Finance, i.e. mortgages, tax and savings accounts – 72%
2. Leading a healthy lifestyle, i.e. how to cook and eat well – 55%
3. Managing your mental health – 51%
4. DIY, i.e. changing a light bulb, changing a fuse, building furniture, etc. – 46%
5. Website coding – 28%

A further 11% felt that students should get interview training and an additional 9% felt that ‘self-defence’ is something their children could do with learning.

When asked at what stage these should be introduced to the curriculum, over two fifths felt they should be introduced from as early as Year 7 (42%), whilst a further one in three felt they should be introduced from Year 10 onwards, for the upcoming GCSEs (34%).

Following on from this, when respondents were asked why they felt these subjects were more important, parents cited ‘they provide life skills they’ll go on to use’ (48%) and ‘these will encourage children and students to have the best chance in life’ (30%).

Anders Nilsson, spokesperson at MyVoucherCodes, said:

“Whilst the curriculum provides a wide variety of subjects for students to learn and grow from, our research has found that some parents feel it needs to be updated with topics more relevant to current society and workplaces. Personal finance and healthy living came top of the parental wish-list perhaps reflecting the current climate of financial uncertainty and rising living costs, as well as the shift in trends towards healthier, active lifestyles and fitness challenges.”