Sharing REAL with Parents

Research shows that what parents do at home with their very young children has a major impact on social, emotional and intellectual development. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education study concluded, ‘What parents do is more important than who parents are.’ The quality of the early home learning environment is a predictor of higher attainment at the age of 11 and is strongly associated with differences in achievement at the age of 14.

Sharing REAL with parents is an NCB training offer that complements their Making it REAL training. It helps parents recognise what they’re doing to promote children’s literacy and what more they could do.

Parents are invited to four workshops to explore ways they can support literacy both at home and while they’re out and about. The workshops emphasise four strands of literacy: environmental print; books; early writing; and oral language.

Here at LEAP we’ve adapted the programmes to focus on our youngest children.  Parents are becoming more confident in how to engage with their babies.

‘’I now talk to my baby as I didn’t really do much of that before. I didn’t see the importance of it.’’ (Mother of 6-month-old baby and two-year-old)

During workshops parents speak openly and without judgement about their home lives and parenting. Parents often give each other advice on how to overcome daily challenges, such as when to find time to read with their children. 

During one session a parent talked about how her child had no interest in early writing. After discussion suggestions were made, e.g. placing large paper on the floor and allowing the child to freely draw/mark make rather than directing them. The following week the parent had tried this and now her child was keen to draw/make marks and often asked to do it daily. The idea of sharing what the parents were already doing worked well, as parents were able to learn from each other. Through the course it helped affirm for parents that many of the things they were routinely doing were supporting their child’s literacy and this has had a positive impact on their confidence.

 ‘‘I thought reading and writing wasn’t done until school, so to learn you can start doing things at an early stage that will help him be more confident before going to big school was so helpful.” (Mum to a two-year boy)

Giving parents a place to talk and learn from each other has shown to be really empowering.  Having the facilitator present helps build parents’ knowledge and understanding, enabling them to share their experiences they have with their own children and build on what they already know and do.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/working-with-parents-to-support-childrens-learning/

The Sharing Real programme also offers parents the opportunity to have what they have learnt endorsed by the National Open College Network. For some parents this can be a way into other things.  We’ve had parents who’ve gone on to volunteer with a children’s centre and found that the course added to the skills they could offer.  Parents have also become advocates of Sharing REAL with others.

Sharing REAL with parents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_MF_kihlY&t=93s

After looking at system changes and how we engage with different groups of parents we delivered to a LEAP Dads’ group.

We’re now setting up a course for mums who have taken part in our Baby Steps service.  We’re hoping that by linking up with other groups we’ll be able to reach parents earlier so that they’re all talking to their babies from the start and thinking about everyday events that support children’s early literacy.

“I will take what I have learnt and use it every day.” (Dad to children 2 years and 4 years old)