This course is designed to support the school in ensuring parents work as informed partners.  There are different modules for the evenings or school open days. They are designed to support parents in helping their child learn and give them an overview of the curriculum.

We aim to show parents that teaching is an incredibly complex process and to provide parents with an understanding of the key skills of the primary curriculum.  They are designed to show parents how they can support the learning of their children as well as provide a fun evening for all.

Many schools provide curriculum evenings but we provide a bespoke service which is catered to the needs of the individual school.  Our training ensures we have a core programme which covers curriculum in an entertaining and informative way.

Each parent who attends will be provided with either a CD ROM or a booklet which gives a range of course materials, parental support fact sheets and links to support them and their children.  We also provide a range of additional material for sale to parents. A percentage of sales from these products will go directly to schools.

We are happy to accommodate any additional activities for the evening. Eg. Some schools have combined our training with a tombolla and café. We understand how school would wish to generate money towards school resources.

Currently the courses have three key modules in them:

The Numeracy Elements-

In this module we simplify the Numeracy curriculum contents.  We use puzzles and games to help parents understand the complexity and range of the curriculum for mathematics and show how problem solving is used as the vehicle for teaching maths.  The Numeracy curriculum is difficult at its highest level therefore we include SAT tests questions which are guaranteed to confuse most parents!

We go through the methods of mathematics calculations that are in common usage and also provide resources for parents to help their children with their mathematics.

The Literacy Elements-

Here we go through the key strategies which most parents take for granted.  We use the skills associated with not just hearing your child read but supporting your child when reading.
We also look at writing frames, writing genres, contextualised writing and drama when developing writing skills.  Although the focus here is on the development of writing skills and reading skills we also include some elements on spelling.

Parents will leave with a clearer view on what writing is from emergent writing to the development of the most advanced writing skills.  These workshops and presentations are presented in a fun and interesting way which encourages parental involvement and which creates a much deeper understanding of the literacy curriculum.

The ICT element-

No evening like this would be complete without a key element focussed on the use of ICT to support learning.  Parents will be introduced to a range of internet based resources and how these can be used to develop learning for their children.  This is not something which comes automatically to most parents and so needs to be carefully presented so they understand the difference between being on a computer and using a computer for learning.

We look at how applications such as Microsoft office can be used to really extend pupils learning.  Again the focus of much of the training is on using the ICT facility to support learning rather than simpler using it as an end in itself.

Each of these modules is a skeleton and we adopt each one depending on the needs of the school.

They can be presented as either a full day or most commonly as an evening. Please note at the moment we offer these only for Primary Schools. If you want to discuss specific details and pricing please contact us at courses@goldenacorn.co.uk.