Susie DavisDirector of Student Support

SEAL 4 Parents

SEAL 4 Parents

Engaging Parents to Raise Achievement, Improve Behaviour and Improve Attendance Pilot (DfES funded) Targeted Resource written to enhance parents understanding of happens in school, and for parents to explore their own SEAL

Parent and student profiles…

Family 1Twin Year 10 girlsHistory of exclusion, verbal abuse, rude, PSPSENPoor parentingOne passive parent- one aggressiveEverything is our fault!Picking and choosing which staff to talk toThreatening to move schools frequently

Parent and Student Profile…

Family 2 Single parent Poor attendance for Year 10 daughter for 2 years Mother colluded with absence, passed her own school issues on through her daughterBlamed school- didn’t try to be part of a solution

Family 3Inconsistent parentingYear 9 male- PSP, exclusions, PDB, managed move programme

Parent and Student Profile…

Investment of time

•Phone calls•Home visits•Informal invitations•Follow-up calls after sessions•Lots of persuasion! •Early evening sessions with a buffet provided

Getting them to come…

Creating a safe learning environment for parents

• Nice bright and comfortable space• Refreshments on arrival• Music playing on arrival• Positive engagement- lots of smiles!• No death by PowerPoint • Humorous, engaging, opportunities to talk and share experiences

Getting the details right…

It’s not a traditional parenting programme!

It is about parents understanding and developing their own emotional literacy skills, which in turn, help them to model and develop appropriate skills and attitudes in their child.

It’s all about getting in touch with yourself- how do I feel? Why do I feel that way? What can I do about it? How does my behaviour impact on my child?

Learn it, try it, practice it!

What makes SEAL 4 Parents different?

8 Sessions:

1. What is SEAL and what does it have to do with me?2. Understanding the teenage brain- an entertainment system that

isn’t wired up right!3. Developing self-awareness and high self-esteem4. Talking to your teenager- good and bad communication5. Assertive parenting- the effective way to parent6. Emotions: recognising and managing them7. Alcohol and Drugs- what, why and how?8. Getting motivated, feeling optimistic and bouncing back- how do

you motivate your teen?

SEAL 4 Parents session guide

The challenge- Transferring learning and skills taught in school into the home contextSession 1:Breaking down barriersIce breaker games- “school bus stop” and "what on earth does this mean?”What exactly is SEAL?What does it have to do with me?Rate my own SEAL- this has to be the starting point!Every session started with an “emotions check-in" and every session has a parent homework task!

SEAL 4 Parents programme detail…

Programme session outline… Session 2

Understanding the teenage brainIt’s like an entertainment system that isn’t wired up right!

•What are typical teenage behaviours and how do they make us feel?•Developing understanding about the changes in the brain and how they affect behaviour•Improving awareness of factors that affect behaviour- sleep, nutrition and relationships

Session 3…Self- aware and high- esteem

What are the conditions that children need to grow and flourish?

•What is self-esteem and how can I positively affect it?•Multiple Intelligence profiling for parents and students•What every child wants their parent to know

Session 4…Talking to your teenagerThe art of good communication

• The power of being listened to•What gets in the way of good communication?

Exploring passive, aggressive and assertive responses.

What affects their ability to be assertive?

Session 5…. Assertive parenting

“The truth is that saying no to a child is a lot harder than saying yes. Like politicians in the run-up to an election, most parents can’t face the dip in the polls that enforcing a bedtime or denying a Nintendo Wii will bring. We have stopped seeing ourselves as the arbiter of our children’s moral development and just want to be their friend, as being a friend is a whole lot easier than being a parent”

“The idea that some parents think of themselves as a friend to their child more than their parent is insidious,” he said. “I’ve got a 14-year-old and what he needs is for me to be his father, not his mate. When we confuse those roles, parents lose their authority”

What affects the way that they parent? Their own experiences of being parented?

No Means no! The Times article

Session 6…Emotions: recognising and managing them!

• What makes us mad and how do we behave when we are?•Recognising our triggers, understanding physiological changes and chilling out

Session 7….Alcohol and Drugs

True and false drugs and alcohol quizShort and long term affects of drinking and using drugsSigns and symptomsWhy do they do it?

Session 8….Getting motivated, feeling optimistic and bouncing back!

•What motivates your teen?•Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators•Programme review

Outcomes for the parents and students….

100% positive feedback from parents

•Every parent strongly recommended the programme•Every parent felt they benefited from attending the programme•Every parent rated the programme as engaging

“ I’ve learnt not to react

in a negative

way”

“ To talk more and

understand better”

“ A conscious

effort to manage my

own feelings”

One change I have made is…•Being more of a parent than a friend•Not to keep reacting in a negative way•A conscious effort to manage my own feelings and avoid conflict•To talk more and understand better•Being more assertive and establishing consequence

“ I have liked getting to know the

school staff better”

“It’s so helpful to hear how valued my

child is”

“ More courses like

this should be held”

End of session celebration

Pictures here

Evaluating the programme….

Baseline data

•Attendance•Behaviour data•Attainment data•Parent session and full programme evaluations•PASS data

Student outcomes: Attendance

One student improved from 60% to 88% ( School Attendance Procedures halted)

Two students increased attendance to 100%

One student with attendance difficulties improved his attendance from 76% to 86%

One student improved from 94% to 97.5%

Student outcomes: Behaviour

The twinsBoth off PSP, down Inclusion Phases, no further exclusions- maintained improvementYear 9 boyOff managed move programme- settled well into KS4Other successesInclusion phases reduced for other students

Student outcomes

PASS

Increased scores in many areasPupil AAttitudes to Attendance 13.6 increased to 26.6General work ethic 52 increased to 86.1Pupil BLearner Confidence 19.8 increased to 73.1Response to curriculum 11.5 increased to 35.6Pupil CLearner Confidence 18.4 increased to 78.8Attitude to attendance 6.7 increased to 61.9

Student outcomes

AttainmentPupil AScience fail to passMusic grade D to BCitizenship grade D to B

Pupil EMaths 5b to 6CScience 4b to 5C

Student HMaths 5a to 6C

What did we get out of this?

Remembered how scary Secondary School was for some parents

Recognised how the language of education can be a negative factor when trying to engage parents

Established very positive relationships with key parents

Students realised that we were working in partnership- it really did make a difference!

Any questions?