Schools 'should teach parents alongside their children' The report comes just a week after a major international report found that the literacy and numeracy rates of England's 16 to 24-year-olds were among the lowest in the developed world. Overall, young people in England came 22nd for literacy and 21st for numeracy out of 24 countries. It put them behind nations such as Japan, Finland and the Netherlands, according to the study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. England was the only country in which school leavers had lower levels of basic skills than adults nearing retirement. Writing in the report, Baroness Howarth, the cross-bench peer, said England was "a nation in crisis." "Adults whose parents have low levels of education are eight times more likely to have poor proficiency in literacy than adults whose parents had higher levels of education," she said. Surely it is a moral outrage that a nation such as ours should be in this position. NIACE's Family Learning Inquiry calls for family learning to be a key part of schools' attempts to raise attainment and close the gap between high and low achievers. "Family learning can close the attainment gap and help end the 'life-chance lottery' by creating a culture of aspiration in every family," the report said. It added: "Family learning provides a low-pressure, safe and enjoyable step back into formal adult learning - one that appeals to parents' strong desire to support their children." David Hughes, NIACE chief executive, said: "Imagine growing up in a home where there are no books, no stories and where your parents don't have the confidence to help you with your homework. Unfortunately that is a reality for too many children. But this situation can be overcome. Across the country there are examples of family learning programmes which have transformed the prospects for adults and children. But these programmes should not be the exception, they need to be the norm in every school and community. He said that these programmes could be funded through the pupil premium - cash given to schools to help disadvantaged children.