The National Literacy Trust and Oxford University Press partnership 

Working together to help teachers actively and positively engage parents, and empowering parents to support their children’s literacy.

Research shows that parental involvement positively affects performance at school and is actually more important than other factors such as family income.  But helping with their child’s literacy can be a daunting prospect for many parents; many play no role at all with over one in five children reporting that no one at home encourages them to read.

Together, the National Literacy Trust and Oxford University Press have developed a whole host of activities, resources and support for literacy both at home and at school and encourage a love of wider reading:

The Big Diamond Jubilee Read

An extension of the Reading Miles Global Challenge that is running throughout the summer term of 2012. The Big Diamond Jubilee Read sees pupils "reading their way around the world", passing through countries being visited by members of the Royal Family during their Diamond Jubilee Commonwealth tour and collecting "air miles" for every 10 minutes spent reading. The competition also has a writing element for pupils to enjoy, which gives them the chance to share their favourite read with children in another Commonwealth country. Find out more.

The Reading Miles Global Challenge

A family reading challenge that ran during the spring of 2012, which provided a platform for teachers to engage both pupils and parents using the concept of collecting points for reading together at home…and having fun along the way. Over 5,500 children took part in the challenge and managed to “read themselves around the world”. Find out more.

The Starting School Literacy Wheel

A colourful, easy-to-use resource for teachers to give to parents. It is designed to stick on the fridge and includes tips and ideas for parents to try with their children at home around key literacy areas: reading, writing, speaking and listening.  The wheel makes it easy to support literacy and highlight its importance in everyday life, even in the busiest of homes.

Each class pack of wheels comes with a teacher guidance leaflet with advice on using the resource and supporting parents. Find out more and order.

Free online support for parents

• www.wordsforlife.org: The National Literacy Trust’s Words for Life website provides a wealth of information, advice and activities to get parents involved in their child’s communication and literacy development.
• www.oxfordowl.co.uk: The Oxford Owl website content supports parents to help with their child’s reading through tips, phonics support, free eBooks, and the latest reading news.

Starting School Literacy Powerpoint Presentation

Perfect for teachers to personalise and use during parents meetings to support children’s literacy at school and at home. Download at www.oxfordprimary.co.uk.