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Family Learning Case Studies
To set up interviews or for full length case studies contact Louise Dennis:
Email ldennis@cflearning.org.uk on 07976 175 978
Families who have changed their lives through learning
Past events that have successfully helped families benefit from learning
ed engineer who trained with the Royal Navy and fought in World War Two. A keen photographer, he’s now seeing the benefit of the course as his shots get more artistic influence in them.
Lynn Bingley and her husband both joined the Armed Forces straight from school so the Open University gave them the chance to get qualifications and new careers when they left the Navy. They started studying when their daughter was six months old and as they have grown up, their children have taken their parents’ learning journey in their stride. Now teenagers, their children see the benefit of study, the commitment involved, and are now keen to get a University education themselves.
Leonie Roberts had two children when she started her Open University study. She chose to study Law and five years later, now with four young children, she has an Upper Second Class degree, and a place on a Master of Laws course – and the confidence to pursue her ambition of a career in commercial law. With her husband also graduating from the Open University, Leonie said: “we have shown our children it is never too late to learn something that interests you, and improve your qualifications and life at the same time.”
Claire Sole, took part in a FLW in 2006. “Involvement,” she said “was the key to Family Learning Week. As the parents actively took to what was being taught, it encouraged the children to learn.” One activity that Claire enjoyed the most was being blindfolded and walking around the copse touching the trees. This was designed to introduce people to the true beauty of the copse. She then said how it was such a positive feeling it was to be outside with the family and that it should be encouraged more because there is nothing like being out in the fresh air discovering something new for the first time.
One family who enjoyed Family Learning Week 2006 was the Timmins family. Mrs. Timmins has been coming to events in her local area every year and has been able to view the rise in popularity. She said, “Every year brings more people and everyone I speak to has only positive things to say about it. Over the years more and more of my family attended and now they love it and look forward to it every year. I have gained valuable insight into how to improve my daughter’s ability to learn. Whenever she sits down to do homework and I give her a hand I am now a lot more patient with her and I try to make it a lot more fun. I firmly believe that this has strengthened our relationship.”
Mother of three, Shella Tassab, 31, didn’t speak English when she came to the UK from Pakistan 12 years ago. After taking an Open College accredited Family literacy course Shella Tassab took a number of other courses, she also volunteered a lot, working as a class assistant, librarian, lunch time supervisor at the Art centre. She is now expecting her fourth baby but wants to carry on her art education in the future.
Feamooi Austin, a full time accountant, took part in Family Learning Weekend in Preston. She has five children ranging from 5 – 14 years. As the main supporter of the family she did not really get involved with her children’s activities, her husband took care of that. Since learning about Family Learning Week, Feamooi and her family have taken part in many of their local events ranging from a handwriting competition to Line Dancing. She identified the concept that the child enjoys so much more when the parents and family are involved, they become more receptive to learning.
Alison Weaver, 30, is a housewife and mother of two from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, made the most of her redundancy by studying for an OU degree in Humanities. This gave her the opportunity to be there to support her children's education especially her son who suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Alison is now about to embark on a new career as a project worker for 'Parents as First Teachers'. She says he hopes she can use her own experiences as a mother to help other parents support their child's learning at home.
Mark Gladstone, 37, is an IT specialist who turned redundancy into an opportunity to gain more qualifications and to spend time with his disabled son. His wife, Marie, 39, fits her work as a lollipop lady around looking after the children, and the couple read to the children and help with homework every evening. Finding the time is difficult but the couple say their work with the children has resulted in better school results.
Becky Wigmore, a single mum of two, turned her life around with a family learning activity at her daughters school. She gained the confidence to take a basic English course at Warwickshire College and went on to pass a national literacy test before volunteering at a local on-line centre helping other people. Becky says the support and encouragement of her children helped her though her studying and she's now able to read with them more. Becky hopes her learning will take her one step nearer to her dream of becoming a paramedic.
Husband and wife team Dawn, 39 and Andy, 44, Harper from Lossiemouth in Morayshire have supported each other through their OU degrees despite Andy's posting with the RAF in the Falklands and the births of their two children. The couple say their success was down to Dawn's determination, never giving up despite morning sickness, a full time job and taking her exams weeks before she was due to give birth. They say both their children have benefited from their studies and they now regularly read with their children and learn together at home.
Learning is part of everyday life for the Simpson family from Norbury, South East London. Jacqueline 45, David 49, Rachel 6 and Alice 8, regularly learn together through play, outings and watching programmes on television. Jacqueline wants her children to learn in everything they do. A parenting course at her children's school has helped the Simpson's learn how their children learn best so they are more able to support them at home. Although no formal learning is planned for the Simpson family they are going to continue to learn as a family and Jacqueline even hopes to teach her children about her home country of Jamaica.
Kath Alderson, 42 from Wheatley Hill in Tyne and Wear, gave up work when she became a mother to spend more time supporting her children's development at home. Despite the time she was able to devote to her children, divorced Kath still found it difficult understanding their homework and what they were experiencing at school. But she says, thanks to a family literacy and numeracy course and others to help her children at home she has overcome her negative experiences of school and now have the confidence to learn at home with her children.
When Sam Turner, 32 from Bridgewater first moved to the area she felt isolated and alone, with Husband Richard, 47 away as a long distance lorry driver. But a family learning gardening group with her two children inspired her to go on and learn more as a family. Sam is now a family learning link worker helping other mums in the same situation she was. Now she is working part time Sam says she struggles to find the time to support her own children's learning at home but both her and Richard work together. She believes more could be done to help parents understand their children's homework and what they are going through at school.
Stacy English, from Brentwood, felt she was unable to continue working same long hours but did not want to have to chose between a career and her family. Luckily her family friendly employer allowed her to be flexible with her hours so she is able to be at home when her three children need her. She says that being able to spend the extra time with her daughters has helped them succeed at school and with Husband, Ian, working from home they feel they can give their children the best start in life.
It was not just the library who benefited from Family Learning Week. It aims to improve the lives of many people to change how people view learning and how it may make a difference to their lives. For example one parent said, “I have learnt that you can really help the child’s learning and imagination through storytelling” while another parent exclaimed, “I have gained greater confidence in being more expressive when telling stories like using body language and different tones of voice and facial expression.” These comments were received on the Lifelong Learning Story Fun,courses run by family learning tutor Luciana Berner
For 2006 Tracy and the team have been working just as hard this year with the emphasis now on Making a Difference. They work closely with Adult Lifelong Learning and are also working with the Slough Parks Team to include the BBC’s Breathing Spaces initiative into the family learning agenda and with Music for Slough, Creative Academy to develop music and song into the literacy initiatives for parents and children. There will be free workshops this year including an Introduction to Yoga for Parents, Bhangra/Bollywood Dance for Families, World of Song Time for Parents and Toddlers, Family Taster IT Sessions and Safe Surfing for Parents.
Anglo S-action!
Its been a couple hundred years since an Anglo-Saxon was last seen. However on the 8th October around 1pm, there was an anonymous tip-off regarding reported sightings of followers belonging to the Saxon tribe, storming the Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery. Upon further investigation, details unfolded that it was actually a fun-based day, focused around the Anglo-Saxon theme, organised by Wednesbury Museum! For one day, Sandwell travelled back in time to the Saxon era allowing the public to experience how it really was back in 1066!
As part of Family Learning Week, Wednesbury Museum gave families the opportunity to engage in exciting, unforgettable Saxon fun. Approximately 300 people turned up on the day including children, teenagers, parents and grandparents all relishing dressing up in replica Saxon clothes and exploring a life-size model of an Anglo-Saxon hut. The borough of Sandwell is a beautiful and active area but is very economically deprived, so it was a big plus when external bodies funded the event making it free for the public. The local community were happy to see such an event take place which they could all enjoy free of charge.
There was a lot of thrilling activities taking place all throughout the Museum, which even caught the attention of the local press. Families enjoyed building wattle and daub walls (historic walls made out of wooden planks, mud, clay and flexible twigs) and the “Can you guess what these Anglo-Saxon treatments were used to cure?” activity. There was something entertaining for the whole family to get their hands into. The highlight of the day was a comedy theatre production called ‘1066’ which was specifically aimed at families. The gallery staging the theatre production was full to the brink during the performance, and all that attended were rewarded with ‘eye watering’ laughter.
At the end of the event everyone left the Museum all very happy, as onlookers watched Viking look-alikes pour into the streets of Sandwell including the excited children with face paintings and Viking hats.
A nature ramble
Whilst planning activities for Family Learning Week last October, the Adult College of Barking and Dagenham turned the attention to local problems - poverty, unemployment, poor housing and lack of opportunities that make it difficult for families to spend time together and function effectively.
Considering local community needs, the Adult College decided to embrace Family Learning Week with a nature walk, which was combined with bird watching. Kevin Thorpe, Assistant Curriculum Manager of the Adult College, emphasised that the aim of the event was to engage learners who might not want to take part in classroom based activities, so they therefore organised the event outside the classroom. He said, a nature ramble as an activity for family learning was deliberately chosen because it is cheap and easily can be repeated elsewhere.
As the Family Learning day dawned Dagenham' families left their houses for a nature ramble at a local reserve with an expert, who led the walk, pointing out all aspects and peculiarities of natural environment- flora, fauna and wildlife. An activity was designed to highlight the open spaces available in the vicinity and stress on how families could access them for free and enjoyable activities. "We felt that it was important to make families aware of the greenery around them and that environment is something to be enjoyed all year round", noted Kevin. 'Therefore, specialists' resources were constructed in such a way that families could use on the day and again at a later date".
The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all the families taking part. One of the family members called it "A smashing day! It was good to have the opportunity to take my kids out in the fresh air but still learn something myself". Everyone remarked how unaware they were of the richness and diversity of the local environment. The families enjoyed the experience so much that they went on another ramble in the afternoon
