Early years organisations have welcomed the Government's launch of Every Parent Matters, which sets out how parents can best support their children.
It includes plans for a national roll-out of the Parents, Early Years and Learning programme (PEAL) to help parents support their children's learning, which is led by the NCB and Parenting UK.
The Pre-School Learning Alliance was involved in the pilot project which started last year and is working on the extension of the scheme.
The Alliance, along with other partners including the NCMA, NCB, I CAN and PEEP (Peers Early Education Partnership) was involved in piloting different methodologies for working with parents.
Alliance chief executive Steve Alexander said, 'We hope that this extension of the PEAL project will see this work supported by mainstream, rather than project, funding.' He said that the Alliance's experience of working with families demonstrated that families perceived services provided by community-based voluntary organisations as 'particularly approachable'.
Other plans for Every Parent Matters include a family learning course for parents and carers of pre-school children who themselves have literacy and numeracy needs to help them support their children.
Education secretary Alan Johnson said, 'Traditionally, parenting has been a "no-go" area for governments. But now more than ever government needs to be supportive of parents who are themselves increasingly seeking help.'
He added, 'The involvement of fathers is crucial, whether or not they live with their children. Fathers' involvement is associated with better educational outcomes, school attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional outcomes.' He cited examples such as projects where fathers and their children worked on allotments or visited sports facilities.
Download Every Parent Matters at www.teachernet.gov.uk/ everyparentmatters.
