Helping your child

As a parent, you have a lot to offer your child as they go through school. You may also wish to get involved with your child's school, and there are lots of ways in which they will be pleased to have your help.

You do not have to be an 'expert' in education. It makes a big difference to how well children do in school if they know their parents are interested and involved in what they are learning. If you would like to know how you could help at school, please ask your child's head teacher.

Many schools will also have a parent-teacher association or friends of the school group which organises activities throughout the school year, including fund-raising and social events.   

The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA) is a national charity representing over 13,000 PTAs across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which exists to serve its members by providing support, guidance and practical resources for PTAs (www.ncpta.org.uk).  Local support is provided by a regional adviser, who can help and assist with any PTA related issues such as starting up a PTA, legal matters and fundraising advice.

You can find out about these groups by asking at the school or contacting:

Ann Sturgess
Regional Adviser, East Midlands
NCPTA
Tel: 0115 9400092
E-mail: ann.sturgess@ncpta.org.uk
www.ncpta.org.uk

Every school has a home-school agreement which you will be asked to sign. This is designed to promote the partnership between yourself and the school to help your child's education.

You can also help your child at home by:

• taking an active interest in your child's day at school
• reading to your child and hearing him or her read
• encouraging your child to do homework to a good standard
• listening and talking to your child.

You may also like to visit the ParentsCentre website developed for parents by the Department for Education and Skills which provides lots of additional information about how you can help your child, at www.parentcentre.gov.uk.