Parental engagement can be considered as active involvement in learning. Such learning can take place in a variety of settings including early learning and childcare settings (ELC) or schools, the community, through family learning and at home.

Goodall and Montgomery, 2014

Why is engaging families in learning together important?

Engaging parents and carers in their child’s learning has been described as  ‘a powerful lever for raising achievement in
schools’ (Goodall and Harris, 2007, p5). Research shows that families learning together at home can have significant immediate and longer-term impacts on children. Family learning can support early learning, later achievements, nurture, resilience, wellbeing, social mobility and skills for life.

Liverpool Learning Partnership is working with schools and other organisations to engage parents/carers in their child’s education and engage in learning activity at home.

Family Learning Project

In 2022-23, Liverpool Learning Partnership coordinated a Family Learning Project as part of a Test and Learn programme for Virtual School Liverpool and Adult Learning Service. This programme involved families taking part in sessions ran by School Improvement Liverpool and the Adult Learning Team.

the arms and hands of a family comprising of two children and an adult playing with wooden building blocks with alphabet letters on

Maths Party Bags

Each year LLP coordinates the Liverpool Maths Party Day and schools across the city take time to celebrate the important role that maths plays in our lives. As part of this work, we provide digital ‘party bags’ of resources that families can use at home.

As part of the Maths Party, we have also worked with Virtual School Liverpool to provide learning packs to encourage the families of their children in Reception to engage in reading and maths activities together. These packs have included a book with strong links to mathematics as well as materials to encourage learning activity; these include: shapes to make patterns, counting materials, measuring equipment.

Engaging Families with Reading for Pleasure

Research has shown that children are more likely to read for pleasure when they have books available in the home and when they see the adults in their lives as reading role models. Liverpool Learning Partnership is developing a suite of resources that schools can use to support parents/carers in encouraging reading for pleasure.

Reading For Pleasure Parent/Carer Session