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21 October 2003 - Parenting Week

Parents should get more involved in their child's education to give them the best start in life.

At the start of parenting week, children's minister Margaret Hodge has stressed the positive difference parents can make to a child's learning if they get involved in their education.

The government is publishing a study which shows that children aged between three and five make much better progress if their parents help them learn.

The findings support those of a recent survey which said good parenting could make more than a 10% difference to how well children do in school.

In a speech on Monday, Margaret Hodge is expected to say the role of parents can be more important than that of a teacher.
"Young children whose parents understand how to help their children's education do better at school.

"They can speak and count better than those whose parents don't.
"Simple things, like regularly reading to babies, make the world of difference," she is expected to say.

"We would not be carrying out our public duties properly, if we were to ignore the clear evidence that good parenting is vital to improving children's life chances."

The government is launching a new website aimed at parents, which has information about the education system in England as well as advice on how to help children learn.

The new research is based on a parenting programme called Peep (Peers early education partnership), which was first introduced on housing estates in Oxford 1995.

A study by Oxford University's educational studies department tracked the progress of children over several years.

It found that children whose parents took part in the scheme made much better progress than those whose parents did not.

Researchers noticed a big difference in their vocabulary and their understanding of words, books and numbers.

The scheme involves offering support to parents soon after their babies were born.

Parents and children are then brought together for sessions designed to encourage listening, talking, numeracy and self-esteem.
Parents are also given a curriculum folder with suggestions for activities at home, and can borrow books and activity packs.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news

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