£30m to teach parents to sing nursery rhymes

A parenting academy is being launched to improve child-rearing skills.

The centre - to be based at King's College, London - will train a "parenting workforce" to promote proven techniques among new mothers and fathers.

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes has said the academy will even train workers to help families sing to their children and read stories.

In a controversial recent speech, she declared: "Some parents already know that reading and singing nursery rhymes with their young children will get them off to a flying start, often because this is how they themselves were brought up.

"For other parents without this inheritance, these simple techniques are a mystery and are likely to remain so unless we act and draw them to their attention."

Backed by a £30million Government grant, the academy will open in October. It will give specialist training to staff who work with parents in schools, nurseries and the health service. Many teachers, psychologists and social workers are expected to benefit.

So-called parenting "practitioners" will teach parenting classes around the country and teenage parents are expected to be offered special allowances if they sign up for the lessons.

Announcing details of the scheme, Mrs Hughes said: "Parents increasingly seek help with bringing up their children and we want to be as supportive as we possibly can.

"The role a parent plays is integral to a child's development and their future life chances, which is why we want to help parents get it right.

"This academy will be an international and national hub for the exchange of ideas and learning, providing the very latest research and training in supporting parents."

Dr Stephen Scott, head of the King's College London Parenting Unit, said the academy would help parents "bring the best out of their children".