New research strongly contradicts myth that parents fail to support their children's education at home, with 92% supporting and 57% devoting at least half an hour a day.

PRESS DISPENSARY - Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009 - Research published today reveals that a full 91% of British primary school parents believe that sharing activities with their child at home can improve academic performance, with 82% spending at least an hour a week supporting their children’s education and 57% devoting at least half an hour a day to such activities. The findings strongly contradict the myth that parents no longer engage with their children’s education and leave everything to their schools.

The research, carried out in October 2009 for home educational support specialist, Star Student (http://www.starstudent.co.uk ), asked parents of 5-10 year olds in 20,000 representative UK households how much they agreed with the statement “Doing activities with my child at home will help increase my child's academic performance” and then went on to ask how many hours per week they and other family members (including older siblings) actually spent on such activities.

Not only did an overwhelming number believe in their role but most of them put that belief into practice. The great majority spent the equivalent of at least two or three primary school homework sessions per week supporting their children’s learning, while a third stated they put in upwards of an hour a day.

Asked what the greatest barrier was to parents supplementing their child’s school learning, respondents put issues such as lack of subject knowledge and lack of school support near the bottom of their concerns, with lack of confidence the least of their difficulties. However, a large number – 62% – felt they just didn’t have enough time.

Star Student MD and head teacher Mary Brennan comments: “The results are quite an eye-opener. The tabloid view is frequently that parents do not engage with their children’s education, leaving the kids to their own devices: the Star Student survey shows the opposite to be true. Most parents know the value of home support and the majority of parents juggle all their other commitments to find meaningful amounts of time for supplementing their children’s learning.”

She continues: “But they do worry about how much time they can devote. So given parents’ willingness, the key question is how educators can help parents to get the most from their limited time.”

Star Student is Mary Brennan’s answer. It provides personalised, informal tutoring programmes that supplement school work and are individually tailored to each child’s ability, interests and family circumstances. The child spends fewer than two hours a week completing the programme’s tasks and the adult spends just 30 minutes a week coordinating activities between their Star Student tutor and their child. The programmes are designed to be completed in the family environment, fitting in with household routines. There is no learning by rote and no need for classroom attendance or travel.

Mary Brennan continues: “The Star Student programme makes the most of parents’ precious time while helping them gain a deeper understanding of what their child is up to in school. And our experience, without exception, is that Star Student children show a rapid and pronounced improvement in academic performance.”

Star Student costs £19.99 a week and children can be enrolled online at http://www.starstudent.co.uk , where a video explains how the service works. Parents who want to test the service are invited onto a month’s free trial. Tutors are all experienced and fully qualified primary school teachers.

Notes for editors

About the research

Research was conducted by www.flyresearch.com.

For a summary of survey results, please contact Michelle Mercer on 020 8899 6640 or email michelle@starstudent.co.uk .

About Star Student

Star Student provides individual tutoring programmes for primary school children to complete at home. It is privately owned by head teacher, Mary Brennan, and business administrator, Michelle Mercer.

Mary and Michelle are supported by a panel of educational experts and an increasing number of teaching staff who deliver the programme. Experts and teachers are all experienced, qualified and actively serving primary school teachers and teaching managers.

Based in Chiswick, London, Star Student launched in late September 2009 after a year of intense development.

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