"The availability,
accessibility and flexibility of services are key components in
meeting the needs of children and families." |
From practice CLD staff in home-school partnership programmes had significantly improved learners’ confidence and their ability to engage in learning. This increase in confidence had, for example, led a small number of individual parents to assist in the development of the school parent council in their local primary school. Others were currently training to be classroom assistants with a view to gaining future employment. As a result of participation in the programme, learners were now starting college and engaging in voluntary activity. |
There are a number of ways that staff from local authorities and community planning partners can work with children and families to develop services that meet needs. In best practice, there is a willingness to engage and listen to the voices of children, young people, families and communities. This willingness needs to happen at strategic levels and allow service users to be involved in the development and design of services. It is important to keep to the principle that it is the child who should be at the centre of the service and to consider and reflect upon the nature and experience of child-centred services from the child’s point of view.
A willingness to listen to and engage with distinct groups of service users can lead to the development of new, more tailored services to meet needs and aspirations in line with GIRFEC principles. The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 has considerable potential to increase family involvement in learning in schools and in other family learning programmes.
Publication reference The Scottish Schools
(Parental Involvement) Act 2006 |
The examples highlighted in this section show a range of practice where service providers engage with their users and their local community to innovate and develop new services. The continuing challenge is to learn from these innovations and spread practice across professional groupings and community planning partnerships.
Points for reflection
|
Involving parents in the
design and development of services CASE STUDY 12 |
The establishment of Esslemont School is an example of partnership working across professional boundaries, agencies and disciplines. It involved the Early Years Forum, the Autism Network and the community-based adult learning group among others. The area has an above average number of children on the autistic spectrum and the school was developed in response to the need identified by parents for local services.
Partnership working was essential in collating and analysing information to identify need and support the joint resourcing of provision at Esslemont School. This included pinpointing a suitable venue, working together on fund raising for equipment and commissioning and supervising the refurbishment and adaptation of the building. The development also led to professional development to enhance staff’s skills for this highly specialised area of work.
Daisy Drop In
community shop CASE STUDY 13 |
Many parents had been unaware of the services available to them in the Craigshill area and identified the need for a central information point. Parents were invited to ‘dream something better’ for the community and then write their thoughts on a large duvet cover. A shop unit in the local Craigshill shopping centre was rented and a launch event of the Daisy Drop In took place. Over 400 local people, on the mailing list for locality planning, were invited. The appearance of an actor from a well known children’s television programme helped to draw a large crowd. The Daisy Drop In has since developed in partnership between parents and services in the Craigshill area. It is staffed by a coordinator and provides a central location where parents and children can attend activities and access information on all services relating to early years work in Craigshill. Parents who engage in this service have a stronger sense of community as a result.
More positive outcomes for the neighbourhood of Craigshill include the increased confidence of local people to engage with service providers and to manage services themselves. This new confidence is further evidenced by the creation of a community council for the area, something which had never existed before. The West Lothian Children’s services Management Group Early Years plan has also been heavily influenced by the Craigshill locality planning process.
Coffee Groups at
Goodlyburn Integrated School CASE STUDY 14 |
The Coffee Groups at Goodlyburn Integrated School offered parents a well designed, progressive and supportive structure to facilitate their return to learning. The groups used personal learning plans and negotiated learning content to suit learners’ needs. These projects provided learners with appropriate challenge. For example, in the Coffee Plus group, learners were undertaking peer review of their learning and were developing curriculum vitae in preparation for employment. While some parents were moving into employment opportunities in education as classroom assistants, others were finding employment in the wider labour market.