The role was created using Pupil Equity Funding with the purpose of improving parental involvement and engagement throughout the school and providing opportunities and support for children and families.

How to use this exemplar

This exemplar will encourage practitioners to consider the approaches used to address barriers to parental engagement to support children and families.

Improvement questions

The following reflective questions should be used individually or collectively to help aid improvement:

• How well do staff know learners as individuals?
• Does the school have effective monitoring and tracking systems in place to identify the diverse needs of children?
• How confident are you that your approach to parental involvement and engagement is having a positive impact on children’s learning? In what ways could parental engagement be improved further in your setting?
• How effectively do you support parents and carers to participate in, contribute to and understand their child’s learning?
• How well do you seek out and respond positively to potential partnerships which will lead to better outcomes for the children and young people you work with?
• How effective are your approaches to support wellbeing of pupils and families?

Explore this exemplar

What was done?

Targeted support for children and families

Children and parents are targeted by our Home-School Link Practitioner to provide guidance and practical support regarding their child’s/their own health and wellbeing. One of the ways our most vulnerable children and families are identified is through the school referral system. Children are usually referred by their Class Teacher, the Senior Leadership Team, and on occasion, outside agencies such as Social Work, Health Services or Educational Psychology. These children are assessed using the Wellbeing Web which helps to identify the needs of the child and their family. Based on the SHANARRI indicators, an Individual Action Plan is then created and implemented in consultation with the child and family.

Parental Involvement Opportunities

The importance of ensuring opportunities were being provided for all parents and carers was highlighted through consultation. To address this, a Parental Involvement Calendar was created, showing the events and opportunities available. Opportunities provided by the Home-School Link Practitioner include:

• breakfast club parental drop-in
• emergency first response course
• parent’s Christmas craft club
• informal coffee mornings after church services
• creative minds art group
• CANI coaching parental empowerment Programme
• Adult Literacy Programme

Other support for children

• Moo Club: This is a break time club available for children, who for various reasons, are struggling to cope within a large playground environment. The children have the choice to sit at the Moo Table where members of the club have lunch together. The children practise their social skills, then socialise together afterwards by taking part in group activities and games.
• Breakfast Club: As well as providing children with a healthy breakfast, they are also provided with a quiet warm environment where they can have a check in and discuss any worries/issues they may have.
• Summer Clubs: In partnership with other agencies the Home-School Link Practitioner works collaboratively with a range of partners to plan and implement an Easter and summer club.

Partnership Working

The Home-School Link Practitioner is key to ensuring the school’s Directory of Services is kept up to date. This is used by the Senior Leadership Team and Home-School link Practitioner regularly to identify the right services to effectively support children and families. The Directory includes local and national agencies which are available to further help support the needs of children and/or their families.

Home-School Link Practitioner Timetable

The remit of the Home-School Link Practitioner is quite diverse and a weekly timetable can include:

• daily Breakfast Club and twice weekly Breakfast Club Parental Drop-in sessions
• break club, twice daily
• support sessions for children and parents addressing targeted support plans based on the SHANARRI indicators
• craft club
• parental groups
• homework club
• home visits
• team 'around the child' meetings
• attending children’s hearings
• delivering the ‘massage in school’ programme
• nurture class support
• weekly health and well-being group for upper school children, prior to transitioning to secondary school
• collaborating with teaching staff to develop strategies to support targeted children’s social/emotional needs

Why?

Within New Cumnock Primary School, professional judgement indicated that a lack of parental engagement was resulting in inequitable results for children. Our tracking and monitoring system also identified that some families were not engaging with the school and at times identified the barriers that were potentially stopping them from doing so. A Strategic Change Initiative was undertaken to address this issue. Through this evidence based enquiry, it was evident that in order to address these issues effectively a dedicated full time person to support children and their families was needed. As a result New Cumnock Primary School used Pupil Equity Funding to invest in a Home-School Link Practitioner.

What was the impact?

The role of the Home-School Link Practitioner has allowed New Cumnock Primary School to further develop relationships with children and families, remove barriers to parental involvement and engagement and provide targeted support to those families who need it. This is having a positive impact on the health and well-being and educational progress of children.

Video

New Cumnock Primary School Art Club, in partnership with East Ayrshire Council Creative Minds Team

New Cumnock Creative Club from Bat an Eye Productions on Vimeo.