Reva Gudi: Schools can’t do the parenting - it’s time we talked about parental responsibility again

October 21, 2026 - 22:06

The growing expectation that schools should handle parenting duties has sparked a renewed debate about where responsibility truly belongs. A stronger approach would put families at the centre of prevention and protect and strengthen universal health visiting. It makes little sense to keep expanding schools' tasks that begin at home, while health visitors, who support parents of young children, are stretched so thin.

Teachers already manage classrooms, plan lessons, assess progress and support students with complex needs. Adding parenting duties to that list stretches their capacity and blurs the line between education and family life. Health visitors, by contrast, are trained to work with parents from the earliest months, offering guidance on development, feeding, sleep and early bonding. When that service is underfunded and understaffed, problems surface later in classrooms, and schools end up reacting to issues that could have been addressed years earlier.

The argument is not about blaming parents. It is about giving them real support at the point where it matters most. Universal health visiting reaches every family, not just those already in crisis, and it builds trust before difficulties become entrenched. Shifting focus back to families and restoring health visitor capacity would ease pressure on schools and give children a more stable start. Schools educate. Families raise. Policy should reflect that division clearly.