21st January 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The head of a prep school in North London has complained that parents are putting their children under too much pressure. The head of St Aubyns has said that the issue was highlighted by school sports days, where parents were being overly competitive and yelling inappropriately. He said that parents had forgotten that sports days are for children’s enjoyment, and were ruining events for children. As a result of this, the school has produced a leaflet for parents as a guide to how to behave appropriately at school events.
The head teacher has revealed that some parents involved themselves in games, interfering with play and shouting at children. In one case, a mother was said to have “collapsed in a heap” after screaming at her daughter at a swimming gala. The head urged parents to take a step back and not get too emotionally involved with the events. He emphasised that the purpose of school sports is to teach good sportsmanship, and learning to treat friends, opponents and officials with respect.
The issue at the school has been experienced elsewhere, and last year the Football Association’s Respect Campaign provided £200,000 to schools to buy ‘respect barriers’, which are designed to keep parents from interfering with matches. Head teachers commenting on the issue have become exasperated at the actions of some parents, and insist that school sports need to be kept in perspective. They emphasise that negative comments made by parents can put children off sports, and teach them unhelpful values.