During the month of December, YCIS Chongqing Primary re-launched our ‘Parents Supporting Learning’ initiative. This programme utilizes the skills of our Parent Community to help support our pupils in developing their literacy and mathematical skills.

Why get involved?
Our children hugely benefit from parental involvement. Parent Volunteers offer a huge resource and support base for the school while showing their own children the importance of being an active member in the wider community.

What does the role involve?
Most commonly, the role of the Parent Volunteer is to support reading development by listening to students read and asking prompting questions to gauge their understanding. Learning to read takes a lot of practice and Parent Volunteers offer valuable support to our young readers. Involvement can either be with individual students or with small groups, depending on the present needs of the class. Parents may also support learning in mathematics or assist learning through Topic engagements. Teachers plan ahead and communicate with Parents in advance to ensure the support is utilized most effectively.

What time is required?
Parent Volunteers join learning any day of the week, during Lesson 1 or Lesson 7. In this way, the programme works around parental morning drop-offs or afternoon-collections. Where possible, we ask that our Parent Volunteers commit to their involvement within a monthly/termly cycle. Some parents support once per week while others chose to volunteer almost every day – we are happy to work flexibly around the needs of our busy parents.

What skills are required?
As we learn through the medium of English Language, we welcome all Parents who either hold English as a First Language, or who are fluent users of English Language. No other specialist skills are required and any required resources are provided by the school.

Student success is a shared interest of both school and community – we truly value Parents as Partners in the learning process. Volunteering supports and encourages our students, enriching our classrooms and the learning experiences for all involved.

Interested to offer your support?
If you are interested in volunteering for our ‘Parents Supporting Learning’ programme, please contact PO Chair Andrea Long: a_long00@hotmail.com