Supporting children's learning

The Supporting children’s learning training resource has been designed to help carers support the education of children in their care and enable them to become more confident and effective learners.

In order to succeed in school, children need a range of social and emotional skills that will enable them to access learning and develop a sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem. Carers are ideally placed to support children with their learning and to help them develop these skills. This training course will help carers to understand the processes involved in learning; create a conducive environment; support and encourage the development of children’s skills; develop an understanding of the education system and their role in it; and learn how they can support a child’s literacy skills.

The course incorporates training in Paired Reading, a well-established and researched method for supporting literacy, and an accompanying DVD demonstrates how to practise this.

Who is this book for?

This training resource is designed for social work practitioners to train foster carers and others involved with looked after children and learning.

What you will find in this book

This course consists of 10 sessions and can be delivered to groups of between eight and 12 participants. The training manual contains sessions on:

• The emerging role of carers in facilitating and supporting children’s learning
• The barriers to children’s learning and how these can be addressed
• How to work with schools and support children’s education
• Paired Reading
• Supporting learning through the use of praise
• Supporting self-esteem
• Promoting emotional literacy
• Listening skills

This training course includes a CD-ROM including PowerPoint presentations and handouts for the course. A DVD is also included, which demonstrates how to practise Paired Reading.

Authors

Clare Pallett has worked as a social worker in mental health and adoption and fostering. She set up the Fostering Changes training programme, to help manage difficult behaviour and promote positive relationships, with colleagues at the Maudsley Hospital in south London.

John Simmonds is CoramBAAF’s Director of Policy, Research and Development. He has written and presented widely on adoption, fostering and child care topics.

Andrea Warman has worked as a children and families social worker, going on to train social workers and to lecture and conduct research. She was a fostering consultant at BAAF until she joined the Who Cares? Trust.