Class of Mum and Dad

CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM

Another week, another Channel 4 series about education. Hold off on the black marks, however, because this one is pretty good. The premise is simple: The parents (and one grandparent) of pupils at Blackrod Primary School near Bolton have agreed to go back to school for the summer term to see what modern education is really like – sports day, Sats tests and all. Naturally, its harder than many of them were expecting – 36-year-old decorator Jonny states early on that he thought he’d be able to slope off for a swift cigarette break rather than having to adhere to strict class rules – but there are some touching stories amid the more obvious moments. Most notably, this opening episode focuses on two parents with challenging home lives – Julia, who is raising her 10-year-old cousin Asha after Asha’s mother died, and Mark, who has two autistic sons.