I am a parent partnership coach, helping education and health professionals to evaluate and build these important partnerships. With regards to reading and, in particular, phonics, I would like to tell you of the excellent partnership work that I have observed in school nursery classes and daycare nurseries that use 'Letterland' as a pre-reading scheme.
This is a phonics programme that is character based. Each letter of the alphabet has a name that matches the sound which that letter makes, for example 'Bouncy Ben', and each character picture includes the relevant alphabet letter. It is easy to develop stories and actions about the different characters and to involve everyone in activities such as singing, drawing and role play that can be based on the characters.
I have visited many nurseries and schools where parents have been invited along to learn more about phonics and have always been most impressed by the way in which the parents have been engaged by the staff. Staff help them to understand what their child is learning and why, but perhaps most importantly, how they are learning.
It has been my experience that parents then become more 'word aware', extend verbal conversations with their child and, perhaps what means the most for the professionals, have a greater understanding of the professional's role and are subsequently much more confident in working with them.
Ann Boot, Parent Partnership Matters, Vale of Glamorgan
