parents matter…4 issue22|april2010 parentsmatternewsletter supporting children’s learningathome...

Issue 22 | April 2010 For staff in schools and early years settings

ParentsMatter

02 Parents' Conference 2010

04 Supporting Children's Learning

at Home

07 School/Setting Activity

13 Health

14 Community News

16 Training Programme

Tower HamletsAnnual Parents’Conference 2010The Annual Parents’ Conference, organised by theParental Engagement Team, was a huge successthis year, for the fourth year running. 200 peopleattended from schools, children’s centres andcommunity settings around the borough. Theevent was held at East Wintergarden in CanaryWharf on 12th March, where parents and staffenjoyed a morning of activities, shared parentingexperiences, were given information from stallholders and had a lovely lunch!

The theme of this years’ event was ‘making adifference’. It looked at the various ways that wecould support children's learning, support parentstowards work and further help families andcommunities within the borough. Parents and stafffrom William Davis Primary and SwanleaSecondary Schools gave fantastic presentations,outlining the ways in which engagement projects inschools with parents had made a huge differenceto their lives.

Towards the end of the morning, parents andstaff were challenged to a local knowledge quizwhere everybody used their own Qwizdomelectronic handset to submit answers to the bigscreen! Great fun was had by all whilst alsoproviding important information relevant tofamilies in the borough.

The end of event raffle was also a great success. StJohn’s Primary School won a trip to Mile Endclimbing wall, St Anne’s Primary School won afamily residential, Old Ford Primary School wonfamily theatre tickets and Swanlea SecondarySchool won Rich Mix tickets.

I never seem to have timeto support my childrenwith their homework

Make a weeklytimetable with a

set time to spendtogether

Try encouragingsiblings to help eachother with activities

and games tosupport learning

Look out for familyafter-school clubs whereparents and children can

spend time together

Involve other familymembers to supporte.g. aunt, granddad

Issue 22 | April 2010

2 Parents Matter Newsletter

Parents’ Conference 2010

Parent Voice Activity

During the morning, parents and staff had the opportunity totake part in a ‘Parent Voice’ style activity, allowing discussionabout ideas and experiences that supported and encouragedtheir children's learning. Barriers to learning were consideredby parents, and many positive ideas for solutions to parents'challenges were shared.

Stalls andInformation

The Parent Conference wassupported this year by anumber of organisationswho provided informationfor parents and staff onstalls. We would like tothank the Parents AdviceCentre, School HomeSupport, Fostering andAdoption, Bromley-by BowCentre, Governor Services,Thames, DWP Job CentrePlus and the E-LearningTeam for theircontributions.

Some of the ideas that work well for parents!

3Parents Matter Newsletter

April 2010 | Issue 22

Parents Ifrah Mohammed, Nurun Nahar ZornaHoque and Ayesha Begum Choudhury; staffmembers Shahin Chowdhury (Parent LearningCoordinator at Swanlea) and Cynthia Allen (East 1Schools Project manager) talked about theirpartnership work with East 1 schools and the impactthis had on parent mobility and confidence. Parentsshared their experiences of taking part in courses atSwanlea Secondary School that gradually built theirconfidence enough to complete a ‘Volunteering inYour Child’s School course’. From the course,parents went on to volunteer in Swanlea and foundit an amazingly rewarding and positive experience.

School Presentations

Parents Hafsa Begum, Layla Adan,Syeeda Khanom and also Becky Turp- School Home Support - fromWilliam Davis Primary Schoolpresented at the conference, talkingabout the varied ways that they hadused to build up successfulrelationships with parents. Parentsshared how the school had supportedthem to develop confidence andexplore skills that they may not haverealised they had. They spoke abouttheir fantastic family residential tripsand the many curriculum based andcreative programmes that parentshave been involved in. The art-workthat the parents had created wasgreatly admired by many otherparents at the conference.

‘We now need to think about how toget fathers involved at our school’(Staff)

‘Very inspiring conference’(Parent)

‘The best part for me wasnetworking with other parents andschools and sharing good practice’(Parent)

Parents and staff from both schools showed greatcourage to speak at the conference and were trulyinspirational to others attending.

‘Hearing parents’ feedback andseeing the actual differences madeto their lives, was amazing’(Parent)

‘ I would like to now getinvolved as a volunteer atmy child’s school’(Parent)

4


Parents Matter Newsletter

Supporting Children’sLearning at Home

Raines FoundationSchool

Year 7 Discovery Evening took place onThursday 4th March at Raine's School.Whilst fun was had by all parents 'tasting'the Year 7 curriculum, the aims were tomake the curriculum more accessible toparents, to strengthen the workingpartnership between home and school,to enable parents to support their childwith homework and encourage a socialnetwork amongst the parents of Year 7pupils.

Lessons taught on the evening includedEnglish, mathematics, science andFrench or Spanish. A presentation wasalso given to parents about the new‘mymaths’ initiative recently launched.Parents experimented with differentgasses in laboratories, were tongue tiedwith some of the foreign languages andthere was a whole lot of head scratchingwhen working out angles! Despite brainsbeing drained, parents thoroughlyenjoyed the evening.

‘ I will be recommending a similarevening at the primary school where Iam a governor’(Father)

‘ It has really helped me understand thelevel at which me son is working. I feelmore confident about helping him withhomework.’(Parent)

Liz SmithYear 7 HeadRaines Foundation SchoolLAP 1

Book Week at Globe School

Globe school celebrated ‘book week’ in a reallybig way this year. We had an after school bookstall and a Readathon where parents andchildren were invited to read together withmembers of staff. There were opportunities forfamilies to make books, puppets and book markstogether and they took home a book to share.Huge thanks go to Terry Joy, LiteracyCoordinator, for organisingthe event.

Gill RuskinFamily Support WorkerGlobe SchoolLAP 1

Family Learning‘Made of Money’

Made of Money ran aseries of familylearning workshops forfamilies at MarnerPrimary School.Workshops gaveparents and children inyears 3 and 4 theopportunity to talk about money through fun,hands-on activities. Children made savings jarsand discovered ways to save money at home,painted bags and t-shirts whilst learning aboutlogos and branding, and designed their ownadverts. They also taste-tested brand name andstore brand foods, explored needs versus wants,and learnt about the history of money. Theworkshops were a great success, with everyonehaving fantastic fun!

To find out more about Made of Moneyworkshops for parents or parents and children,please contact [email protected], orphone 020 8983 5043Kristina LeonnetProject Manager, Made of Money



Family Stories atMowlem Primary

In January, parents started‘Engaging Families in Stories’workshops, which lasted forfive weeks. The workshopsinvolved making a story boxand props for the 'we're goingon a bear hunt' story. Parentsenjoyed making their boxesboth in school and at home;some also made additionalboxes with their children forother stories. This group alsotook part in the Find Your Talentprogramme, and have enjoyedgoing to two cinema trips sofar. They are currently in theprocess of planning their firstsolo trip with learning mentorsJacqui Popely and Jane Coules.

Kathy O’SullivanDeputy HeadteacherMowlem Primary SchoolLAP 1

Bead String Success atHarry Gosling!

The bead string project continuesto support schools in TowerHamlets to promote maths athome for Key Stage 1 children.

Harry Gosling has delivered aseries of sessions this term foryear 2 parents and their children.Parents took part in twoworkshops before their childrenjoined them for a ‘whole of year 2’family workshop!

Parents enjoyed finding out about the resource andhow they could easily use it to support their children’slearning at home. They explored different ways ofcounting, played number fact games and discussedmethods of calculation.

Many parents, carers and grandparents attended thesessions and feedback was fantastic.

To find out more information about the bead stringproject, please contact Laura Flanagan [email protected]

‘ I have been working with my child at home to add andsubtract using the bead string – it has really helped!‘(Parent)

TheBead String

Book

Mathematical activities to use withchildren and parents in Key Stage 1



Families Go Mad for Mathswith Mr Numbervator!

This term, the Parental Engagement Team hasworked in partnership with Isaac Anoom (MrNumbervator) to promote maths at home forchildren in years 3 and 4. Parent sessions weredelivered in four primary schools (St John’s,Cubitt Town Juniors, Redlands in partnershipwith Halley and Ben Jonson in partnership withCayley) where they explored the wonder ofnumbers and had fantastic fun finding new waysto approach maths at home! Children alsojoined their parents for the opportunity to learnand play together.

Some schools used this opportunity to involvedads and male carers. Responses to thesessions were fantastic from parents, childrenand all staff involved.

‘ The content was wide-ranging with goodresources and a fast pace to keep everyoneengaged’

Alison Ticher,Parental Involvement Officer,St John’s Primary School, LAP 1

‘I enjoyed seeing my daughter interact withthe group and found news ways to helpencourage her’

(Parent)

‘ Redlands and Halley wanted dads to feel moreconfident in helping their children to learn.These maths sessions were fun andinteresting. By the end of the programmedads were talking passionately about mathsand asking if we could have more MrNumbervator sessions at each school. One ofthe dads said he had learned more in 5minutes, than he had in 20 years!’

Ellie Cottam(Extended Services Coordinator at Redlands)and Nilufa Salik (Inclusion Advocate at Halley)LAP 3

‘ It had the kids learning while having fun whichhas made them want to learn more. I woulddefinitely do this again!’

(Parent)

‘ Mr Numbervator amazed our year 3 & 4 parentsand children with his fantastic games andformulas for solving maths problems. A greatway to teach children and adults that mathsis fun!’

Jacqui Jenkins, Parent Liaison Coordinator,Cubitt Town Junior & Infant schools, LAP 8



Embroidery at Manorfield

Parents at Manorfield have enjoyed a 5 weekembroidery course and created a wonderful wallhanging.

Brenda WarrenManorfield Primary School

School/SettingActivity

“We visited the V & A museum; I want to comeback again”(Parent)

“I've have made new friends”(Parent)

Made of Money atLangdon Park

I would like to thank Cathy Draperfor inviting me to take part in the‘Made of Money’ course atLangdon Park School, along withsix other parents. The course wasfacilitated by Del from QSA andwas filled with many helpful ideaseg keeping a record of our dailyexpenses.

This course has helped open myeyes to budgeting correctly and Ihave definitely made changes as aresult. I am really glad to havebeen part of the group and lookforward to taking part again atsome point in the future. Ourcourse ended with a visit to TheMuseum of Brands Packaging andAdvertising, supported by fundingfrom Poplar Partnership.

Sultana AlomParentLangdon Park Secondary SchoolLAP 7

Provision for Parents atOld Palace

We are very proud of therange of workshops forparents that we provide atOld Palace School. Wehave consulted withparents about theschool’s new food policyand held sessions on oral health, healthypacked lunches, the Single Equality Scheme, cyberbullying and much more.

We are particularly proud of our curriculumworkshops for parents delivered with theknowledge and experience of our leading teachers.Ocean Maths and a range of literacy workshopshave given parents strategies to support theirchildren at home.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank allthe parents who have participated in theseworkshops.

Forida RahmanParent Support PartnerOld Palace Primary SchoolLAP 6



New School Community HouseComing to St Elizabeth’s

A new community house for StElizabeth’s school is now wellunderway thanks to the amazingefforts of ’Team St Elizabeth’s’.Parents, carers, pupils, teachers,governors, school staff, anarchitect and planners cametogether on a Saturday morningto move the bicycle shed and make space for the newhouse. The group was incredibly positive and everyoneenjoyed refreshments together during their hard work.Everyone is excited about the new addition to theschool.

Sue BraniffParent Support PartnerSt Elizabeth’s PrimaryLAP 1

Parents’ Forum atOlga Children’sCentre

The parents' forum at Olga is adiverse group whereparents/carers have theopportunity to voice theiropinions on issues that affecttheir families. Parents participatein the planning and delivery ofactivities so that they are tailoredto families' needs. Parents havesaid that regular attendancehelps boost their confidence,uncover hidden skills andprovides a place to discover newways to support their children'sdevelopment, well being andattainment.

The Olga children's centre is aninclusive organisation, thatactively listens to parents' ideasin order to ensure that servicescontinue to reflect the needs ofits users.

Parents’ Forum is on Thursdays1.30pm – 3pm (term time only).For more information, pleasecontact Ebele Omo-Bamawo on020 8981 7127 or [email protected].

Marion Richardson Parents’Success

From Marion Richardson school, six parents arecurrently doing level 3 Access courses linked to supportwork in schools and community development. All six ofthe parents accessed these courses after completing the‘Volunteering in Your Childs School’ course andStrengthening Families, Strengthening Communities atthe school. The parents are all currently doingplacements in school, facilitating parenting courses,supporting a group for families of children withdisabilties and leading groups by sharing their ownfantastic skills like manicure! Between them, theseparents have also organised 3 family outings onSaturdays.

All the parents are hoping to go into social care jobswhen they qualify later this year. Another 5 parents havealready applied for Access courses next year.

Alison JonesSHS WorkerMarion Richardson SchoolLAP 3

9



Shared Lunch at St Saviour’s

Parents and carers have been attending coffee mornings atSt Saviour's, organised by Rachel Sablon, the new ParentSupport Partner at the school.

The group also recently enjoyed a school lunch with theirchildren, enabling parents to find out more about healthyeating.

Rachel SablonParent Support PartnerSt Saviour’s C of E Primary SchoolLAP 7

Marner School CelebratePartnerships with Parents

We would like to passon our thanks to theactive and supportiveparents who regularlyparticipate in thegroup activities atMarner School.

Fathers’ ResidentialWeekendA weekend trip to Arethusa gave fathers and children fromMarner school an opportunity to have fun and learntogether. It gave many fathers a wonderful opportunity tospend some time with their children, enjoying fun andchallenging activities, including: orienteering, shelterbuilding, high rope and a motor boat trip.

AhsanaChoudhuryHome SchoolLiaison OfficerMarner PrimarySchoolLAP 6

Workshops atStephen Hawking

Parents from StephenHawking School have beenbusy completing twodifferent programmes thisterm; numeracy and healthyeating.

Numeracy sessions gaveparents the opportunity tostudy fractions, place value,division, multiplication andpercentages. They also tookactivities home to do withtheir children.

The cookery sessions gaveparents the opportunity tolearn new dishes that wereboth healthy and tasty fortheir families. They cookedfish pie, vegetarian spaghettibolognaise, carrot cake,apple dumplings and quichelorraine.

The course involved learninghow to follow a recipe andweighing ingredients.

Dani FieldPupil ResourceStephen Hawking SchoolLAP 3



‘Out and About’ forShadwell and StKatherine’sCollaborative

‘Out and About’ is a project that fourschools (Bigland Green, Shapla andSt Paul’s Whitechapel primaryschools and Mulberry School forGirls) are working on together as partof the Shadwell and St Katherine’scollaborative. The Family LearningCo-ordinator is developing a bookletwritten by parents, aimed at localfamilies, which will show just howthey can benefit from visiting Londonand the local area’s places of interest.

A small group of parents make up asteering group for the project,looking at potential places to visit,and considering how informationshould be collected and collated inorder to get the booklet to print.

The booklet will contain parents' tipsand ideas on how to make the best ofa number of day-trips, which are easyto reach on public transport. It ishoped that the booklet will belaunched before the summerholidays begin.

Please contact Janice Hill,Family Learning Co-ordinator, formore information on 020 7480 5829.Shadwell and St Katharine'sCollaborationLAP 4

Nanny McPheeand the Big Bang!

Ten families from Canon Barnett Primary weresome of the first to watch Nanny McPhee and theBig Bang on Sunday 21st March at the Rich MixCinema. They had the opportunity to meet thedirector and cast members and get involved in aworkshop. Families met outside the school andwalked together, enjoying the sunny afternoon. Atthe cinema, families were full of excitement andeverybody really enjoyed themselves. One of thefamilies was also the lucky winner of a goody bagfull of gifts.

This trip was organised through the Find YourTalent programme.

Shabana BegumParent Support PartnerCanon Barnett PrimarySchoolLAP 2

Family Intervention Project (FIP)Mellow Parenting Programme

Parents from Baby FIP'SMellow ParentingProgramme atOverland Children'sCentre said that thesessions had improvedtheir confidence andability to manage theirchildren's behaviour.Both the parents and

children enjoyed the supportprovided by the group's participants and all haveformed new friendships

Mellow Parenting has been shown to be effective inengaging hard-to-reach families with children underfive, and in helping make positive changes in theirchildren.

The parents have chosen to continue meetingmonthly with their children and make use of localcommunity resources, such as the 1’0 clock club inVictoria Park.

For more information, please contact SimoneCurling, Parenting Practioner, on 020 7364 4140

11



SFSC for Marner andBromley-by-Bow Dads

Well done tothe 4th groupof dads to takepart inStrengtheningFamilies,StrengtheningCommunitiesParentingProgramme atMarner Primary. This course wasjointly delivered with Bromley-by-BowChildren’s Centre and was a huge successwith eight dads successfully completing thecourse.

Ahsana ChoudhuryHome School Liaison OfficerMarner Primary SchoolLAP 6

Poplar Partnership WeekendResidential

12 fathers and 15 children from Woolmoreand Mayflower primary schools recentlyenjoyed a residential to Bradwell, organisedby Poplar Partnership, the ParentalEngagement Team and Around PoplarChildren's Centre. The weekend was packedwith activities, including a trip to TropicalWings (zoo), walks and activities on thebeach, archery, table tennis and football. Inthe evening, there was a story telling show,arts and crafts, discussion around fathers’involvement, workshops and an opportunityto brainstorm future activities.

The fathers and children have alreadyarranged to go on a follow up day triptogether on April 17th.

Some of the fathers and children are workingtogether on short stories which mightbecome part of the ‘Stories From Poplar’booklet, capturing the experiences offathers/parents and children from aroundpoplar.

The project aims to promote reading withchildren at home and encourage parents tospend quality time with every child each day.

Sultana BegumPoplar PartnershipLAPs 7 and 8

‘ My husband seems like a changed man sincereturning, he is spending more time with mychild, the T.V goes off and they are interactingmore and spending time together’(Mother, Woolmore Primary)

‘ It’s opened my eyes; my child and I enjoyedit greatly’(Father, Mayflower Primary)

Passport to Learning‘Next Steps’ for Parents

The new ‘Next Steps’ programme has beensuccessfully delivered in nine schools andsettings this term. The course progressesfrom the Building Skills and Confidencecourse and empowers parents with theskills and knowledge required to search forand gain employment. Parents areintroduced to CV writing and interviewtechniques.

For more information about thisprogramme, please contact DeniseHickford on 020 7364 0971 [email protected]



Fathers’ StoryWeek14 – 20 June 2010

The Fatherhood Institute has worked withteachers and staff in the Stepney Partnershipschools to develop Fathers Story Week - aproject to support primary schools and earlyyears settings who want to increase theengagement of fathers in their children’slearning.

Timed to coincide with Fathers’ Day (20 June2010), Fathers’ Story Week (14 to 20 June2010) provides FREE resources, lesson plansand ideas to cover a whole week’s worth ofactivities, which will be fun for children andtheir fathers, grandfathers and father-figures.The aim is to get dads more involved withprojects matched to Key Stage 1 and 2 andEYFS learning and development targets - andalong the way, show mums, dads andchildren that the fathers’ role is valued.The resources are available to all schools inthe UK.

Tower Hamlets has agreed to be a pilot localauthority for the project and will work withthe Fatherhood Institute to evaluate the weekand learn from the activities in time for nextyear's Fathers’ Story Week.

Schools can access the materials andregister for the event at the Fathers’ StoryWeek website www.fathersstoryweek.org

On the Friday before Fathers’ Day, Barnardosand the Fatherhood Institute are running ajoint fundraising event called ‘Bring Your Dadto School Day’ to raise money for their work,supporting the most vulnerable children andhelping fathers to do their best for theirchildren. This comes at the end of Fathers’Story Week and can be linked to activitiesthat take place during that week. Details areavailable on the Fathers’ Story Week website.

www.fathersstoryweek.orgFor more information, please contactSharon Sullivan on 020 7364 0948 [email protected]

Home Access –Free Computers for Families

Home Access is a government initiativewhich will help low-income families accessa computer and internet to get online athome. The programme is aimed at thosewho currently lack access and need it themost to support and enhance their children’slearning.

Those who have a child in school years 3 - 9who haven't accessed a computer from asimilar programme before, may be eligible.

To find out more about Home Access visitwww.homeaccess.org.ukIf you think you know parents who mightbe eligible, please encourage them to call0333 200 1004 for an application pack.

National Family Week

National Family Week is a celebration offamily life in the UK and is now in its secondyear. The week encourages fun, actionpacked events for families to spend morequality time together and lead healthier,active lifestyles.

National Family week is celebrated Monday31 May - Sunday 6 June 2010.

Tower Hamlets will be taking part in NationalFamily Week this year and is offering manyopportunities for families to take part inorganized events. Events throughout theweek include picnics in E2 and E14, craft andstory days at the Idea Stores, family films atRich Mix, games in Shadwell Park, familysinging and dancing at Kobi Nazrul CulturalCentre and fun at the Tower of London.

If you would like more detailed informationwith times and dates of the aboveactivities, please contact Nasrena Miahon 020 7364 1535 or [email protected]



Cook and EatCourseFor Families with Children

Under 5yrs

The Community DietitiansDepartment are runningexciting cook and eat coursesfor local parents/carers withchildren under 5 years oldacross the borough. Thecourses, called ‘Cook 4 Life’are part of the government’sChange4Life programme.This is a great opportunity forfamilies to learn how to cookhealthy, tasty and affordablemeals, followed by the chanceto eat what they haveprepared in a friendly familyenvironment.

Courses run for five weeksand support families to cookfrom recipes, learn healthiercooking techniques, try newfoods and make healthierchoices of food and drink.Creche facilities are availableand all ingredients aresupplied. Families receive aCook 4 Life recipe book andcertificate.

If you know a family who areinterested in joining futurecourses across the borough,please call Karin Ubbilai,Community DieteticPractitioner on 07768 777015,or Cheryl D’Souza,Public Health Dietitian on020 8223 8705.

Healthy Cooking Classes for theWhole Family at Christ ChurchPrimary

Christ Church C of EPrimary school councilwere successful in theirapplication for a PCTHealthy Borough, PupilLed Project Grant. Theschool voted on projectideas to spend the grant,but there was aunanimous support for healthycooking sessions for families.

Every Thursday after school, parents and their childrenattend cooking workshops with Aisie in the family learningroom, learning how to use less salt in cooking, handleand taste different foods, explore local, seasonal andcultural ingredients and create something fun, inspiringand delicious.

The sessions are so popular, we already have a waiting listto join!

Carol RiderExtended School ManagerChrist Church C of E Primary SchoolLAP 2

Better Eating,Self Esteem,Total Health

B.E.S.T is a ten week free weight management programmefor 7-16 year olds. The programme consists of fun sportssessions, nutrition workshops, fitness tests, rewards andtrips.

If you know a family who would benefit from thisprogramme, please contact the Healthy Lifestyles Teamon 020 7364 3142,(answer phone 020 7364 3145) or email:susan.o’[email protected]

Health



ShortBreaksfor Families inTower Hamlets

Do you know a family whowould benefit from a shortbreak?

The National Autistic SocietyTower Hamlets BefriendingScheme is offering support tochildren or young peopleaffected by autism orAspergers syndrome andtheir families.

Our befrienders spend a fewhours a week with a personwith autism or Aspergerssyndrome or their family. Wetake the time to matchvolunteers with people theyhave something in commonwith.

A befriender might be anextra pair of hands on ashopping trip, take a child outto the park, accompany ateenager on an outing, go seea film with an adult or offer afamily a break by spendingtime with a child or adult inthe home.

To find out more informationabout this for a family or toenquire about becoming abefriender, please contactLauren Barnes, BefriendingManager on 020 8980 0093 [email protected]

Befriender and friend enjoy anaction packed afternoon…

Community NewsWomen’s Day

Bromley by Bow Children's Centrecelebrated International Women's Day,with an excellent entertainmentprogramme, including: aerobicexercise, children’s activities, healthyfood, smoking cessation and women'shealth advice. The event was attendedby over 100 women and children. We would like to thankthe many specialist teams that came together to make thissuch a successful community event, celebrating women'swell being.

Rainbow ParentsBirthday Celebration

Rainbow Parents is a social andsupport group for lesbian and gayparents and those who are thinking of becoming parents.The group meets on the first Sunday of the month from 2-4pm in Tower Hamlets.

The group was officially launched at the Museum ofChildhood during LGBT History Month in 2007, andcelebrated its 2nd birthday with a party in February - whichwas fun for both parents and children. Since 2007, thegroup has grown from strength to strength and we nowhave over 150 members! And new parents (and babies /children) join the group every month.

A lesbian couple (group members) recently went to registertheir son's birth and were told that they were the first samesex birth registration in Tower Hamlets. They said ‘we areproud of our little boy for making a little bit of East EndHistory’.

The success of the Rainbow Parents group wouldn’t havebeen possible without the support from Tower HamletsLGBT Forum in early days, Positive East and the ParentalEngagement Team – Parent Support Service. The groupreally appreciates your support over the last two years.

If you know any parents who might want moreinformation about this group,please call Rainbow Parents on 07506012282or email: [email protected]



Portage ServiceChange of Address

The Tower Hamlets Portage Servicehas moved from Harford Street andis now based at:

Gladstone Place1 Ewart PlaceBowLondon E3 5EQTel: 020 7364 [email protected]

Teachers TV

Over a four-week period in theautumn term, the freeview channel,Teachers TV, made a programmeabout the running of StrengtheningFamilies StrengtheningCommunities groups in TowerHamlets.

The video follows the work of theParenting Intervention Team, theschool staff and community leaderswho run the classes, and parentswho attend. It examines the impactof parenting classes on families fromwhite, Somali and Bengalicommunities, and whether they helpimprove parents' engagement withtheir children's education.

The programme can be seen onlineat www.teachers.tv/video/42072and can also be downloaded.

‘ This is a real credit to the work ofthose teams and to our schools andother providers such as OSCA and theMosque. As the programme states,the participation of the schools makesour pathfinder unique in the countryand it is fantastic to hear the numbersof schools, courses and parentsinvolved’(Liz Vickerie,Head of Support for Learning Service)

The National Confederation ofParent Teacher AssociationsSupporting your School

Research shows that parental involvement has asignificant impact on a child’s attainment at school.However, achievements are even greater whenparents and teachers work together effectively, andPTAs (or other home-school associations) are a greatway for parents to be involved in school life.

A successful PTA enables the school community towork together to improve parental involvement infamily learning, extended services and social andfundraising activities. The NCPTA supports this andprovides all the help and guidance needed by bothparents and teachers alike.

If your school is thinking about establishing a home-school group, our free, no obligation start-up packwill help you. It offers you NCPTA membership fromnow until 31 December 2010 at a special introductoryrate starting at £25. This is offered to help to developyour new association, with full NCPTA support:model constitution and start up advice, up to £10Kpublic liability insurance and guidance on legalitiesand fundraising ideas.

For more information, please contact Yvonne Treveson 01992 444177 or [email protected]

Websiteswww.fathersstoryweek.orgFind out more about how Fathers’ Story Week (14 to20 June 2010) can support schools to engage withfathers

www.greatgrubclub.comFree resources for Tower Hamlets children (aged 4-7)to help create healthier lifestyles

www.homeaccess.org.ukInformation regarding the government drive to helplow income families get access to a computer andinternet at home

www.nationalfamilyweek.co.ukFind out national events organised for Family Week inJune 2010

Training Programme



For school and setting staffdeveloping work with parents

KEEP IN TOUCH!This newsletter is produced by theParental Engagement Team,Children, Schools and Families.

To share your news in future editions ofParents Matter contact:Nasrena Miah 020 7364 [email protected]

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Strengthening Families, StrengtheningCommunities Refresher Course (Part 2)

Recap of sessions 6 to 13 of the StrengtheningFamilies, Strengthening CommunitiesProgramme ONLY for facilitators that havealready completed the basic SFSC facilitatortraining.

Date and time to be confirmed.

Strengthening Families, StrengtheningCommunities Facilitator Training

A 5 day programme training facilitators to teachparenting courses. This is accredited by the REF.

Every day from 28/06/10 to 02/07/10 20109.30am – 4.30pm

Engaging Parents in Learning at Key Stage Two

Explore ideas and resources for promotinglearning at home.

Wednesday 19 May 20101.30pm – 3.45pm

Parent Support - Record Keeping

Explore good practice on keeping records,monitoring and evaluating work with parents.

Wednesday 19 May 2010 9.30am – 11.00amThursday 20 May 2010 4.00pm – 5.30pm

Please choose from one of the above sessions.

Working with Parents Seminar

Working with Fathers

Monday 24 May 20101.00pm – 3.15pm

Sandwiches and fruit will be available from12.45. The seminar will take place at the PDC,English Street. Places for this seminar must bebooked.

Supporting Parents and the Wider Communityto Access Extended Services

Explore the range of services available toparents/carers and the wider community in theirschool/setting, locality and beyond.

Thursday 24 June 20109.00am – 12.00pm

For more information about the coursesavailable or to book a place, contact:Husna Begum 020 7364 [email protected]

All courses will take place at the PDC unlessstated otherwise.

All places will be confirmed 1 week before thecourse/session. Late or no notice ofcancellation may result in a charge to yourschool or setting.

parents matter…4 issue22|april2010 parentsmatternewsletter supporting children’s learningathome...

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