National Family Week Friday, May 27, 2011 - 14:46

Family learning gives thousands of families from disadvantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to learn together and to raise the attainment and aspirations of both adults and children. Over its 20 year history, Adult Learners' Week has shown the impact, particularly for those families who have least benefited from learning in the past, of learning together as a family.

The Sandwell Adult & Family Learning project has enabled parents to improve their literacy and numeracy skills by studying alongside their children in the classroom. It has also helped boost pupils' Maths levels, giving them a firm foundation for moving up to secondary school. Parents have reported that the course has helped them with job applications, encouraged some to take further qualifications, and improved confidence in helping their children with homework.

One parent said, "Stepping back into the classroom and working alongside my son has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience."

Paul Buswell had no confidence helping his son with homework so he began his learning journey at his 7 year old son's junior school. Having never passed an exam in his life, Paul passed a Level 1 Numeracy exam, went on to pass his Level 1 Literacy exam and with a growing appetite for learning he took on creative writing.

Nine months later, he returned to the school and recruited 25 other parents to the programme. Learning has improved his confidence and changed his life for the better. Paul said, "You don't have to let your past experiences, the little demons in your head, get to you. Give it a go. You never know what's around the corner."

Wanting to be a good role model for her children led Lisa Graham to take part in Home Start classes. Lisa and her youngest daughter have attended a number of family learning courses which have seen Lisa's confidence as a mum grow. A family literacy course has made reading together a more pleasurable experience, and has given Lisa the confidence to explore new opportunities for herself, such as literacy and numeracy classes.

Lisa said, "I have learnt so much about child development and how to communicate with [my daughter] and my eldest children. It's so much easier to express myself and I have learnt coping mechanisms that allow me to be a much better parent. I am over the moon to say I'm a positive role model. The best thing I ever did was go along to the Home Start family learning classes as they've taught me how to be a mum."

Mandy Thomas, Project Officer at NIACE, said:

"The government needs to recognise that family learning should be at the centre of its strategies for improving social mobility and reducing child poverty. Parents and carers are the key to building a richer learning environment in the home. The way that responsibilities for children's and adults' learning are split between two government departments poses some challenges for family learning policy but these are not insurmountable."

"While thousands of families spent time together enjoying the many activities on offer during National Family Week, we hope that family learning will continue to bloom and grow."