Family Literacy Program (FLY)

In order to address the educational challenges faced by children (especially those from deprived social backgrounds and from migrant families), the UNESCO Institute of Education (UIE) and the State Institute for Teacher Training and School Development in Hamburg (Landesinstitut für Lehrerbildung und Schulentwicklung) initiated the Family Literacy Project (FLY) in 2004. FLY is an intergenerational family literacy programme that targets parents, children at pre-school, kindergarten and early primary school, as well as children with special learning needs. Many of the targeted people are from socially disadvantaged communities. The project endeavours to develop the literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening, and creativity) of parents and their children. It also seeks to promote strong linkages between the kindergarten or school and home-based learning processes by:
• supporting parents to increase literacy activities at home and enabling them to help with their children’s schoolwork
• training school teachers how to deal with and instruct children from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition, the programme also encourages and supports strong interaction and cooperation between parents and kindergarten or school teachers, in order to enhance children’s learning capacities.