Schools as a base for wider family support:

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• Schools as a base for wider family support
• A case study
• Tom Morris
• Parenting Early Intervention Project Manager

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Tower Hamlets

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Parental Engagement Team

• Parent Education Workshops
• Family Learning Events
• Parents Advice Centre
• Family Intervention Project
• Parenting Advice
• Parenting Early Intervention Project

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• One of the best and most cost-effective ways to
  reduce youth crime is to prevent young people
  from getting into trouble in the first place
• 
  Youth Justice Board 2008

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DCSF

• Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder
• 18 programmes initiated in October 2006
• Support for parents of 8 13 year olds at risk
  of poor outcomes
• 3 separate parenting programmes chosen
• - The Incredible Years
• - Triple P
• - Strengthening Families Strengthening
  Communities

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Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities
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Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities

• Why was it chosen?
• - already in operation in the borough on a
  smaller scale
• - specifically designed to be suitable for
  people from a broad range of different cultural
  backgrounds
• - materials available in community languages
• - part of the course is specifically geared
  towards parental engagement and community
  involvement

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What does SFSC entail?

• One week to train facilitators
• Programme delivered over 13 weeks
• Each session 3 hours long
• Two qualified facilitators to deliver
• Provision of crèche and refreshments
• Work manuals

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Programme Components

• Cultural/Spiritual
• Rites of Passage
• Enhancing Relationships
• Positive Discipline
• Community Involvement

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Why in schools?

• Existing contact with parents
• Front-line staff trained as facilitators
• Time allocated for parental engagement
• Linked with extended schools offer
• Existing infrastructure and resources
  (rooms/equipment/catering etc.)
• Sustainability

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Challenges

• Schools have other priorities
• Schools cant always release staff
• Schools cant afford it
• Parents wont come to a 13 week course
• No childcare facilities
• Fathers wont engage
• Cant recruit families who dont speak English

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Engaging Schools

• Invited all schools to an open day about the
  project
• Followed up with school visits for those
  interested
• Initial incentives
• Free SFSC facilitator training
• Help from experienced facilitators in running
  initial courses
• Support with childcare costs
• Additional training for school facilitators

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• Engaging Parents
• Asked schools to nominate two members of staff
  with specific role in parental engagement
• Parent recruitment at school through personal
  contact
• Produced written information in leaflet for
  distribution
• Taster sessions run with experienced facilitator
• Courses offered in community languages (Sylheti
  and Somali)
• Crèche provided (and refreshments)
• Course accredited through the Race Equality
  Foundation
• Awards ceremony held at the end with presentation
  from local dignitaries

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• Achievements
• From March 2007-March 2008
• Trained 105 facilitators (14 male, 91 female)
• Ran 53 courses in Sylheti, Somali and English
• 609 parents registered on the course
• Maintained an average course size gt11
• Achieved a retention rate of 81
• Ran 10 of courses outside school hours
• Varied locations schools, libraries, community
  centres, Pupil Referral Unit and London Muslim
  Centre

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The way forward

• Sharing information across service providers
• Knowledge of local providers and range of courses
  database
• Web site support for professionals
• Recognition of individual needs of each provider
  according to locality
• Accessing difficult to reach groups
• Engaging Fathers

• Value of visiting speakers
• Potential for continuing parent networks
• Parents progress governors, TA, focus groups,
  facilitator, drug advisors
• Signposting to other services e.g. D.V.,DAF, CP,
  etc.
• Link with new Parent Support Advisor role in
  schools

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Useful Contacts

• National Academy of Parenting Practitioners
  http//www.parentingacademy.org/
• Parenting UK http//www.parentinguk.org/
• Family and Parenting Institute http//www.familyan
  dparenting.org/
• Race Equality Foundation http//www.raceequalityfo
  undation.org.uk/sfsc/

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