Parents in the north of England need to be more pushy, says children’s tsar

Parents in the north of England have been told to be more pushy like their southern counterparts.

Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, herself a northern mother in Leeds, said mums there could learn a lot from those in the south.

She said parents in the north should be taking more of a role in helping their children get the highest grades possible.

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“As northern parents, we need to be aware of these inconsistencies and variations in secondary schools and push hard for schools to show how they are improving and helping our children to achieve,” she told The Times.

“One of the real drivers of improvements of schools in London has been the demand for good school results from parents and children.

“There is much we northern parents can learn about this parent power.”

The Commissioner’s Growing Up North report was published on Tuesday and said there is a north-south attainment gap in secondary schools.

Ms Longfield said so-called “tiger” parents in the south-east have been mocked in the past for their calls for more homework and music lessons, but that others could learn from their demands.

The report said pupils from London and the south-east are more likely to go to competitive universities than those in the north.

Disadvantaged pupils in London are more likely to get five good GCSEs than northern students, the report said.

A north-south divide in schools was already highlighted by Ofsted in its annual report last week.

Ms Longfield said it was “time to leave the north-south divide behind” and called on those leading the regeneration of the north to seize the “unique opportunity” to improve children’s prospects.

“I want every child, wherever they are born, to get the same opportunities and support to prosper,” she said.

“To do this, we need to understand why children do better in some parts of the country than others and what it is about the place they grow up in that supports them to succeed.”