THE kids go back to school tomorrow (Thursday), but many parents are also following suit to find out how they can help their children learn.

More training is now being run to help parents understand the new methods of teaching and provide useful advice and support on how to encourage and develop their child's potential in a fun way.

Jo-Anne Hendren organises courses for parents across the county, including a Family Learning Conference earlier this year in Penrith, which brought together all interested parties and looked at new ways of expanding support to parents.

Jo-Anne said: "We have a number of courses running in the county at the moment and plan to develop more. Share is just one of our projects that looks at ways of making learning fun through games and family activities. The courses have been very popular and more are being run to meet demand.

"Teaching techniques have changed greatly since parents were at school themselves, and courses like Share help those with children learn about what is going in the classroom and how they can help their children with their work."

Janet Tarn, Family Programme Development Worker for Carlisle and Eden, explained how courses were being provided where a need had been identified and how primary schools throughout the region could run courses for parents.

JaneT, A former head teacher, said: "Every primary school has been contacted and can host courses for parents, such as the Keeping Up With The Children course which runs for two-hours per week for six weeks. Any parents who feel they could benefit from finding out more about new methods of teaching can access the course which Adult Education provides in parternship with the school. The courses for foundation and key stages are flexible and unique to each school.

"The courses are funded by the Basic Skills Agency and are free to the parents and school and free childcare provision can also be provided if needed. The course is available to every parent and, if the school building is not available, community facilities such as village halls and pubs could be used.

"Keeping Up With The Children does not lead to qualifications but, if parents enjoy the experience and want to go on to further courses, they can go on to take other courses which can provide qualifications.

"The Family Literacy and Family Numeracy Project offers longer courses 72 hours over about a year. Certain schools have been identified to take part in the project but your local school could put you in touch with the nearest provider.

"The new course we are providing, Storytelling, is through local libraries. It offers parents, carers, and anyone involved with children and their learning, 30-hour term-time courses to help them develop their storytelling skills. It can lead to a nationally recognised level 2 Storytelling qualification."

For information on Family Learning contact Janet Tarn on 01768 242179.