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‘Family learning’ refers to any learning activity that involves both children and adult family members, where learning outcomes are intended for both, and that contributes to a culture of learning in the family.

Studies show that parental involvement in school is more than four times as important as socio-economic class in influencing the academic performance of young people aged 16. This is highly pertinent in terms of reducing early school leaving as many interventions considered to address this are focused on measures linked to attainment and socio-economic class in a way that is limited to direct classroom activity. Family ������Ƶing is a well-established, high impact and cost efficient way of enabling parental involvement in a way that directly tackles factors leading to early school leaving.

Family ������Ƶing addresses this and reinforces the message that in order to reduce the likelihood of early school leaving decision-makers must look beyond the school premises and invest in interventions in the wider community and through linking with partners, highlighting the interface between what happens in the classroom and learning opportunities beyond the school gate and this includes activity that supports transition between early years settings and primary schools.