6th November 2019 14:45
By Blue Tutors
A survey by the Welsh Youth Parliament has led to calls for more life skills to be taught in schools. Reported on the BBC, more than 2,500 secondary school students were asked about positive changes to their education, and many highlighted skills like applying for a mortgage and dealing with grief as important skills which they leave school without.
There is an existing Welsh Baccalaureate but it was labelled not fit for purpose because it doesn’t effectively prepare students for life after school. Many students said that life skills tended to be crammed into personal and social education days, but that these days are seen as a day off, and not part of a student’s necessary education. Moreover, teachers said that they didn’t feel qualified to teach many life skills and felt that in some areas they are out of touch.
Eight in ten students questions said they had been taught about internet security and bullying, but only 10% said the same about politics and dealing with grief. Three quarters of students identified stress and and life saving as the most important life skills to be learnt at school.
Kyra, a 15 year old student, said that it’s important to have these life skills before leaving school. She felt that schools offer so much support but once someone leaves school that support disappears and students aren’t prepared. Tomas, 14, thought that understanding finances is something many young people don’t understand. He said that most students don’t know the difference between a debit and a credit card, and this can lead to a huge debt which affects someone indefinitely.