Leeds parents confused by key educational terms with 85 per cent saying teaching methods are "unnecessarily complicated."

According to a survey by tuition provider, Explore Learning, 91 per cent of parents in Leeds say that the way the education system has changed in recent years has confused them with many not having a clue about certain education terms.

- > Lightwater Valley Accident: Six-year-old boy falls from Twister rollercoaster at theme park

Key education terms such as comprehension, decoding and phonetics cause confusion for parents in the city,

67 per cent of parents say they feel out of the loop when it comes to their child’s learning and changes in education, while 41 per cent of parents say they struggle to understand their child’s school report.

A massive 85 per cent of parents in Leeds feel that today’s teaching methods are unnecessarily complicated.

Explore Learning surveyed 2,000 parents across the UK and found only a quarter knew what the phonics screening check is, nearly half (48 per cent) didn’t know what SATs are, and 55 per cent claimed they didn’t know what comprehension is.

The research shines a light on the common confusions of parents today, revealing a gap in knowledge in what is one of the most important things in their child’s lives.

However, while parents appear confused by today’s school system, 74 per cent of Leeds’s parents believe that the standard of education today is better than when they were young.

The main reason for this was credited to better teachers with better training, more resources, and the fact that today there’s a bigger focus on children’s mental health.

Charlotte Gater, Head of Curriculum at Explore Learning which provides English and maths tuition to 35,000 children each week said: “It’s reassuring to see that the majority of parents believe that the education system is better than when they were growing up but it’s worrying to find so many in the dark around the national curriculum today.

The government needs to provide clearer guidance when it comes to helping parents understand just what is going on with their children at school.

"It’s hard enough helping them with their homework, let alone getting to grips with new academic terms and changes happening in the curriculum every few years."

- > Leeds' families protest over special educational needs' crisis

Bobby Seagull, a teacher at Little Ilford School, a state secondary school in east Leeds and star of University Challenge says: “Every term I meet with parents who seem incredibly confused about what’s going on in their children’s education.

"We take for granted that parents know and understand what’s going on in their children’s lives but often many are just too busy.

"I was fortunate that my father took time to be involved with my education and try to understand how the curriculum operated and I'd like to help other children to do so as well.

"While parents don’t need to know everything about their children’s learning, it’s important they understand what’s going on – and how well their child is doing, in order to support them at home and help us as teachers as we work to bring out their full potential.

"Teachers work so incredibly hard and it’s fantastic to see parents crediting this as the reason why education has improved today compared with 20 years ago.”

How many key terms do you know? Take our quiz to find out:

QUIZ: Number bond or trigraph - How many key terms children learn at school do you know?

Explore Learning is an award-winning English and maths tuition company with 145 centres located all over the country.

For more information about Explore Learning and how it supports parents please visit www.explorelearning.co.uk.