The following resources are aimed directly at parents and extended family members to use with children.
Resources for practitioners on working with parents and families are listed separately.
The National Literacy Trust provides downloadable resources for parents and families:
  Help your children to learn - a DfES/NLT guide for parents on supporting reading. Download the version for primary or secondary children. |
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies
BBC's CBeebies website has an on-line book group, Story
Circle, for under-sixs, with lots of ideas for how to enjoy
your reading. It has a range of interesting articles on language, literacy
and reading for adults on www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/
Beginning with Books. Practical guidance
for parents available in a number of different languages.
Cost £1.50
Contact: Scottish Book Trust, Sandeman House, Trunks Close,
55 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR. Tel: 0131 524 0160. Email:
info@scottishbooktrust.com.
Website: www.scottishbooktrust.com
Activity Pack for Extended Holidays Abroad is a family learning pack produced by Rochdale's Partnership Education Service. It aims to help Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents to work with their children during extended visits to their home country, and bring knowledge about their heritage back into the classroom. Cost £10 (plus p&p).
Contact the Partnership Education Service, Floor 2, Crossfield Mill, Crawford Street, Rochdale OL11 5RX. Tel: 01706 747270. Email: education@rochdale.gov.uk
Can't Read, Won't Read Free parent information pack from Barrington Stoke aimed at parents and carers of children aged 8 -12. The pack contains a booklet of information on reluctant readers, including tips on how to engage them, a poster, stickers, bookmark and Barrington Stoke catalogue. Visit www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
DCSF Parents' website. Website offering
information and advice for parents on all aspects of school
life. www.parentscentre.gov.uk
Enquire (Scotland). Enquire is the
Scottish advice service for additional support for learning,
providing independent advice and information to parents/
carers, children/ young people and the adults who support
them. It is managed by Children in Scotland and funded by
the Scottish Executive.
Enquire helpline: 0845 123 2303. Textphone 0131 222 2439
Email:info@enquire.org.uk
Helping Children with ... Series of
five guides presenting information in an accessible way
in order to support parents. Topics covered are reading,
spelling, maths, reading difficulties and handwriting.
Contact: National Centre for Language and Literacy, University
of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Reading RG6 1HY. Tel: 0118
931 8820. Website: www.ncll.org.uk.
Helping Children Learn. Leaflets giving ideas on how to support children through
different stages of their school years includes pre-school;
school age; helping with homework; families and schools;
and changing schools. Single leaflets free, multiple
copies 20p each.
Contact: Parentline Plus, 520 Highate Studios, 53-79 Highgate
Road, Kentish Town, London NW5 1TL. Tel: 020 7284 5500 Fax:
020 7284 5501 Email: centraloffice@parentlineplus.org.uk.
Website: www.parentlineplus.org.uk.
Helping my child with reading. Training video produced
by LLU+, including trainers'
notes. Cost £37.50 (£27.50 to London-based organisations).
Contact: Avanti Books, Unit 9, The io Centre, Whittle Way,
Arlington Business Park, Stevenage SG1 2BD. Phone: 01438
747000. Fax: 01438 74113. Website: www.avantibooks.com.
Helping my child with reading and writing,
Shan Rees and Foufou Savitzky. Book on family learning produced
by the London Language and Literacy Unit, which can be used
either as a resource for parents in the home or as part
of an organised course. It aims to help parents to develop
the confidence and skills to enjoy helping their child with
reading and writing. Cost £20.
Contact: Avanti Books, Unit 9, The io Centre, Whittle Way,
Arlington Business Park, Stevenage SG1 2BD. Phone: 01438
747000. Fax: 01438 74113. Website: www.avantibooks.com.
Help Your Child With Literacy, by Caroline Coxon, was published by Continuum Books in June 2007. It provides ideas for activities, advice on choosing the right time and situations to encourage reading and writing practice at home, an overview on phonics and the National Literacy Strategy, and shows what schools are trying to do and what children are expected to learn at a given age. Cost: £6.99. Visit www.continuumbooks.com.
How schools teach reading, by Angela Redfern and
Viv Edwards. Comprehesive guide for parents on what goes
on in primary schools to teach children to read. Includes
some background to reading standards and changing teaching
styles, promoting a love of reading, and where to go for
resources.
Contact: National Centre for Language and Literacy, University
of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Reading RG6 1HY. Tel: 0118
931 8820. Website: www.ncll.org.uk.
International resources for parents The
International Reading Association publishes a wide range
of resources - books, videos, booklets and brochures - to
give parents advice on how to help their children to develop
the necessary literacy skills. These can be ordered through
the Online
Bookstore (prices all in US$). Selected brochures are
available to download for free from www.reading.org/resources/tools/parent.html.
Contact: International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale
Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714, USA. Website: www.reading.org.
Learning Journey guides DfES publications
for parents giving information and advice on the national
curriculum and what their children are expected to achieve
in each subject at the ages of 7, 11 and 14 in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland. They include tips on how parents
can support their children's learning at home. There are
three separate guides covering age ranges 3-7, 7-11 and
secondary, and they are available free of charge from schools
and libraries, or by calling 0800 096 6626.
Parentalk guide to primary school, Wendy
Bray. One of a series of guides providing parents with practical
information and advice on issues their children will encounter
as they grow up. Other titles in the series include Your
Child and the Internet, Brothers and Sisters, Being a Grandparent,
The First Six Weeks, The Toddler Years, The Childhood Years
and The Teenage Years. Avalaible from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk
www.readtogether.co.uk
Read Together (Scotland) is the website of the Scottish Home Reading Initiative. It has suggestions, ideas and advice for parents with children aged 0-8.
Read with Me Advice booklet produced by the Basic
Skills Agency early in 2003, in support of an advertising
campaign by the National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales.
It encourage parents of three to seven-year-olds to read
with their children and gives examples of how. For free
copies email readwithme@basic-skills.co.uk.
In response to demand, a version for families in England was produced by the Basic Skills Agency in February 2004.
These are available for £1 per copy (plus p&p).
Ordering code A1579. Contact Basic Skills Agency Publications
on 0870 600 2400.
Reading Matters A practical two-hour course to help
parents maximise the quality of reading time they spend
with their child through a fun and non-pressurised approach.
It was written and is delivered
by a primary school teacher with many years of experience
in teaching children to read and dealing with parents' questions
and difficulties. The course can be delivered both privately
for small groups in individual homes and in companies. www.readingmatters.org.uk/
200 Ways to Say Well Done
is a booklet from the Basic Skills Agency that gives parents
and carers the confidence they need to praise and encourage
their children's reading. It is available in ten languages
For more information on this publication visit:www.basic-skills.co.uk
or call 0870 600 2400
Advice guides for parents The parent education
unit of the City Lit, London, has developed a series of
guides giving advice to parents wanting to support their
children's reading. Parents helped to produced the guides,
ensuring easily accessible and appropriate text. Cost £2
plus p&p.
Contact the City Lit on 020 7430 9808.
DIY readers' support pack for parents.
Developed by Dyslexia Action as part of a three-year research
programme on methods of supporting children who have literacy
difficulties. It provides a step-by-step guidance DVD to
help parents to build on the activities in the pack. It
aims to support both early reading skills and the wider
reading experience. Cost £39.99 (plus £5 postage and handing).
Contact: Dyslexia Action, Park House, Wick Road, Egham,
Surrey TW20 0HH. Tel: 01784 222300. Website: www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk
Family Activity Guide Produced by the Campaign for Learning, this guide offers advice about ways to have fun at home with family learning. It offers facts, tips and advice. For free copies call 0845 350 2345 or visit www.familylearningweek.com
Families Just Like Us. The National Council for One Parent Families has produced this guide for lone parents who are looking for children's books that reflect and celebrate the fact that families come in many different shapes and sizes. Entries are grouped by age range, with indexes by author, title and subject. Cost £4.99. Visit www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk. Contact NCOPF on 020 7428 5400.
Firm Foundations: building the skills essential
for reading and writing - a parent's guide, Claire Welsh
and Lyn Fallaize, (Barrington Stoke). This practical book
explains in simple terms the skills required for successful
reading and writing. Includes ideas for activities that
can be used by parents to strengthen these skills at home.
To order contact Macmillan Distribution on 01256 302 699.
Help your children to learn: information for African
Caribbean parents. Resource produced by the DfES offering
tips and advice for black parents to support their children's
learning. Available free from DfES Publications on 0845
602 2260. Quote HYCL/6. Copies can also be downloaded from
the DfES's Parent Centre website at www.parentcentre.gov.uk.
Helping Your Child with Reading, Angela
Redfern. Book that sets out to support parents reading with
their children and ensure confidence in both parties. It
looks at how talking paves the way for reading, how to foster
a love of books, games to develop reading skills, how to
support chlidren when they read aloud, reading in school,
and what to do when there are problems. Cost £4.
Contact: National Centre for Language and Literacy, University
of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Reading RG6 1HY. Tel: 0118
931 8820. Website: www.ncll.org.uk.
Parents first, by Kay Jarvis and Garry
Burnett. Book that aims to help parents understand how children
learn and explores practical ways to provide support, including
developing confidence and self-esteem; effective listening
and questioning; creating an effective learning environment;
building a healthier brain for learning; improving memory,
recall and spelling. ISBN 190442413-9. Cost:£9.99. Visit
www.crownhouse.co.uk
for details of how to order.
Parents' pack A specially designed resource by Booktrust for parents
and carers that provides guidance on all aspects of selecting
and sharing books with children. The pack is available in
four different age categories: for children aged 0-5, 5-8,
8-11 and 11+. Each pack contains general advice on obtaining
and selecting books, together with specific guidance on
the relevent age range, additional resources and age-targeted
booklists. Cost £1.80
per pack or £3.99 including poster and 100 Best Books.
Contact: Booktrust, Book House, 45 East Hill, London SW18
2QZ. Tel: 020 8516 2984. Website: www.booktrusted.com.
Read and Count posters available free
from the Basic Skills Agency (p&p £2.50) call
0207 405 4017 or visit www.basic-skills.co.uk
Simply Read!: Helping others learn to read, Vera Goodman.
A guide by Canadian educationalist Vera Goodman, to help
parents to support beginning or discouraged readers. It
provides background information and practical strategies,
aiming to help parents to understand the reading process,
apply strategies that build on a reader's strengths, change
habits that hinder fluency and comprehension, and conduct
coaching sessions with confidence and enjoyment. Visit www.readingwings.com.
www.storiesfromtheweb.org
Stories
from the Web. This website covers ages 0-7, 8-10
and 11-14, each age group has a dedicated homepage tailored
to their abilities and interests. The 11-14 page has sections
on writing tips; a gallery where you can have your own written
work displayed; a virtual bookshop; a section where you
can share your views on books you've read; there is an author
zone where you can read interviews and biographies on various
authors; and an interactive section with games, competitions,
discussions and more.
Reading Together Parents' Handbook by
Myra Barrs and Sue Ellis, published by Walker Books. Cost
£2.99.
See www.walkerbooks.co.uk
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.
Learn with Grandma
Run by Grandma's Stories Ltd, who aim to encourage grandparents to engage with their children's education. They produce dual-language books based around stories set in prehistory and Learn with Grandma suggests activities that grandparents can do based around the story. For more information visit www.4learningenglish.com/index.htm or call 01550 720994.
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
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