Is School Teaching My Child What They Need for the Future?

Why might school not be teaching my child everything they need?

There is a huge amount schools are expected to teach.

Children need to develop strong foundations in reading, writing and maths while progressing through an extensive curriculum and being prepared for various forms of assessment.

The difficulty is that time is finite.

When schools are accountable for measurable academic outcomes, it is understandable that considerable time and attention goes towards them.

Reading can be assessed. Maths can be assessed. Spelling can be tested.

Emotional intelligence, creativity, teamwork, curiosity, practical capability and character are much harder to measure.

You don't receive a score showing how well your child supported another child who was struggling, how confidently they approached an unfamiliar problem or how effectively they contributed to a team.

Yet these things matter enormously.

What will my child actually need for the future?

Strong academic foundations remain incredibly important. Children need to be able to read, write, calculate, understand information and continue learning.

But they will need much more alongside them.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of workers' existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated between 2025 and 2030. Among the skills employers increasingly value are analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, leadership, creativity and curiosity.

So we should think about education across several dimensions.

• Academic intelligence: Can they read, write, calculate, understand and apply knowledge?

• Emotional intelligence: Can they understand their own emotions and recognise what somebody else might be feeling?

• Social intelligence: Can they communicate, make friends, resolve disagreements and build relationships?

• Physical intelligence: Can they develop coordination, movement, strength, confidence and an understanding of their body?

• Practical intelligence: Can they make things, organise themselves, solve everyday problems and turn ideas into action?

A broad education gives children opportunities to develop all of them.

How does AI change what children need to learn?

AI makes this question increasingly urgent.

Today's children are growing up with technology that can write, research, calculate, translate, analyse and create within seconds.

They need to learn how to use AI effectively and safely, but also how to question it.

Can they recognise unreliable information? Can they ask a better question? Can they form their own judgement rather than simply accepting an answer generated for them?

As technology becomes more capable, distinctly human qualities such as creativity, judgement, empathy, communication and relationships may become even more valuable.

Preparing children for AI therefore requires technological intelligence and human intelligence together.

Should schools teach independence or interdependence?

Both, but we should probably talk more about interdependence.

Children benefit enormously from becoming independent. They should learn to think for themselves, take responsibility and attempt things without immediately relying on an adult.

Adult life, however, rarely involves achieving everything alone.

Families depend on one another. Businesses are built by teams. Sportspeople need coaches and teammates. Doctors work alongside other healthcare professionals. Builders work with different trades.

Children need to learn when to lead and when to listen. They should be able to ask for help, offer help, recognise somebody else's strengths and understand what they themselves can contribute.

School can be an extraordinary environment for developing this because children spend their days surrounded by people with different personalities, abilities and ideas.

Independence helps children discover what they can do. Interdependence helps them discover what they can achieve with others.

What about practical life skills?

This is another area where parents and carers can make an enormous contribution.

Children can gradually learn about money, budgeting, cooking, organising their time, taking responsibility, communicating with adults and solving everyday problems.

It doesn't need to feel like another lesson.

Let them help cook dinner. Give them responsibility for keeping their bedroom tidy. Let them save towards something. Ask them to help plan their birthday party and work within a budget. Encourage them to build, repair, design or make something.

As children grow, the responsibility can grow with them.

These experiences help turn knowledge into capability.

Are academic results still important?

Absolutely.

Academic achievement gives children choices, while reading, writing and mathematical ability provide foundations for almost everything that follows.

The danger comes when what is easiest to measure becomes confused with everything that matters.

Curiosity, resilience, empathy, communication, creativity, character and teamwork don't fit neatly onto a scorecard.

So when considering how your child is progressing, look at their results, but also look at the person developing alongside them.

Are they becoming confident? Curious? Kind? Capable? Can they communicate? Can they cope when something goes wrong? Can they work with others? Are they discovering what they enjoy and where their strengths might lie?

Those are meaningful outcomes too.

Is It the School's Responsibility to Teach All of This?

Schools have an important role, but parents shouldn't expect teachers to provide every element of a child's education alone.

There simply aren't enough hours in the school day.

Teachers are working within a curriculum and an education system with considerable expectations placed upon them. Parents and carers have something schools don't have: all the experiences available throughout the rest of childhood.

That creates an opportunity for partnership.

A teacher might develop mathematical understanding while a parent helps a child use that maths to budget for something.

School might introduce technology while home provides opportunities to explore AI together.

School can provide team sport while families create opportunities for children to take responsibility, organise things, cook, travel, explore, volunteer, build and experience the wider world.

Teachers, parents and carers can achieve far more when they see themselves as part of the same team.

How Can I Tell If My Child Is Getting a Broad Enough Education?

Look beyond their latest report and consider whether, across school and home, your child is:

• progressing academically

• communicating confidently

• developing friendships

• learning empathy and emotional awareness

• thinking critically and asking questions

• working effectively with others

• becoming both independent and interdependent

• experiencing sport and physical activity

• building, making and solving practical problems

• developing creativity

• taking increasing responsibility

• learning about money and everyday life

• using technology and AI appropriately

• discovering things they genuinely love.

You don't need one school, teacher or parent to provide all of this.

The aim is for the whole of childhood to provide it.

How We Think About This at The Mount

Here at The Mount, we recognise the importance of strong academic progress while deliberately creating opportunities for children to develop more broadly.

That includes specialist teaching and experiences across art, music, sport and technology, alongside opportunities to develop confidence, creativity, curiosity, relationships, teamwork and practical capability.

We also believe strongly in the relationship between school and home. Parents know their children in ways we never could, just as teachers see children learning, socialising and developing in situations parents don't always see.

Bringing those perspectives together gives us a much better understanding of the whole child.

Our latest Independent Schools Inspectorate inspection identified a significant strength at The Mount, providing independent recognition of an approach that considers children's wider development alongside their academic education.