Resources for family literacy and parental involvement work

The following resources are specifically aimed at practitioners to use with parents and families. Click here for resources aimed directly at parents for them to use with their children.

Family reading
Family literacy and learning
Schools
Early years
Involving dads, male relatives and carers
Involving grandparents
For families for whom English as an additional language
Specialist children's bookshops and publishers

Family reading

Help you child to learn In conjunction with parents, the National Literacy Trust has produced two guides for this DCSF's series. The guides look at ways parents can help support their child's reading throughout their education and offer simple, practical tips. As well as 'Instant Ideas', there are longer activities which parents are encouraged to make time for. One is for primary-aged children (ref: HYCL/7) ; the other is for secondary (ref: HYCL/8). They are available free of charge from the DCSF or can be downloaded (.pdf) from www.parentscentre.gov.uk/publications/

www.readtogether.co.uk Read Together is a website from Parentzone highlighting what parents can do to help children become readers.

Read with Me. A booklet for parents and carers who want to read with their children, produced by the Basic Skills Agency. Contains advice for parents, and three stories by well-known authors to share with children. Price £1.50 plus p&p. For more details or to order, see http://publications.basic-skills.co.uk.

Running Family Reading Groups. Guide aimed mainly at teachers but also of interest to librarians and parents. It provides guidance on running family reading groups that encourage both adults and children to enjoy reading and develop the reading habit. £3.
Contact: United Kingdom Literacy Association, Upton House, Baldock Street, Royston, Herts SG8 5AY. Tel: 01763 241188. Website: www.ukla.org.

Family literacy and learning

Almost 200 Tried and Tested Ideas for Involving Parents in their Children's Education. Edited by Alwyn Morgan, formerly of Humberside County Council.
Contact: Alwyn Morgan, 5 Larchmont Close, Elloughton, near Brough, East Riding HU15 1AW. ISBN 1 85857 094 8.

Family Involvement Corner. The Harvard Family Research Project website is a source for information and resources on using children's storybooks with family involvement themes to engage families in their children's education and encourage family-school-community partnerships, all while supporting literacy. Visit www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/

Family literacy, language and numeracy. Guides produced jointly by the Department for Education and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council. They explain the aims of this type of work, summarise recent developments, and outline the benefits, with a view to encouraging agencies in other sectors (for example, health, social services and childcare). They also aim to help professionals promote family literacy, language and numeracy in their area. More information, including links and how to order:
Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy - A Guide for Policymakers (2004)
Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy: a guide for Children's Centres (2005)
Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy: a guide for Extended Schools (2005)
Family Programmes: Guidance for Local LSCs and LEAs 2004/05

Family Literacy: Practice in Local Programmes. A study of 18 contrasting family literacy programmes, describing a variety of approaches to recruitment, developing curriculum materials, teaching and establishing partnerships between organisations. Produced by the Basic Skills Agency and priced at £5.75 plus p&p. For more details or to order visit http://publications.basic-skills.co.uk

Inviting Families In: A guide to organising family learning events, by Rachel Johnstone, is published by the Campaign for Learning. The guide provides practical advice on event planning, promotion, attracting funding and working in partnership, and is a rich source of ideas for family learning activities. Cost £9.95.
Contact Southgate Publishers on 01363 776888 or email info@southgatepublishers.co.uk.

Learning Legacies: A guide to family learning, Jeanne Haggart. Book providing a detailed overview of family learning from definition to thoughts for the future. It is aimed at a range of professionals. The guide describes the major approaches to family learning, covering parenting education, pre-school family learning, home-school relationships and family learning in the workplace and community. Cost £9.95.
Contact: NIACE publications on 0116 204 4216.

Learning to Learn Together. A video guide to setting up family literacy projects, to accompany the Folens handbook, Family Literacy and Learning (see above). Cost £20.
Contact: ContinYou, 17 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PL. Tel: 020 8709 9900. Fax: 020 8709 9933. Email: info@continyou.org.uk. Website: www.continyou.org.uk.

On the road: journeys in family learning. London Language and Literacy Unit publication that provides testimonies and recommendations from parents who have taken part in family learning sessions, at the London Language and Literacy Unit and elsewhere. It aims to provide food for thought for policy makers and providers in this sector. £7.50.
Contact Avanti Books on 01438 747000.

Raising Expectations. Resources produced by the Basic Skills Agency for practitioners supporting teenage parents to improve their basic skills. Includes a booklet of case studies, DVDs, leaflets, posters and 'Fun with...' booklets that encourage vital early learning. For more details or to order, see www.basic-skills.co.uk/resources/.

'Share' project materials. Activities for parents and children to do together as part of an ongoing family literacy project.
Contact: ContinYou, Unit C1, Grovelands Court, Grovelands Estate, Longford Road, Exhall, Coventry CV7 9NE. Tel: 024 7658 8440. Email: info@continyou.org.uk. Website: www.continyou.org.uk.

Special relationships: how families learn together, by Maureen Banbury. NIACE guide that explores the nature of family learning; the "how" and "why" of learning, rather than the "what". It sets out to find anything unique about the learning that happens in intergenerational group settings. The guide is aimed at strategic managers, advisers and coordinators of family learning programmes. Published in 2006. Cost £8.95.
Contact NIACE on 0116 204 4200 or visit www.niace.org.uk/publications for more details.

Talk to Me! The Basic Skills Agency have put together a pack that aims to help encourage parents and carers to develop children's language skills. It includes ideas for exploiting speaking and listening opportunities in the home, a teacher's handbook, and a good practice guide. All are intended to help parents to better understand their role in developing language skills and enable them to have more confidence in doing so. For more information visit www.basic-skills.co.uk/resources/

Tips: Tried and tested ideas for parent education and support. Written by Ginnie Herbert and Rosemary Napper this is a photocopiable manual giving guidance on setting up and support parent groups. For more information visit www.russellhouse.co.uk or call 01297 443 948.

Walking ten feet tall: a toolkit for family learning practitioners. Resource produced in partnership by the Community Education Development Centre, NIACE and DfES. It is a comprehensive set of materials designed to support family learning practitioners in a wide range of settings and promote best practice. Cost £60 (plus p&p).
Contact: ContinYou, Unit C1, Grovelands Court, Grovelands Estate, Longford Road, Exhall, Coventry CV7 9NE. Tel: 024 7658 8440. Email: info@continyou.org.uk. www.continyou.org.uk.

Schools

Developing Home Learning in Primary Schools: from policy to practice. Booklet produced by Lewisham LEA as a result of the Lewisham Literacy 2000 project to support home school learning. It provides advice about home school learning for both parents and teachers, and many of the ideas and suggestions in the booklet have been used successfully by Lewisham schools. The booklet is available is buy for £3.50.
Contact: The Literacy Team, Lewisham Professional Development Centre, Kilmorie Road, London SE23 2SP. Tel: 020 8314 6146.

Effective Partnerships with Parents (EPPa) EPPa is a strategy from Mosaic Educational to develop effective and sustainable school-home-community relationships through a easy-to-use toolkit. The strategy enables parent-led Action Teams to be set up in schools to gather parents' views and ideas and plan parental involvement activities accordingly. For further information visit www.mosaic-ed.com.

Family Literacy and Learning. A handbook for schools on setting up family literacy projects, produced in conjunction with Education Extra. Cost £12.95. (See also Learning to Learn Together, an accompanying video.)
Contact: Folens Publishers on 0870 609 1235

Family SEAL is a DfES programme for parents that is designed to be run in schools. It makes explicit the links between school-based work, and the support parents and carers provide their children when they are developing social, emotional and behavioural skills. It consists of an introductory event, seven workshops and a farewell party, and may be a way of engaging more parents in the life of the school and supporting their children's learning. For more information visit www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/banda/familyseal

Involving Parents. The Basic Skills Agency has produced this free guide as part of its series for primary schools working towards its Quality Mark Award. It uses case studies to demonstrate what schools will have to achieve in order to meet Element 9 of the Award on the involvement of parents in developing their children's basic skills. It includes practical advice for any primary school wanting to develop parents' understanding of and involvement in basic skills education.
Contact Basic Skills Agency publications on 0870 600 2400.

Involving Parents, Carers and the Community in Schools. A practical guide for schools, written by Foufou Savitzky of the London Language and Literacy Unit. Cost £7.50.
Published by LLLU / Southwark College. ISBN 1 872972 39 X

Involving Parents, Raising Achievement- toolkit (ref PICE/IPRA) and training pack (ref PICE/IPRA/TP) Email: dfes@prolog.uk.com, call DfES Pubications 0845 60 222 60, or visit www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/familyandcommunity/workingwithparents/ipratoolkit/

Opening up schools for adults, by Judith Summer, is part of the NIACE Lifelines series. It looks at extended schools and the issues surrounding them, and considers how a programme can be developed and managed, how quality is judged and how we can make the most of opening up schools for adults. Cost: £6.95. ISBN: 1862011923. Contact NIACE on 0116 204 4200 or visit www.niace.org.uk for more details.

Parenting Support. This is a "know how booklet" produced as part of Every Child Matters: Change for Children, and aimed at schools. It provides details about each aspect of the 'core offer' of parenting support that should be offered in at least half of primary schools and a third of secondary schools by 2008.

Parents as Partners. Aimed at parents of children aged 5 to 7, this booklet answers frequently asked questions and gives accessible advice of how to help a child read at home. It is designed for schools to provide copies to parents of key stage 1 children. Cost: £3 for packs of 25, or £5 for packs of 50.
Contact: National Association for the Teaching of English, 50 Broadfield Road, Sheffield S8 OXJ. Tel: 0114 255 5419. Email: natehq@btconnect.com. Website: www.nate.org.uk.

Parents: Partners in learning The Primary National Strategy has produced a guidance pack for schools on the important role that parents and families play in their children's learning. The pack comprises a video, guidance booklet and 230 parents' leaflets, and can be ordered from DfES Publications. Call 0845 6022260 or email dfes@prolog.uk.com, quoting reference DFES 0747-2004G.

Starting School Information Sessions for Parents The Starting School project is part of the wider DCSF programme for developing parenting support through extended schools. Starting School Information Sessions for parents are one-off events, lasting about an hour but with extra time for any refreshments and informal discussion. Run by The Family and Parenting Institute, in partnership with 4Children. For more information, visit www.familyandparenting.org/startingSchoolProject

Early years

Books and Stories One of a series of booklets looking at activities taking place in pre-schools. This one focuses on choosing, telling, reading and presenting stories to children and the use of books in all aspects of pre-school activity. Cost £2.75.
Contact: Pre-school Learning Alliance, The Fitzpatrick Building, 188 York Way, London N7 9AD. Tel: 020 7697 2500. Website: www.pre-school.org.uk.

Family Learning Handbook for practitioners, development workers and tutors who would like to know more about getting parents involved in pre-schools by offering family learning events. Email: familylearning@pre-school.org.uk

Involving Parents in Early Literacy, edited by John Heywood. Guide for those working with parents which addresses learning both in the context of their role in their children's literacy development and as adult learners themselves. The book covers both practical examples of activity and the theory underpinning the practice. The content is made up of contributions from experienced practitioners in adult basic education and family learning. Cost £9.99.
Contact: Publications Unit, City of Edinburgh Council, Education Department, Wellington Court, 10 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG. Tel: 0131 469 3328. Fax: 0131 469 3311.

Looking at Learning Together. A parent education pack for delivery by early years practitioners. Designed to help groups of parents and carers explore the role they play in their children's learning and how children learn in the early years. Carers are encouraged to see themselves as learners and to consider opportunities for further learning. The pack contains six two-hour sessions on the spoken and written word, reading and writing, ways to help children develop literacy and numeracy, why adults are interesting to children, and self-development. Cost £25.00 (£20.00 to PLA members).
Contact: Pre-school Learning Alliance, The Fitzpatrick Building, 188 York Way, London N7 9AD. Tel: 020 7697 2500. Website: www.pre-school.org.uk.

Prepare your child for school: how to give your child a flying start Dr Helen Likierman and Dr Valerie Muter. This book covers the full range of early skills that are necessary for a successful start to a child's school career. Published by Vermillion, priced at £8.99.

Grandparents

Communicate with your grandchild Downloadable resource pack for grandparents jointly developed by Talk To Your Baby and the Grandparents' Association to mark Grandparents' Week in September 2006. It highlights the important role that grandparents play in early years language development.

Learning with Grandparents is a campaign by the Basic Skills Agency. It shows schools in England and Wales how they can work with grandparents to help children aged 5-11 learn the basic skills of literacy, language and numeracy in an informal, fun way. Material available are:

• Learning with Grandparents: good practice guide (Code: A1967, price £5 plus p&p). Contains findings from the Learning with Grandparents research project and case studies showing how schools can support grandparents in assisting their grandchildren with learning. Visit www.basic-skills.co.uk/resources/
• Information for grandparents pack (Code: A2004, price £2.50 plus p&p). Contains a jargon-busting ABC of primary schools and 'It doesn’t take much to stay in touch' booklet.
• Keeping in touch postcard pack (Code: A1977, price £5 plus p&p). For grandparents who are not in regular touch with their grandchildren, a book of 24 postcards, pre-printed with ideas for writing, and a 'Things to do when you’re apart' booklet.

A jargon-busting ABC of primary schools is another Basic Skills Agency guide for grandparents on the school's process; it includes a set of postcards and a booklet of suggestions for grandparents who live apart from their grandchildren. For more information visit www.basic-skills.co.uk