Family Learning

Family Programmes

Family programmes aim to encourage family members to learn together. They should provide inter-generational learning to both adults and children and provide progression for the adult to other learning. The term ‘adult’ assumes that this includes mothers, fathers, carers, grandparents – whoever has a caring role for the child. The programmes have two main aims:

• To develop the skills or knowledge of the adult and the child
• To help adults to be more active in supporting their children’s learning and development with greater confidence and to understand why that is important.

Wider Family Learning (WFL)

These are used as an opportunity to engage families by providing a positive shared learning experience and are used as the opportunity to initially engage parents with low literacy or numeracy skills. Programmes can focus on a particular theme or activity such as arts and crafts, healthy eating or messy play  and should be designed to give the adults the skills and confidence to support their children. These may initially be a short workshop leading onto a longer 10 hour programme.

Family Literacy, Language & Numeracy (FLLN)

These programmes aim to help parents and carers understand how literacy and numeracy are taught so that they can support their children’s learning. The programmes vary according to the age of the children.

The adults’ prime motivation for coming on these courses is their children.  Two trigger points for parents are, firstly, when their children begin to develop language and secondly, when they move into formal education.  At both of these times parents may realise that they do not have the right set of skills to give their children the full support they would like to provide.

Typically FLLN programmes are divided into sessions where parents learn with their children, and sessions where the adults and their children learn separately.  These courses are taught by specialist Skills For Life tutors who work with the adults, alongside specialist teachers who support the children’s learning.  All adults on these courses have the opportunity to take national qualifications and, as their literacy and numeracy skills improve, they may move on to further learning and into employment.

Parents can also be taught on programmes known as Keeping Up With the Children, which are adult only programmes.  They will be introduced to how their children are taught literacy and/or numeracy so they can be confident in supporting their children.  They will also improve their own literacy and numeracy skills.

Menu of FLLN Programmes by Children’s Age Groupings

• Programmes have been developed nationally and the full list for these is contained within the family programmes guidance available from hampshire.learning@hants.gov.uk  
• Family literacy, language and numeracy programmes must be delivered by qualified adult learning tutors with literacy, numeracy or early years specialisms and should only be delivered to parents who have not achieved a full literacy or numeracy qualification at level 2.  
• Family language is used to describe the programmes for families where English is not the primary language at home. They include a broad coverage of skills including family English, numeracy and ICT courses.
• All programmes should be joint adult/child programmes unless otherwise stated.