Learning helps every family Thursday, November 11, 2010 - 16:06

Carol Taylor, Director of Operations at NIACE, said:

"When families learn together the impact is considerable. It helps to reinforce a home-learning culture, where both adults and children learn skills from each other. Family learning provides the building blocks of confidence and skills that enable adults to develop their own learning. For many families, however, learning can only happen through support and encouragement."

"While intergenerational cycles of poverty and poor health may not be relevant to the Beckhams, we know that learning as a family raises aspirations, develops skills and confidence and brings families together. The stories of people who have taken part in family learning have shown this over and over again. NIACE is encouraged that such a high profile family have started a course in sign language, not only for the impact it will have on their family but also how it will raise the profile of this much-needed skill and open up ways of communication to people who are otherwise excluded."

To help families who experience difficulties, NIACE has recently launched The Centre for the Learning Family, an initiative which will bring together those involved in diverse areas - such as health, cultural activities, intergenerational activities, parenting and community cohesion - to explore and develop the concept of the learning family.

The centre will learn from a group of individuals from many different fields, it will bring together ideas and research and it will examine and seek to influence government policy.