The increasing number of children raised outside families is leading to a series of problems, including school failure, poverty and crime, teachers in the UK have claimed. Children brought up in households without married mothers and fathers are increasingly struggling in class, according to the 160,000-strong Association of Teachers and Lecturers.
One teacher said that, in some cases, mothers had up to eight children by different fathers.
This created a "very dysfunctional" home environment, undermining Government attempts to raise the levels of education.
Official UK data illustrates a trend away from the traditional family. There are now almost two million single parents in Britain, an increase of 250,000 over the past 10 years.
One teacher told the Daily Telegraph last week: "No matter how brilliant the lesson or how much has been spent on rebuilding the school, if a child comes in angry and in emotional turmoil because of their family life they will not learn.
"Family stability or the lack of it is an important determinant of a child's education outcomes. But this means that we have a significant problem in Britain because we already have worrying levels of social dysfunction and family breakdown and the situation is getting worse."
Head teachers have warned this month that schools were being expected to patch up social problems rather than focusing on educational issues as they were seen as the "only solid bedrock" in many children's lives.
Addressing the union's conference in Torquay, Mr Whalley said society did not find it "easy to accept that our modern attitudes towards family relationships can have negative consequences for our children".
The Government said its Children's Plan, a new policy blueprint, would increase the number of social services officers attached to schools. The conference was also told that teenage suicide rates are being fuelled by exposure to computers and television, creating an increased sense of "isolation" among young people.
They are more likely to spend hours in their bedrooms not communicating with family members or sharing problems than previous generations.
The problem has been exacerbated by increased stress caused by examinations and the rise in family breakdown, it was claimed.
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