New research has revealed that the average British parent will spend almost £4,000 per child throughout the duration of their primary and junior education ensuring that they have school uniform, packed lunches and more.
According to the poll, £802 of the money spent goes on technology, with one in three children needing it for their homework on a daily basis.
A new study has unveiled that two in three children use technology every day in order to complete their homework, with technology costing parents £802 throughout the duration of the child’s primary and junior education.
The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into the financial costs of raising children. 2,381 British parents aged 18 and over, all of whom stated that they have at least one child in their last year of primary/junior school, were quizzed about the financial requirements of schooling.
Initially all respondents were asked ‘Do you feel that the requirements of going to school has changed much from your education to your children’s?’ to which 78% of respondents stated that ‘yes’ they felt they had changed dramatically.
When asked to elaborate on how, the most common responses were ‘the subjects being taught’ (36%), ‘the level of competitiveness’ (32%) and that ‘the amount of testing and standards’ (26%). Of the 22% of respondents that felt school hadn’t really changed, 59% felt that schools and education had merely ‘adapted to the times’.
All respondents were then asked to state roughly how much they spent on various aspects of sending their children to school. When provided with a list of possible items and services, and asked to state how much they estimated that they spent during the course of their child’s primary and junior education, the top five most expensive items and services were revealed as:
- School uniform – £1,110 (average spend per respondent)
- Snacks and lunches – £975
- Technology – £802
- School trips – £750
- Stationery, school bags, accessories etc. – £198
Wanting to delve a little deeper, when asked what technology was required, respondents stated that they were required to have ‘a computer/laptop’ (91%), ‘a printer’ (85%) and ‘software, i.e. Microsoft Office’ (70%) as a minimum. When asked how often their child used technology at home for school purposes, 66% stated that they used it ‘every day’, compared to just 7% who stated ‘never’.
George Charles, spokesperson for www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said: “Whilst schools are having to keep up with the times, in which technology plays a key role, it’s not fair to expect parents to be able to afford a computer, a printer and more in order for their children to be able to succeed at school. Many households now own these as standard, but we shouldn’t therefore assume that all families can afford these – because that’s simply not the case.
“If it’s imperative for children to use technology to complete their homework, there should be an allotted time during the school day for children to do so, without having to take it home.”
