Trail blazers in family learning scoop national awards

The exceptional achievements of parents/ carers, family learning practitioners and local authorities in promoting family learning have been recognised by ContinYou’s Share Awards 2007.

Nita Brown, Conisborough Ivanhoe Junior and Infant School, Conisborough, Doncaster was awarded Share Group Leader of the Year 2007 for making it so easy for parents and children to meet and make friends. Her patience and dedication makes her a fantastic mentor to parents. The success of her Share group has encouraged parents to try other courses, at least two parents have gone on to work with children. 

Nita said "I feel very proud to accept this Share Award on behalf of Ivanhoe School. This honour reflects the enthusiasm and support The Share Programme has always received from all in our school, including our wonderful children and parents and the AFCL team in Doncaster. By encouraging parents to become actively involved in the life of the school, children see and embrace wholeheartedly the concept of school and home working together as a partners in learning experiences that are enjoyable and fun!"

Share Adult Learner

Doncaster mother of three Nicola Turner, scooped Share Adult Learner 2007 award because her enthusiasm and drive have been an example and inspiration to other parents  as she has become increasingly confident in her abilities as a learner plus discovering that learning with her son Adam is fun. Nicola has used Share as a stepping stone to return to college and full time employment.  She is currently completing a foundation degree for pre-16 teaching and learning support, while working full time as a teaching assistant at Ivanhoe school. She has been an inspiration to other parents, motivating them in their efforts to achieve qualifications.

Nicola said "I first became involved with Share because I wanted to have some special time with my son and at the same time help him with his learning. I quickly realised that I enjoyed helping him to understand whatever he was learning and I myself even learned a few things I missed the first time around! I found I had the confidence to volunteer in school, which then led to me enrolling on a course for Teaching Assistants. After I completed the first course I decided to carry on learning and haven’t stopped since!"

Share Organisation

The Share Organisation 2007 winner, Morley South Children's Centre in Morley, Leeds targets young hard to reach parents who have been recommended by health visitors and social workers. By being open and welcoming the Share group has managed to persuade the parents to take a real interest in their childrens' learning. It runs once a week for 90 minutes and offers parents opportunities to develop their understanding of how children learn and what impact their involvement in it will have on their child's future learning abilities.  It also helps the parents/carers to develop new friendships, confidence and in recognition of their own skills.

Margaret Wales, Morley South Children's Centre Manager said "The nursery, and Leeds City Council, believes that family learning is the way forward and as part of our commitment to developing parental involvement our Share group has been running for almost a year. Some quotes from parents who access our group include "my self confidence was non-existent before Share but now I can trust other people and I have fun" and "I am able to play with my son a lot more than I used to and Share has taught me a lot".

Share Local Authority

Suffolk County Council has won Share Local Authority 2007 Award because it has demonstrated a clear commitment to family learning, making it a key part of the extended schools roll out and using it as a vital tool for raising standards in schools. Demand for support from the Share co-ordinator - Siobhain Arundel, is so high that it is beginning to outweigh supply and additional staff are being taken on, plus there is now a Share Suffolk website being created.

Siobhain Arundel of Suffolk County Council said "We offer Share in Suffolk as a practical, sustainable way for schools to develop parental involvement and to help them meet the parenting strand of the Extended Schools core offer.  From the parents' perspective it gives them regular opportunities to positively engage with their child's school, to build relationships with school staff and gain an insight into their child's learning.  Our emphasis is learning through fun for all who get involved - adults and children alike.  Sound relationships between schools, parents and children are key and provide a basis for learning for enjoyment for all."

Share Family

The whole of the Farrell family from Roehampton, South West London, Winners of Share Family 2007 Award enjoy learning together.  Claire Farrell is a mother to five children, and when her sister died in March 2007 she took responsibility for her young niece and nephew.  Doing Share activities together has helped her niece and nephew to feel like an integral part of the family unit, and has also allowed Claire to give more attention to her older children, something she felt she didn't have enough time for before.

Claire said "We are delighted to have been chosen to receive the Share Family award.

By going to the weekly sessions at my son's nursery has given me the confidence to become chair person of the Eastwood Nursery's charity which is something I would never had done before.

Also I have learnt new ways of interacting with my children aged between 2 and 15 and have developed many new activities with them that I would never had done before and realise that the mess they make doing the activities is part of their learning journey. It is great to be able to a finished activity that we are all proud of."

Gill Morris, Manager of ContinYou's Share Programme said: "The Family Learning Team and selection panel always look forward to reading the nominations for the annual Share awards. Hearing about the progress that our schools, organisations and most importantly, our learners have made is always one of our most pleasurable tasks. This year the standard of entries was, as always, extremely high and made our selection process very challenging. We are pleased once again to be presenting awards to the most deserving of our nominees, and would like to offer our acknowledgements to all those who entered.”

More information about Share is available on the Share website.

For media enquiries and interviews with winners please contact Laura Luxton on tel: 020 8709 9928 or email: laura.luxton@continyou.org.uk. There are photographs available on request of Nita and Nicola  receiving their awards at ContinYou's annual conference last week.