Last updated 11:40, Thursday, 27 March 2008

working in partnership: Seen here at the Kumon Centre in the Friends Meeting House in Kirkgate, Cockermouth, is instructor Diana McCormack with students Jason and Nicole Saenchan

PARENTS are increasingly realising that it takes a team effort to help their children succeed in life. School plays a central role, of course, but behind every successful student are committed, proactive parents who do everything they can to support their children.

Parents are becoming more involved in their children’s education and are looking beyond school for additional support. Previously, parents may have been worried about being too pushy, but now thousands see it as a natural part of their responsibility to give their children the best possible chance to be happy and successful in life.

The Kumon organisation is a world-wide supplementary education provider and has been helping children develop maths and language skills for more than 50 years.

The learning system was founded in Japan by Toru Kumon, who strove to give his own son the best start in life. The success of his work spread rapidly and there are now operational study centres in 45 countries with more than four million children across the world studying through Kumon principles every day.

Kumon helps develop the fundamentals in maths and English while building strong learning skills, boosting their confidence and helping them to realise their true potential.

The principles in Kumon give children:

• an opportunity to work at a pace tailored to their own needs;
• solid foundations for academic success;
• a positive attitude to study;
• confidence to take on new challenges;
• invaluable study habits and concentration.

The programmes are designed to help children of all ages and abilities and complement the school curriculum. Through working together with Kumon, children can understand how to achieve success through perseverance and challenge themselves through advanced study.

Based in Cockermouth, West Cumbria’s Kumon Centre has seen a steady increase in children and young people enrolling since it opened in May 2005. Centre instructor Diana McCormack now has more than 30 students developing their learning abilities, with some visiting the centre outside of the area as correspondence students.

“It all started three years ago with an open day here at the centre in Cockermouth,” she said. “It proved so popular that I was able to rent the space in the Kirkgate Centre on a permanent basis. And now we have children and young people from all over the county progressing their maths and language skills.

“Each child that comes to the centre is helped with activities; their progress is recorded and from that we can devise a personal development plan or extra activities which will progress their ability and skills. I will often test pupils beforehand to gauge their level of ability and how quickly they will be able to progress through the standards.

“I also devise activities which are age- and ability-related so each child has a very individual system to work to, such as number boards and visual counting techniques. The core skills in maths and English are developed and children are moved on after they master each technique. But they work very much independently – I don’t teach them. They will be shown an example in mental arithmetic or grammar, for example, then they will do it for themselves.”

Diana maintains the drop-in centre is not a school environment but the learning and skills developed via the Kumon methods are very much in support of the National Curriculum.

The age ranges at the drop-in vary significantly, with Diana helping children aged from four and five in Year 1 infants to 13- and 14-year-olds in Year 9 secondary school. “When it comes to Years 10 and 11 the subjects and curriculum become much more specialist and the needs of young people tend to wander from those taught in the principles of Kumon.

“It very much depends on the needs of the pupils as to how the centre can help them but a vital aspect to an individual’s successful progression is the involvement of their parents. The learning methods are based on little-and-often principles with pupils undertaking work every day, therefore it’s crucial parents are involved to keep the routine going.

“It’s very much a partnership between parents, myself and the pupils; sometimes parents will mark their children’s work at home which maintains a level of involvement that can be very beneficial to their child’s progression.”

This year sees the 50th anniversary of the Kumon project and events have been organised for centres across the UK.

Beckstone Primary School in Harrington will be a beneficiary of one of these programmes with a weekly session held each Monday lunchtime for children in Years 1 to 5, beginning in April.

The free session is hoped to run for a year and attract children who wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to access the provisions available at other Kumon centres across the county.

“It was difficult to set up at first,” said Diana. “There was initially only going to be one Kumon Centre, in St Bees, but I suggested establishing a second centre here in Cockermouth; fortunately it was deemed a good idea.

“After I went through the lengthy training process to become an instructor, the centre was set up quite quickly following the approval of the business plans and proposals.

“I’ve seen the centre steadily grow in strength and with that I have watched children really develop and progress under my and their parents’ supervision, not only academically but personally and emotionally. The success in their progression has in turn meant their confidence has grown phenomenally and that will stay with them throughout the course of their personal and professional lives.”

The Kumon Centre will also be holding free two-week summer taster sessions as part of its 50th anniversary from June to July.

• For more information on the Kumon Centre and its programmes call Diana on 01946 810597 or email cockermouth@kumoncentre.co.uk