Getting parents on board
Teresa Johnson, national Share manager, CEDC
 

Teresa Johnson describes Share, a national school-based parental involvement launched in 1996 by the Community Education Development Centre (CEDC), a national charitable trust.

Every parent would like to know what their child is doing in school and how well they are doing, especially in subjects such as English and mathematics. Most parents want to become more directly involved in their children's education but many do not know how; some may feel that they are not literate enough themselves.

From an initial pilot phase involving 20 schools in five local education authorities, Share has now expanded to 68 authorities and education action zones and 800 schools. It offers a practical 'hands-on' approach for primary (key stages 1 and 2) and secondary schools (key stage 3) to involve all parents, whatever their ability, in their children's learning. It aims to increase children's attainment in literacy and numeracy through parental understanding, commitment and help at an early age. It also recognises the essential role that parents have to play in enhancing their children's communication skills.

CEDC has developed a training scheme for teachers and support materials for parents, such as booklets, bags, pens, badges, memo pads and posters. These materials provide practical, fun activities for parents to do with their children at home and in the community; all activities
are linked to the National Curriculum and the literacy and numeracy frameworks. Through regular parent-teacher sessions throughout the year parents gain an understanding of their child's curriculum. Most importantly, they learn how the school teaches literacy skills such as reading, spelling and writing, so that they can use the same methods to help their children apply and practise skills at home. Parents are also given ideas on how to extend the activities in fun and exciting ways and to differentiate them to help their own child. Throughout the scheme, children and their parents are encouraged to use the library, plan and review their own work, organise parts of their learning at home and keep records in the form of a diary and success chart, all ways of developing literacy in themselves.

The available evidence suggests that supporting children and parents in this way does improve children's attainment in literacy. A primary teacher in Birmingham says, "When looking at progress, I compared Share children with an equivalent child in their class group. The Share children had increased the keyword vocabulary by anything from five to 93 words, the average increase being around 20-22 words." Meynell Primary School, in Sheffield, feels that pupils have "Improved literacy skills, greater motivation and are more confident." Parents also believe that the scheme is helping their children with literacy, as one mother in Caerphilly with a child in key stage 3 says: "My son Lawrence has really benefited too. He was wary about joining a new school last September but I think the fact that we have taken part in Share has helped him settle in. He has made 18 months' improvement in his spelling in seven months."

At the same time as helping their children with literacy and numeracy, parents are also recognised as learners themselves and are offered an opportunity to gain accreditation for the work they do with their children through the Open College Network. Schools are encouraged to work closely with the adult education service, so that adult tutors are on hand to help parents present their portfolio of work and then move on to further courses - anything from basic skills to degree courses. Later this year, the Share activities and accreditation units will be mapped against the standards for adult basic skills, so that parents will be able to achieve both at the same time, if they wish.

Building parents' confidence in this way encourages them to think about their personal development and wider educational opportunities. Schools constantly report a steady number of parents going on to college, studying for NVQs and GCSEs/A levels or gaining employment. As Liz Barnes, Nottingham's Share Coordinator, says, "I was really thrilled to see these parents receive their certificates and to see how much their confidence has grown. All the parents have continued to study and have started courses in subjects such as sign language and aromatherapy."

In addition to their own educational development, it has got to be good news if parents are spending more 'quality' time with their children, communicating with them more and helping to raise their levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy.
 
 
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