Research Project Background Information

The Parents and Carers as Story Making Partners research project has been developed over a two year period (2007-2009) The project has been funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and coordinated by the International Learning and Research Centre.

Research has been undertaken in early years’ settings across two local authorities to investigate how Story Making^© can provide an effective vehicle for family learning. The project has addressed an urgent need to reenergise and inspire families to communicate in enjoyable and engaging ways. Through developing their skills as Story Makers, parents and carers have found new ways of experiencing narrative as a creative and comfortable vehicle for their own and their children’s learning. Practitioners have developed transferable models of practice, identifying strategies for engaging parents and carers and demonstrating how Story Making can be applied in the context of family learning.