In a damning indictment of our state system, 11.3 per cent of school funding in the UK comes directly from the pockets of parents – almost double the level in France.

Parents are filling their children’s days with more sports and arts activities than ever, raising fears that families are spending less time together than in previous generations, a survey has found.

Anna Davis, Education Correspondent London Evening Standard
9 Jun 2011
One in five London parents has such poor literacy skills they cannot read a bedtime story to their children, the Standard has learned. Shocking new figures reveal how 370,000 mothers and father are not confident enough to read aloud – significantly reducing their child’s chances of learning to read. The exclusive research shows for the first time how London’s illiteracy crisis is affecting families. Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, which uncovered the figures, said: “It is a tragedy. Every …