500 take courses for parents, by parents

More than 500 families registered for parent-to-parent courses organised by the Foundation for Educational Services last year.

The Id f'Id Programme, as the initiative is known, creates opportunities for parents to recognise their own skills and share them with other parents. By acquiring these skills, parents can become more effective in helping their children in their education.

During the year, the programme trained a number of qualified teachers to be able to work with parents from different localities and thus the parent-to-parent project was created. The sessions are held on dates and times that are convenient for parents and a child-minding service is provided.

The parents, hand-in-hand with the foundation, designed 13 courses based on the needs of parents from various localities. The parents themselves chose the subjects they wished to follow. Parents from Tarxien and Floriana, for example, chose the theme "How parents can create educational resources at home for their children".

In St Paul's Bay, Zebbug and Mellieha, parents chose the topic "How to instil the love of reading in children", while in Birkirkara the topic dealt with was "How parents can help their children in mathematics".

In Cospicua and Pietà the theme chosen was "How parents can help their children learn English". Marsa parents opted for "How to help my children in spelling and reading".

"How parents can help their children build their self-esteem" was the theme chosen by Mellieha, Birkirkara and Hamrun groups, while in Zabbar, they wanted to learn about "How parents can help their children manage their study-time more effectively". In Zurrieq, parents were concerned with "How to create more effective contact with our children's' school".

The parent leaders were trained by teachers of the foundation and together they planned the objectives and the course content. Throughout this process, a number of experts in the educational field were consulted.

Up to now the parent-to-parent courses have been aimed at parents of primary school-age children. However, it has been proposed that the Id f'Id Programme be extended to cater for parents whose children attend secondary schools.

The courses were organised in collaboration with heads of school who are recognising that, as indicated by the new National Minimum Curriculum, parental involvement in their children's school life is very important.

Teachers regard the Id f'Id Programme as an important resource since this is one of the ways by which more parents can be reached. As a result, there is more effective continuity between what takes place in class and at home. The initiative can therefore be seen as a precursor of the community learning centres foreseen by the NMC.

More information regarding the Id f'Id Programme may be obtained from the foundation on 2145 5600 or 2145 5607, from the programme coordinator, Victor Galea, on 7901 7017; fax 2145 5625; e-mail: victor.b.galea@gov.mt