[njb311]

No, schools are not parents. Acting in loco parentis means acting in the place of the parent while they aren’t there, not becoming the parent. It places a duty of care to safeguard the child and act in its best interests. It does not mean raising the child. It is the misguided attitude of some parents that somehow the school is responsible for parenting children that is probably half the problem.

And yes, parents should have support. This used to come from much stronger, multigenerational family units. Where that isn’t the case, few would consider attending parenting classes even if they were available. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s necessarily just about that, as I said originally, I think adult mental wellbeing is a bigger problem than is generally recognised. Anxiety, aggression, apathy, these transfer from the parent to the child.