Responding to the National Parent Survey, published by ParentKind, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“These findings reflect the whole host of issues many parents and children are facing in their lives, with the pandemic and cost of living crisis following a decade in which government funding cuts saw councils forced to scale back non-statutory early intervention services for families.

“Schools see many of the effects of these challenges, which can inevitably impact learning, but it is not their core role to tackle them. They have also suffered years of real-term reductions in funding and even government initiatives like school mental health support teams still only offer support in certain areas of the country. Staff often find it difficult to access help for pupils from under-funded community services like social care and CAMHS due to barriers like high thresholds for support and long waiting lists.

“Sustained government investment in public services, as well as better financial support for families struggling to make ends meet, would go a long way to getting to the root cause of many of the concerns highlighted by this survey.”