Building Stronger School Communities
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December 2007 |
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I hope that you all had a peaceful Christmas and feel refreshed, ready to bounce back at the start of this new year? I shall start the new year with good news - I have finally located a full scale map. Not only did I manage to secure a map from Hampshire Constabulary; but on the very same day Fareham Borough Council also supplied me with a map of the entire Fareham District. So much to the entertainment of the staff at Fareham Community Action I set to work on the floor with my sticky coloured labels and elastic bands to show exactly where all of the activities for children and young people are taking place. But of course it is never that easy! Firstly the map contained the key buildings such as schools, the Leisure Centre, Police and Fire stations to name but a few; but it failed to show those 'small' (!) but equally useful buildings such as churches, scout huts or community buildings. These understandably are of paramount importance when mapping provision as many activities for young people occur on such sites. Therefore in some instances it has been pure guesswork if I had put the sticky label in the correct spot. Secondly the 'coloured elastic band method' I had hoped to utilise to show a visual display between the schools and the breakfast and after-school clubs they linked too was most ineffective. At one point elastic bands could be seen ricocheting all over the office as I failed to find an effective method to secure the ends. According to 'The New Scientist' this elastic band recoil is known as 'dynamic buckling instability' (whoever carries out this research into elastic bands?) So in a creative moment of genius (and thriftiness) I made a quick trip to Poundland to purchase a sewing kit - and Voila - all of the out of school provision is now clearly displayed by coloured threads. And finally - schools/organisations/providers have this terrible habit of changing their provision just when I've allocated a pretty little coloured label and listed what activity is available. It's not than I'm turning into a 'Moaning Minnie' I hope you realise - as I can fully understand the need for diversity and change (hence one of the reasons I applied to be an extended services coordinator); but by golly - it does make my map look untidy!
The best part of my month has been getting away from the office and meeting more people who are providing a front-line service to the children and young people in East Fareham. A particular thank you goes to the young people at X-Perience who managed to rope me in for 'X-Factor Karaoke' at their Christmas party! Coming from an educational background I realise that very few people take the trouble to say "Well Done" when things are going well (although quick to criticise when things perhaps don't go so well!) From my observation, the schools, practitioners and providers I've met have displayed that they truly care about the youngsters in Fareham and wish to create the best environment for them to grow, to learn and develop into responsible and effective citizens of the future. So may I take this opportunity to say "Well Done" Which leads me nicely onto a lovely informal discussion I had regarding parenting with a local representative from the County Parent Development Team. As children are not born with an instruction manual (no jokes about men not reading it please), and parenting can be a huge responsibility, I hope to set up more accessible parenting programmes in the East Fareham area by September 2008. I sought some advise on the most effective way to proceed. Following this discussion I then conducted some additional research into parenting and not only did I find reams of information available (not all of it useful I might add) but was also interested to discover that on the 21st November 2007 there was a launch of the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners. There is news surrounding this launch on the Every Child Matters web site, and more detailed information available at NAPP. I felt that the stakeholders may find the following two reports of interest (click on the following links to download the reports in pdf format) with recent data - so I've provided a direct link for you below: What is clear from my recent research is that we need to remove the stigma of seeking support and help regarding parenting. This was displayed in the speech given by Beverly Hughes (Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families) at the launch of of the NAPP:
"There is a clamour from parents for support with their children, and we want them to know that at some stage while their children are growing up it will be perfectly natural to ask for help". I have been sent dates in the spring of some practitioners training courses CPCK and SPOT; therefore if anyone is interested in attending or can think of a suitable facilitator they would like to nominate (each course take two days), then please contact me for more details via my e-mail address. Hopefully you have also received details regarding the Starting Schools Project (also see item 5 in the SureStart Winter 07 Newsletter). This is not simply for those parents and children first entering school; but it also covers the transition from Years 6 - 7. I have been asked by the County Parent Development Team to submit two named representatives from our two clusters to attend the two day training on 28th & 29th February. These trained facilitators will then feedback their training to other schools in the cluster. Therefore, please would you to submit any suggestions for suitable representatives before the deadline date of 15th January 2008. And finally...another important date for your diary: The Extended Services Management Team felt that it would be beneficial to arrange the following: The Fareham East Extended Services Conference I have been given a preliminary date of Monday 31st March 2008. When I have confirmed the date and venue, I shall send further details - but I would urge as many people from a wide range of services as possible to attend, as this will be an excellent opportunity to share ideas and formulate a joint action plan without the formalities associated with meetings. Please put the date in your diary! As I started December's Blog with elastic bands - so I shall end with elastic bands. Until next month's news...enjoy the video. |
