The new Family Learning programme will fund practical and enjoyable activities for adults and children to do together
‘The Big Lottery Fund recently launched a £40 million programme to bring generations of families together through learning.
The Family Learning programme will fund practical and enjoyable activities for adults and children to do together.
Groups including charities, community and voluntary bodies and schools can now apply for awards of between £10,000 and £500,000 to help families bond whilst building life skills.
Big Lottery Fund Chairman Sir Clive Booth said: "Family learning is a building block for children’s education. It can shape a boy’s or girl’s way of thinking and give them a head start in life.
"Children can absorb values, attitudes and culture through family learning, while parents and carers can gain a better understanding about how a child learns.
"We will fund imaginative, enjoyable and practical projects for all the family, so that parents and carers improve their skills and knowledge and are enabled to give more help to their children while they are learning."
The programme aims to fund a variety of projects that benefit families. Projects may include activities like gardening, cooking or building a birdhouse together and others might help with reading or maths, using elements of sports, arts, crafts and drama as a basis for learning.
Adults and children will be encouraged to continue learning together allowing stronger ties to be forged between parents or carers and their children.
BIG will look for projects that meet local needs and remove barriers to learning, for example, by providing childcare for families attending sessions as well as reaching out to families who have not learned together before.
Some parents may lack confidence to learn because of unhappy school memories, or they may not have the means, language skills or the experience to get started. The three-year programme aims to support these parents and carers and many other families to experience the benefits of family learning.’
Further information:
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 078 6750 0572
Public Enquiries Line: 0845 410 2030
Textphone: 0845 602 1659
Source: Wired Gov
