§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what her policy is towards parents supporting school age children by providing appropriate help at home; [62774]
(2) what her policy is on penalising children who have had parental assistance with school work. [62773]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggThe Government have no policy to penalise children for being helped by their parents with their school work. Indeed, we strongly endorse parents playing an active part in supporting their children's learning at home. We believe that children's education really benefits when parents create a learning-friendly environment at home and have a positive attitude to school and to learning. We have helped them in this by providing a range of information, resources, and guidance on how to get involved in their children's education. These include the "Parents' Centre" website, which contains information for parents about education, as well as how they can get involved, and links to useful resources for learning at home; the "Learning Journey" booklets, a series of guides to the curriculum informing parents of what their children will learn and how they can help; and "Parents + Schools" magazine, a termly publication informing parents of developments in the field of education, and containing hints, tips, and suggestions for becoming involved.
The Department published national homework guidelines for schools in 1998 that, among other things, emphasise that schools should ensure they work closely with parents and ensure that they are given guidance about how best to help their children.