Home Link Team - East Ayrshire Council: Identifying needs and aims
This section outlines the need for the project and how the basis of partnership working was established. It also includes the overall ambition of the partnership and an overview of those involved.
Initially in 2017, all schools were supported across the local authority to address the poverty related attainment gap. In March 2024, the Home Link service provision was redesigned to provide a targeted approach in fifteen establishments, where Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile one cohorts are highly prevalent. This change in working practices enabled staff to support children, young people and families with the greatest need and ensure that targeted support is provided where required.
School support was identified via SIMD and attendance tracking data. Robust data interrogation ensures support is allocated where the need is most significant. It was evident, following COVID-19 that there was a significant impact on school attendance, therefore it was imperative that provision was reconfigured to support this emerging need.
Aims for core support for children and young people
- Improve personal attendance, achievement and positive destinations for children and young people living in poverty
- Remove barriers to learning and enhance readiness to learn
- Recognise broader achievement for all children and young people
Aims of parental engagement
- Improvements in levels of school engagement through attendance at events, volunteering etc.
- Increased wellbeing of the parents leading to be increased levels of involvement with their child's education
- Raise parental confidence and promote higher aspirations for families
- Recognise broader achievement for families. This includes supporting families to achieve family awards such as The Muir Family Award, RSPB Award, Barista Training and REHIS Food Hygiene Training
- Supporting and encouraging parents through further training, education and into employment
Aims of family learning
- Build stronger relationships between families
- Increased levels of personal achievement, attainment, and positive destinations for children and young people
- Increased capacity of parents to support their children with their learning
- Increased wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem of parents, children and young people
- Build stronger home / school links
- Promote high aspirations and recognise broader achievement for the target children and young people and their families
- As a team we feel it is very important to encourage the whole family to achieve and strive to reach their goals; At the time that is right for them.
Primary and Secondary Schools, CLD colleagues, parents/carers - Vibrant Communities.
