A bridge between home and school

In the context we live in, any school would not be fulfilling its mission if students go through the system and end up without an adequate level of literacy. In connection with this, many studies have reported on the beneficial effects of parental involvement in helping their children learn to read and develop other literacy skills.

While a desire to contribute is usually common, some parents lack confidence, so they have to be taught how to help their children. As St Monica School in Gzira, we decided to bridge the gap between home and school to give our students maximum benefit.

The first step of the programme, whose driving force is Nadia Vassallo, assisted by Yvette Camilleri and Josette Chircop Beck for Grade 6 students, is to screen the primary students with the help of class teachers. This is done through observations by their teachers, regular assessments, spelling and a phonic test at the end of Grade 1, and for Grade 2 and Grade 3 students if necessary. This leads to the selection of families whose children need extra help.

Children whose first language is not English may have the benefit of developing their bilingualism, but while they are learning literacy in English they may need particular support. If this is not available their development might be delayed. This is the purpose of the after-school programme; it is designed especially so that parents (or other relatives) can help their daughters even at home.

It is important to recognise that in some homes there may be no adult in a primary parenting role who is fluent in English but this does not hinder them from participating in the programme.

During the after-school sessions the teacher instructs both students and parents. Workshops follow, during which the children work with their own parents.

This programme takes place from November to the end of May, practically all through the scholastic year. It is also an opportunity for parental involvement at its best.

There are also literacy hours and reading sessions during school time. The teacher prepares material for different ability groups so that students are not discouraged. Facilitators, the complimentary teacher and parents also help out during the literacy hour. A student will move from group to group according to his/her progress.

New technologies, such as PowerPoint presentations, DVDs and CDs are used regularly during the creative writing lessons. These have proved to be very effective in enhancing the children's ideas, enjoyment and, consequently, their motivation.

Last November, four groups were developed: Grade 1 (phonics), Grades 2 and 3 (phonics), Grades 4 and 5 (comprehension and creative writing), Grade 6 (creative writing). The graph below shows that all students participating had their reading ages increased.

Through this programme numerous advantages are gained: students acquire greater self-esteem, increased motivation to work, improvement in decoding and spelling, improvement in reading and writing and, of course, increased reading age.

Parents also stand to gain in terms of a better understanding of what is taught in class, a better relationship with their children, improved reading and writing skills in some cases, an increased self-esteem, a better relationship with the school and more eagerness to participate in school activities.

It is important to reach the family as a unit. We believe that this gives the children a sense of security and the fact that their parents are participating makes them feel that their extra effort is worthwhile.

Also, parents are given an opportunity to learn new ways of supporting their children. Since screening is done very early, at the end of Grade 1, intervention to overcome the difficulties identified takes place in good time.

Ms de Gray is assistant head at St Monica School, Gzira.

Parents' comments

"I did not know that letters had sounds, so when I tried to do them at first I used the letter name as the sound. In fact I was able to read only three-letter words but now that I am learning with her (daughter), I feel so proud when I read a difficult word."

"I am still not confident enough in the sounds but I have learnt a lot. I feel better because I am more prepared to help her."

"I have learnt with her. I did not know anything about phonics."

"After starting the programme I felt good about myself. I applied for a course organised for parents of children with dyslexia by SpLD."

"I choose the books for my daughter. Now I am more careful, I look for appropriate vocabulary, number of phonic words in the text, size of print and I also check whether the subject is of interest to her. Before, I used to choose books that were appealing to me and did not bother about anything else."

"I used to tell her to go and read. I didn't even realise that she had so many difficulties. Now we are doing 10 minutes of paired reading every day."

"I feel more confident about coming to school now, I have to admit that I used to feel anxious on parents' day and when we had meetings."

Bridging the gap has opened up a wealth of opportunities for the family, as a unit, to work closely with the school so that our students, who are the raison d'être of the school, will develop their potential to the full.