New Course Ideas for Family Literacy & Numeracy

Since we've had a difficult time 'selling' Family Literacy and Numeracy to the schools and community centres in Peterborough, we started asking what the needs were of the parents/children in their particular areas, and we received some really great ideas for courses which naturally embed literacy and numeracy.  We would love to hear anyone else's ideas about how they have overcome this barrier to learning

Literacy
1.  We currently do not have any ESOL tutors who can spare time to come and teach Family Learning courses.  So, for those centres and schools who need support for those who do not speak English as their first language, we have created a hybrid of a typical Literacy course with a different approach to Story Sacks to accommodate lower level literacy.  We will be piloting this course this year in a couple Children's Centres and Schools after October Half-term.

2. We're also piloting a couple of Grandparent courses.  Sometimes grandparents become the primary caregivers.  The two courses that we are piloting here are Bridge the Gap & Growing with Grandparents.  Bridge the Gap gives Grandparents the opportunity to share their family's heritage and stories as they bring in different family photos, trophies, etc. and put together a memory book that they will then display during an event during half term for the rest of the community.  Growing with Grandparents is all about teaching the Grandparents how to support their grandchild's foundational developmental stages.

3.  Family History & Scrapbooking - This course offers the parents the opportunity to work with their children on their Family research.  They'll also be making a scrapbook of present members of the family to record what's going on now.  This trip may also include a field trip to a graveyard and/or the local library's archive.

Numeracy

4. DIY with Dad - briefly discussed in a previous post

5. Survival in the UK - a 6 week course designed to discuss family budgets, shopping, and learning how to add fresh English foods to the family's menu with an opportunity for the children to try different things, etc.


 

Ideas on Increasing School's Interest in Family Literacy & Numeracy Courses

Our funding guidance advises that most of our provision should be used on standard (72 hour+) Literacy and Numeracy Courses.  However, I've found it difficult to find schools who are willing to commit to such long classes.  The main barrier they see is the lack of stable schedules/commitment levels of the learners/participants.  Historically, it's been difficult to keep the same learners in the class all the way through the year - job shifts, family barriers, time commitments, etc. 

Would appreciate any suggestions about overcoming these obstacles and how others have approached the topic, and whether or not it was successful.

Thank you!