ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a brief historical overview of home-school partnership, focusing on the role of the family in literacy learning. It illustrates, through three case studies, practical ways in which English subject leaders might develop effective relationships with families to support pupils' learning and progression. The chapter focuses on the first category, home–school links. The need for schools and families to work together to support children's learning has long been acknowledged. The content of a literacy curriculum for primary schools can be contentious. In the UK there have been several iterations of English within National Curriculum documentation. In the late 1990s the research framework concerning how home–school partnership might support children's literacy development shifted. Rather than looking at school literacy practices and seeing whether they were present in the home they focused on documenting the full range of home literacy practices.
