Last ESTYN report in 2008 Treorchy Primary is a community school catering for an age range from 3 to 11 year olds It is situated in the centre of the busy town of Treorchy at the upper end of the Rhondda Valley. The school occupies a large site with separate infant and junior buildings at the end of a very large yard The school serves a mixture of mainly private and rented homes but the area can be described at predominantly disadvantaged- many children come from homes with no working parent and many have single parents

I’m not a salesperson. I’ve been invited here today because what we do in Treorchy works for us. I’m not an expert. But I now know an awful lot more than I did 2 years ago. I’m not a social worker. But sometimes it feels like I am!

I’m a Teaching Assistant. I’m a facilitator I’m a ‘sign-poster’. I’m a multiagency partner. And I’m very, very nervous about standing here now!

In Treorchy Primary we feel it means... Not just monetary poverty Poverty of experience Lack of parenting skills/knowledge Poverty of family values No aspirations and goals Low self esteem

In Treorchy Primary School we believe that the causes and consequences of deprivation are complex, and therefore, the solutions are equally complex. We have adopted a multi faceted approach which focuses on three key areas. Improved engagement with families Enhanced Experiences Interventions I’m here today to talk about how we have attempted to engage with families.

Wellbeing issues Attainment Attendance Staff Conducted pupil questionnaires on Wellbeing Piloted the Wellbeing in Education programme Targeted year groups for Building Safer Relationships Pupils Parents of FSM pupils Harder to reach parents Parents

We looked at the pupils on the FSM register that were under achieving. In addition to this we looked at pupils attendance and parents attendance of meetings and SEN reviews. Whilst in many cases these pupils were receiving interventions and enhanced experiences, we felt that these would only be truly effective if parents were confident in supporting their children with their learning at home. As a whole school, including support staff, we discussed the possible barriers to parents engaging with school – and we identified the following...

Barriers Negative experiences of school as children Poor literacy/ numeracy skills Low expectations for their children Lack of confidence in parenting skills

Cooking on a Budget Baby Massage Family Learning Coffee Mornings

Language and Play Team Building Men Behaving Dadly Educational Visits Charity Events Healthy Lifestyle

Early intervention with new families Focussing on communication, language & literacy through holistic play Giving parents idea’s on free, enjoyable activities with their children Child led, open-ended experiences & activities

Engages with Dad’s in a non-threatening, non judgemental, relaxed atmosphere Allows estranged Dad’s to spend time with their children on neutral ground Varied activities to suit all

Managing emotional health and wellbeing Taking charge of your families health Work/life Balance Managing stress Healthy Eating Cookery lessons

Focuses on improving parents literacy and numeracy skills Gives parents the opportunity to spend one to one quality time with their children

Sometimes be cast in the role of agony aunt and never knowing what issues parents are going to come up with. True multi agency work is sometimes difficult to achieve. Being adaptable with my approach depending on who I am working with. Getting to all the ‘hard to reach’ parents. Parents becoming overly dependant on the support. The uncertain future of the Pupil Deprivation Grant – sustaining the funding of the role? Measuring the concrete educational outcomes is a challenge.

Literacy interventions Improved attendance Instant impact on standards Enriching experiences for learners. Increasing parental engagement Longer term impact on standards

‘In house’ well being training arranged for whole school approach. Provide bespoke interventions by specialist services. Conduct regular meetings with multi agencies. Evaluate all programmes and initiatives.

Nearly all positive outcomes from parental surveys relating to school/parent initiatives. Improved relationships between parents and school staff. Improved attendance of parent evenings and SEN reviews. Attendance on courses in the family room is high. Improved attendance of targeted children. Testimonies from parents and children.

“I have gained recognised qualifications for the first time in my life”. “I have realised that I have an interest of working with children with Special Needs”.

“I now have a lot more confidence helping my child with his learning”. “I now have a lot more confidence with my English, as I only used to speak Turkish at home”. “I now feel more confident about finding a job”. “I approach life with a more positive attitude”.

“I now feel a lot more confident speaking with my child’s class teacher and other professionals”. “I have taken great pride in being involved in fund raising events at the school for the first time”. “I have learnt so much from the courses I have attended at the school”.

Celebrating empowered parents – parent partners. F.A.S.T. Programme. To introduce the Vulnerability Assessment Profile - ensuring across cluster alignment for transition. New courses, new parents. To prepare for merger of 90 new pupils attending our school September 2015

Any Questions?