The most important teacher in your child's life is you
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Children spend less than 20% of their waking hours at school or pre-school settings, so parents and carers who can support a child’s learning will give them a real advantage.

Not sure where to start? Don’t know enough about how children are taught? Didn’t do well at school yourself? You are exactly who these courses are for!  Many people come along to find out how children are taught at school and then decide to do adult qualifications for themselves too – it’s never too late!

If you’re worried about joining a group, please speak to our enrolment team about linking up with a tutor or project working to build your confidence and get you started.

What will I do?

In our relaxed, small group settings, you will share your thoughts, concerns and ideas with our experienced adult tutor and other learners; you’ll make resources and talk about activities to try out at home; you’ll adapt ideas to  help your child and gain confidence to speak to school or settings about their progress and find new interests for yourself. Many of our learners have gone on to volunteer and work in schools and early years settings, along with a host of other jobs. Others do it just for fun and to see the friends they’ve made along the way.

Our course offer changes regularly, so we can meet the needs of parents and carers in your area. The courses available to you might include:

How children learn English and maths at school

Focus on how children are taught at school, making resources to try out and talk about, identifying what you already do and talking about how you can extend their learning at home.

Fun with Phonics

Unravel the mysteries of phonics and give you lots of tips, games and activities to do with your child to help their early sound and word recognition and reading skills.

Early Start

Focus on your child’s speech, language and communication. We try out and talk about activities and ways you can support their development and widen their experiences at home and in the outdoor world.

Keep up with the children in English & maths

Explore and develop your own English and maths skills, still in the context of what children learn at different stages but also working towards your own qualification.

1, 2, 3, go!

Look at how every day activities involve numbers, shapes and patterns, and how the questions you ask can help to develop your child's thinking and understanding.

Get Ready for School

A 5 week course designed to help you and your child feel more prepared for starting school.

See our booking system for the full list of current courses.

“I don’t know what I’d have done without Family Learning. It kept me going through lockdown knowing I had people I could talk to!  The ideas we shared really helped to take the pressure off too.”

Testimonials

I did Keeping up with the children in maths and English with Family Learning and passed my Functional Skills qualifications at the same time as learning how children are taught in school and this has really helped me get a job as a Teaching Assistant, which I really enjoy.

It’s given me a confidence boost. I ended up getting a job at Primark so obviously I’ll be working on the tills and that involves maths and (I’ll use my English) interacting with customers.

It was a lot of things really… just to get me out and to get qualifictions because I don’t have anything like that. Also, when my little girls go to the crèche it gives them more confidence. I always try and do homework with them and it’s kind of helped me to help them. I think it goes back to the confidence thing, talking to people, doing stuff… I’m doing Children’s Centre Advisory Board as well. I would never have thought I would do something like that years ago.

[Since doing my Family Learning course] I’ve been doing a Level 2 Business Admin course through York Learning. I’ve already passed two assignments for that, and I’m hoping to pass it by September so when my child goes to school full time I’ll be able to get myself a job.

My youngest is chuffed and keeps telling me how proud he is. He’s coming on well now at school because I can help him at home with his reading and his English, and then he can go back to school and say “We did this at my mam’s”.

I’m doing a Level 2 WEA Helping in Schools course and then I’ll do Level 3 so I can be a TA and working a crèche and children’s centres or schools. I’m going to start college in September. I definitely wouldn’t have done any of this without going back to my roots and doing the Family Learning.

Refer to Family Learning

The Background: The Family Learning team has been working alongside other professionals in York for nearly 25 years. Whilst courses are continually evolving to meet local and national priorities, you can be assured that we’re in it for the long haul!

The team is made up of qualified teachers, with up to date primary and early years knowledge, experienced support staff, and a manager with many years experience of targeted outreach and community development.  We deliver workshops and courses across the city, in key areas, schools and community venues – and now online too – providing support for parents, grandparents and carers to build strong home learning environments for their children and to move on and achieve in their own lives too.

Evidence Based: Data collected both locally and nationally as well as numerous research projects have shown that Family Learning programmes have multiple impacts, on the adult learners, their children, their families and their communities.* which is why it’s so effective in raising aspirations and breaking cycles of disadvantage. In 2021-22, we are being supported by Shine Educational Trust and Huntington Research School, working with a number of schools to monitor the impact of Family Learning adult learners on specific aspects of children’s progress at school, particularly through those important early years.

How Does It Work? We are funded by central government, through the Adult Skills Budget, so all of our courses are FREE to eligible adults.  Our targets are to widen participation, break cycles of disadvantage and support adults to increase their skills in supporting children’s learning but also in gaining adult qualifications in English and maths for themselves.  (Almost one third of adults don’t have English skills at level 2, needed for many jobs; in maths it’s over a half.)

We know that all parents want what’s best for their kids – even if sometimes there are huge barriers to overcome which makes this very challenging – but having children is a great motivator for people to engage in learning – and this is why Family Learning is so successful. If you are reading this, you probably know families who may want or need just that little bit of additional support and we are always keen to take referrals from schools, pre-school settings, local area and health teams, and partner organisations.

If you would like one of us to come along to talk to your team, please get in touch: fiona.himsworth@york.gov.uk

Together we can make a difference!

Our local offer is based on the EAST model:

Easy Courses are adapted to work with learners at a level they feel comfortable with, setting group and individual SMART targets, working collaboratively to achieve their aims. Progression pathways are planned so that learners are able to build on what they have learned and move on to higher level courses, including some with access to nationally recognised qualifications.
Accessible We have courses both face to face and online (using Zoom) and can support people to get started if necessary.  We run workshops and courses where possible in early years settings, in schools, libraries and community venues, close to where people live, often with free childcare available, at times to fit in with school and nursery drop off and pick up times.
Sociable One of the best things about Family Learning is the connection between tutor and learners. We encourage our adult learners to share their learning experiences and tips, fully acknowledging the fact that parents are experts in their own right. Friendships made through Family Learning classes often remain long after the courses have finished.
Timely Our support is there when people need it at times in their lives when it matters to them, when they have young children or at key transition stages, for instance when a child starts primary school or when the adult is looking for employment or a change in career direction.
RISE

If you are, or are working with parents who want to return to work, we may be able to provide careers support through the RISE project.

Digital Skills and Computing

Get started with Zoom, access the internet, build confidence with apps and Microsoft programmes, run meetings online or get formal computing qualifications.

Community Learning Champions

Ask us about becoming a Community Learning Champion to promote our courses and find out about other things going on. Great for CVs, you’ll also get support from the Family Learning team.