A number of local authorities have been pioneering a coordinated approach to supporting literacy for several years. The following case studies (pdfs) illustrate their approaches:

• Gateshead: Maggie Atkinson, director of children's services at Gateshead Council, explains how partnership is central to family learning and support for reading
  
  
• Rochdale: Terry Piggott, executive director at Rochdale Metroplitan Borough Council, explains how Rochdale's coordintated approach to literacy, with a focus on family literacy, is raising standards.
  Rochdale's literacy policy, Literacy changes lives.
  Rochdale's key ingredients for a successful approach

• Tower Hamlets: Monica Forty, head of primary achievement at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, describes how its strategy to support parents and children reaches across all Every Child Matters themes, and includes support for family reading.

Operational approaches

The Family Reading Campaign encouraged a wide range of sectors to increase or initiate their involvement with reading in the home. Access a wide range of case studies illustrating sectoral involvement. It is hoped that Family Reading Matters will be able to extend and strengthen this involvement. One practical step is to use any existing frameworks that encourage parental involvement with literacy. For example:

• Reading Connects for schools interested in involving parents in building school communities that read
• Early Reading Connects for all early years settings interested in involving parents in encouraging their children to love stories and reading
• The Vital Link to encourage partnership working between libraries and adult learners to empower learners through reading