Literacy lessons for parents to end cycle of disadvantage

Education and Training Minister Rod Welford is considering offering literacy classes to parents to help lift the school performance of Queensland children.

He said many children whose parents had low literacy levels are struggling with learning to read and write.

“I have heard horror stories from teachers that some children start school and don’t even know how to open a book because they’ve never seen one before,” Mr Welford said. “This should not be happening.

“Parents with poor literacy are less likely to read to their children before they start school or be able to help them with their reading and writing as they progress through school.

“Research has shown that one of the main predictors of a student’s success or failure, especially when starting out at school, is the size of a child’s vocabulary.

“International evidence shows children from many low-income families have been exposed to an average of only 25 hours of one-on-one reading time compared to 1000 to 1700 hours for children from well off families.

“If parents aren’t reading to their children from a young age then these children are at risk of serious disadvantage in their schooling.

“If the parents had poor school outcomes or experiences, this can lead to a cycle of poor school performance with their children struggling at school and becoming disengaged from learning; leading to misbehaviour and truancy.

“We must take action to stop this poor perception of education being transferred from generation to generation.

“That’s why I’m looking at ways to help parents with their own literacy skills so they help their children more outside of the classroom, creating healthy attitudes towards school and learning early in their children’s life.

“Of course, teachers still have a role to play to teach students to read and write, but some students are at a disadvantage from the very beginning.”

Mr Welford said some of the ideas under consideration included holding playgroups at schools for parents to attend with their children before they even start school.

“This has two benefits. Children can develop a good relationship with the school from a young age where school is somewhere fun to go and while the children are playing, parents can receive some literacy lessons to improve their confidence,” he said.

“I may even look at holding night classes for parents who are unable to attend playgroup during the day.

Media contact: Marnie Stitz on 0419 734 985