In the aftermath of the 1975 Bullock Report, an investigation into the teaching of language that was commissioned by Margaret Thatcher when she was in post as Education Secretary, Parents Day discusses reading and literacy. Barry Turner interviews Donald Moyle, Reader in Education at Edge Hill College, about the many different 'reading schemes' that can be used to help children learn to read, such as the 'whole word' approach, phonics, the initial teaching alphabet (ITA) and colour-based methods.

After talking in depth about these conflicting methods, Moyle then recommends taking a more personal approach: adapting literacy education to the lives and experiences of the children themselves. Turner then introduces a clip from the ITV programme It's Fun to Read, highlighting the role television can play in the molding of young minds.

At the end of the programme, Catherine Storr shares recommendations of books for young readers, including the works of writer Dorothy Edwards. Rather than venturing out to a book shop, Storr recommends seeking out the expert advice of children's librarians, since they read to and mix with children on a daily basis. It's advice that stands the test of time, even if Storr's description of children's librarians as "generally a young-ish woman" might not.