Practical ideas

Practical idea: Supporting parents by involving the wider community

23 Feb 2011

• Local library induction trips: Arrange special induction trips for families who have never been to the local library.
• Summer Reading Challenge: Encourage families to get involved with the Summer Reading Challenge.
• Family reading group: Find out about the range of events for families at your local library and set up a joint family reading group.
• Mobile library: Arrange for the mobile library to visit the school at a time that suits families as well as children.
• Joint approach: Encourage other local schools to engage their families in creating a reading culture and work with them to create a reading community.
• Link up with local businesses: Link up with local businesses, colleges and services to invite a range of speakers into school to support families in understanding the power of reading.
• Local shops: Approach shopping centres and supermarkets to see if they will promote family reading.
• Health service: Try and engage local doctors' and dentists' surgeries in promoting the family reading message.
• Involve religious communities: Link with local religious communities to see how they can work with the school in supporting family reading.
• Link up with retirement homes: Retirement homes can provide an excellent source for storytelling and reading opportunities.
• Link up with a local bookstore: See if your local bookstore is willing to work with you for a reading promotion event that gets families into the bookshop.
• Involve the local media: Local papers and other media, especially radio, like to cover debates about good reads and will feature school reading celebrations.

Tags: Community and Business involvement, Family, Key stage 1, Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Local library services, Reading, Reception, Schools & teaching, Teaching ideas

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