Volunatary and community services sector role in supporting parents and families

This report by the Tavistock Institute on behalf of the DCSF examined the role the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) plays in supporting parents, carers and families under the Every Child Matters agenda.

Key points:
- The number of support services for parents and families (provided by all sectors) usually matched the population size of a local authority. The proportion provided by the VCS was subject to considerable variation, ranging from less than a third in some areas to nearly two-thirds in others, and did not typically bear a close relationship to population size.
- Half of all the services in the mapping were in the broad category of ‘social interventions’ (for example, generic and targeted parenting support, family relationships, early years services and support for families in which there had been sexual or domestic abuse or the death of a child). Health-related services accounted for a further 29%, education 17% and housing 1.5%. The largest proportions of service types, provided by all sectors, were targeted parenting support (social) and services for families in which there was a disabled or ill child (health).
- Rural areas tended to have very few services with a large number of users.
- In terms of approach (preventative or crisis driven), access (open or targeted) and the nature of support offered (therapeutic, educational, social or practical), there was a marked tendency for VCS services to be multi-faceted. For example, while the focus of a service might be on a targeted intervention for families in crisis who benefited from therapeutic support, this did not exclude the provision of other approaches or types of access and support.
- The vast majority of VCS managers struggled to maintain the service with their current funding, which varied from £10,000 a year or less in 25% of cases to £500,000 a year or more in 6% of cases.
- The majority of service managers sought to expand future provision, by diversifying their work or by increasing their number of users and/or staff. However, a major obstacle to continued, consistent or increased provision was a lack of funding, and especially secure and long-term funding.
- The mapping exercise pointed to relatively little provision directed at fathers, either specifically or as part of wider family provision. Other groups for whom there was a low level of service provision were Gypsy and traveller families and Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, though areas which had been selected for their ethnic diversity did provide some specific provision for the latter group.
- The majority of voluntary sector service providers in the interview sample found the ECM framework useful in their work, by encouraging them to think more about outcomes for children, by making work with parents and children more focused and structured, by providing a common language and shared agenda when working with other services, or by providing a uniform structure for use in funding bids.
- Their practical implementation of the framework tended to be focused on ‘being healthy’, ‘staying safe’ and ‘enjoying and achieving’. Very few VCS services in the sample addressed ‘achieving economic well-being’.

Home-school partnerships

This report by the New Zealand Ministry of Education describes the findings of a research project designed to improve understanding of the key elements of successful home–school partnerships and how they operate in some different school settings. The project includes a review of evidence and an empirical research component.

Key points:
- The research literature is unequivocal in showing that parental involvement makes a significant difference to educational achievement. Given this, it is not surprising that during the last decade there has been a high level of interest in interventions aimed at involving parents (especially “hard to reach” parents) more fully in the education of their children, as a means to raising educational achievement of children who are currently not performing to expectations in the education system.
- The research literature does suggest that successful home–school partnerships display many of the following features:
- Relationships in successful home–school partnerships are collaborative and mutually respectful.
- Successful partnerships are multi-dimensional, and responsive to community needs.
- Successful home–school partnerships are planned for; embedded within whole school development plans; well resourced and regularly reviewed.
- Successful partnerships are goal oriented and focused on learning.
- Effective parental engagement happens largely at home.
- There is timely two-way communication between school and parents in successful partnerships.
- Building successful home–school partnerships takes time and commitment. In nearly all the case study schools, teachers, parents, and sometimes children, thought the principal was a key player in the establishment of successful partnerships. Teachers’ attitudes also seem to be critical to the success of home–school partnerships.
- Context affects the nature of partnerships and the way they develop. Home–school partnerships are perceived to be easier to establish in small schools, and in closely knit communities, and more difficult with secondary age students.
- The case studies show that technologies such as mobile phones, the internet and DVDs are being used creatively to strengthen links between school and home. Several case study schools are also exploring ways of modifying current school practices such as parent–teacher interviews and homework as ways of facilitating genuine two-way communication between school and home.
- One interesting finding was how little we really know about the effectiveness of home–school partnerships as strategies for reducing disparity and/or developing successful 21st century learners. The report concludes by raising some questions that we think are important to consider. Specifically it suggests that there is a need to find out more about exactly what sort of home–school partnerships are beneficial, how they are beneficial, and to whom.

Transition information sessions evaluation

This report by the DCSF examines the impact of Transition Information Sessions (TIS) which form part of the parenting support core offer within the Extended Schools prospectus, Access to opportunities and services for all. This pilot covered two years, which included 9 LAs in year 1 and a further 11 LAs in the second year.

TIS aim to:
• lay the foundations of effective home-school partnerships;
• give parents information, ideas and an opportunity for discussion about parenting issues, including how to keep their child safe, happy and learning; and
• signpost parents to local and national sources of information, advice and support

Key points:
- Sessions were offered to a cohort of parents with a child entering a new school setting. Session content was shaped by local preference and need but with a focus on how parents can keep their child safe, happy and learning. Session duration was expected to be around one hour with some additional time for informal conversation. All sessions were expected to signpost parents to local and national services that are there to support them and sessions often directly involved such service providers - in planning, delivery and providing materials.
- The key success factors for local strategic planning were reported by local authorities to include; clarity of aims, effective publicity and branding, and strong leadership from the local authority. Local authorities and schools routinely benefited from the lessons learned from year 1.
- Despite the similarities to TIS in year one, a number of characteristics were found to be distinctive to the project in year two. The main ones were identified as follows:
o more defined links with other local programmes and strategies;
o expanded local authority performance management for TIS, such as the requirement for schools to produce action plans or mini-funding bids, to confirm their approach;
o a greater focus on accountability and value for money ;
o more ambitious TIS formats, with a wider view of 'transitions'; and
o positive influences from the TIS capacity-building programme for all local authorities, drawing on a toolkit for sessions and models of delivery developed within the demonstration project, and offered to all local authorities in 2007-08.
- The evaluation showed that schools were at a varied baseline position in developing their extended service core offer, with some already having a wide range of services in place and others making slower progress. The project often coincided with school-level issues that affected the priority of TIS. These included leadership changes and inspection.
- Steps to engage whole local populations were said to include –
o the use of mapping and consultation data to establish levels of need,
o closer work with district or cluster teams to reach deprived local communities; and
o strengthening third sector involvement within local TIS partnerships

- In Yorkshire & Humber Calderdale and Leeds have schools which took part in this pilot.

Northern Ireland: closing the gap

This strategy paper by the Department for Education (Northern Ireland) provides a useful summary of the successes and failures of this education system in raising standards, especially of certain groups of students who tend to consistently under-achieve in numeracy and literacy.

The paper summarises research (national and international) which informs the strategy:
- Targeting the allocation of resources in favour of children and schools in socially deprived areas and highlighted the positive contribution of Reading Recovery as an effective mechanism in improving standards in literacy was recommended.
- Teachers should have suitable initial and subsequent training in numeracy, as well as sound subject-specific knowledge and recommended that pupils should experience a wider and more challenging range of learning opportunities, including mental calculation in a range of contexts, tasks requiring strategic thinking, higher-order questioning, collaborative problem-solving, and increased use of ICT.
- The teaching is most effective when it is interactive and contingent on the pupils’ responses, includes collaborative activities, encourages discussion, involves problem-solving and investigative work, and links the learning with other subjects, including the use of authentic problems.
- The indications are that far more attention needs to be given, right from the start, to promoting speaking and listening skills to make sure that children build a good stock of words, learn to listen attentively and speak clearly and confidently. Speaking and listening, together with reading and writing, are prime communication skills that are central to children’s intellectual, social and emotional development. All these skills are drawn upon and promoted by high quality, systematic phonic work.
- High and lower-attaining children in year 2 who had access to linguistic phonics outperformed other children in year 2 who did not participate in the programme.
- A systematic approach to phonics at an early stage is more effective than later less systematic phonics and that a phonics approach corresponded well with the emphasis in the revised curriculum on enriching the children’s learning environment and learning experiences through activities such as learning through structured play at the Foundation Stage.
- The impact of socio-economic disadvantage on levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy, and on educational standards generally, is highlighted consistently in research fi ndings and specifi cally in a report commissioned by DE on Barriers to Recognising the Benefits of Education. That report recommended the further development of extended schools to establish the school as a hub for multi-agency services to support families and encourage educational involvement.

Horizon Scanning: Innovative Teaching and Learning

This report by the DCSF Innovation Unit examined "Next Practice" in teaching and learning by horizon scanning (examining innovative pedagogy's which are at the leading edge of current practice).

Through a series of case study materials the paper identifies four key domains where actions should be focused in order to improve learner engagement and the integration of learning, the following framework was devised:

The 4 domains are:

• Engagement through relevance (what is relevant to the learner?)
• Engagement through co-construction (enabling and allowing the learner to lead)
• Integration of in/out of school learning (removing the home/school boundary)
• Integration of teacher-learner mix (using a range of relationships)

Impact of collaboration in small primary schools

This CfBT report examines the impact of collaboration across small primary schools on the development of leadership capacity. The authors point that few leadership studies focus on the distinctive needs of small schools (fewer the 120 pupils and where the head teacher has a significant teaching role). The authors also note how small schools will need to collaborate in order to fulfil the requirements of ECM and extended schools. The study is based on 72 interviews with head teachers.

Key points:
- Many of the headteachers saw school-to-school collaborative arrangements as an additional managerial burden, rather than as a strategic resource.
- Headteachers spoke almost entirely about ‘managing’ the work of collaboration and hardly ever mentioned leadership. The focus on the operational aspects, and demands, of collaboration almost completely dominated their interview contributions.
- Almost exclusively,collaboration was discussed by the headteachers in terms of the time, money and workload involved. The expanded opportunities for teaching and learning were recognised and celebrated but the headteachers’ main focus and preoccupation was the sheer hard and extra work entailed in collaborating.
- Collaboration was viewed as a way to help staff feel part of a network. However, geographical isolation was seen as a key factor in the difficulty if setting up collaborations between schools. This view was particularly expressed by new headteachers.

The value of social care professionals in extended schools

The NFER have conducted research to evaluate the value social care professionals bring to extended schools.

Key points:
- Partnership and integrated working are key if extended schools are to deliver the 5 ECM outcomes
- There will be difficulties as differing working practices and cultures will clash initially
- Four models of social care seem to exist, which are not mutually exclusive
- Across the differing models there is agreement that placing social care professionals in schools is beneficial
- There was also agreement that the extended school is a suitable venue in which social care professionals can fulfil their service remit
- Less qualified staff are being used within the extended school setting to provide lower-level needs and referring higher-level needs to appropriate colleagues. This creates capacity in the social care system and enables effective allocation of workforce skills

School leadership and ECM

The National College for School Laadership commissioned NFER to research the links between school leadership and Every Child Matters (ECM). Their report has 6 key messages:

1. Effective school leaders are able to fully convince the staff in their school that a focus on ECM can raise standards and that ECM complements, rather than conflicts with, the standards agenda.
2. ECM cannot be achieved by a single school leader: effective school leaders share leadership responsibilities widely amongst the professionals working within the school
3. ECM outcomes cannot be achieved by the school alone: effective school leaders adopt a collaborative approach with other schools, agencies and services
4. ECM has widened school leaders’ role and led to an emerging model involving
leadership beyond their own institution, within the wider community
5. Effective school leaders believe in genuine student, parent, and community
consultation in order to develop locally responsive solutions to ECM
6. To implement ECM effectively, school leaders will require new skills: effective school leaders engage in ongoing professional development and promote a whole-school learning culture.

Social care professionals in extended schools

This NFER research briefing examined the role of social care professionals within extended schools from the view of service users and professional groups.

Key findings:
- both social care and education professionals reported that through the school environment they could provide an appropriate environment for social care provision
- integrating social care into extended schools required a shift in working practices for both agencies and, in the early stages, led to challenges in adapting to a new culture
- the benefits are seen as significant and the challenges are felt to be negotiable
- The three main benefits highlighted were:
- earlier identification of needs and quicker access to service;
- a better understanding between social care and education colleagues; and
- offering a more coherent support package

The researchers conclude that linking social care professionals and extended schools is a successful way of integrating services and an effective response to ECM. It also assists the shift in working practices towards joint initiatives. It aids preventative work and can ease the pressure of workload for social workers. There is the opportunity for further research into the longitudinal impact of social care professionals in extended schools.