6a Overview of Supporting Links
Supporting links can be thought of in two ways:
- those designed to make parents aware of the school language curriculum and the ways of in which it is taught
- those which develop parents’ capability in helping their children often by improving parents’ own skills, especially in literacy and numeracy
Links with a curriculum and teaching focus overlap to some extent with the kind of informing link described in another section but are really much broader than these. The presumption is that schools do not just want to tell parents what is to be taught, but to work with them in a co-operative venture. Parents’ roles here may be complementary (as when they are able to support their children in their homework) or central, as, for example, in providing fundamental opportunities for early language and literacy or establishing good patterns of behaviour. Government now recognizes the importance of both these roles and provides considerable support for parents through the DfES website.
See 6d Case Study (i): supporting parental awareness of curriculum and understanding
The most usual way to establish links that develop parents’ own abilities is through Family Learning courses. Many schools (not only primary ones) now run these. Their aim is usually to ensure that all children begin and continue in school with the attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary to undertake academic learning and that parents are equipped to help their children in acquiring and maintaining this learning. These programmes are unlikely to involve student teachers on placements, but they may be asked to monitor the progress of children whose parents are involved in the programme.
Family Learning courses are usually funded through the Learning and Skills Council— www.lsc.gov.uk
Courses which aim to develop more general parenting skills are increasingly provided through the Sure Start initiative — http://www.surestart.gov.uk/ and through local voluntary agencies
See 6d: Developing parents’ own abilities through Family Learning courses
Student teachers might ask their placement schools what provision they make for developing parents’ understanding of the curriculum, and whether they run any Family Learning courses.
 
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