MARK'S BLOG

I've had a day where my most prominent feeling has been one of gratitude.  I acknowledge every day what an extraordinary privilege it is to be so closely involved in the lives of others through Family Groups and Families Helping Families courses, and all those involved in these groups know how well each of us support and resource each other.  Today has provided a number of examples of just how many people are prepared to go the extra mile to support the work we are doing.

OPM came to visit Family Group at Feltham Community College today on their first 'case study' visit. The two researchers are part of the OPM team conducting a 3-year evaluation of our Family Group project in Feltham.  Both individuals left today expressing their sense of privilege at having had an opportunity to engage in our process.  I am so grateful to the Feltham Group for accommodating the researchers, to the staff for making themselves available to the researchers, and particulary to the two families who gave up an extra hour to be interviewed for case studies.  It's significant to note that all seven families in the Feltham Group voulnteered to be case studies should their help be required.  OPM are coming back to Feltham tomorrow to conduct the same process at Victoria Junior School where all nine families in the Victoria Family Group offered to be case studies.  I have no doubt that all those involved in Family Groups will strongly endorse the intervention.

Elsewhere today, the wider network of School and Family volunteers and supporters continues to strengthen our infrastructure and growth.  I am so grateful to Kate and her Superhighways team for creating this website and for their prompt efficient response to our queries.  I'm grateful to Ana for the extra time she is commiting, interpreting for a Family Group parent in an OPM interview.  I'm grateful to Lori for her willingness to drive the Graduate Group project - which will get a blog entry of its own in due course. 

The continuing growth and demonstrable power of this organisation to bring about positive change is due to the sustained effort of many individuals who see the transformative potential of this work.  Thank you all - and please keep it coming!

I think a lot about change.  More specifically, I think a lot about ways to support change.  In fact, change is at the very root of why The School & Family Works exists.  Our Family Groups offer parents and young people the chance to be supported through a process of change which they drive themselves, at a pace they can handle.

Victoria Eadie, Head at Feltham Community College, is a leader of change and a firm supporter of the Family Group process.  Last week, I took my camera into FCC and interviewed her about the impact of the Family Group at Feltham.  Go to the foot of our Family Group page to view a quick excerpt in which Victoria highlights the long term impact of Family Group on attainment.

Firstly, WELCOME. Thanks for your interest in our work, and please come back. Although keeping this blog absolutely up to date will not always be a priority, everything written here will be directly relevant to our mission.  

A child and parent 'graduated' from one of our Family Groups recently. Six months ago the child was at risk of exclusion due to the utterly incomprehensible behaviour s/he was presenting. Rude, defiant and at times violent behaviour had exhausted the patience of staff. Through relationships established in Family Group, the parent recognised the impact of home circumstances on the child in school. Using local Domestic Abuse services, and with the weekly support of other parents and the Family Group facilitators, the parent was able to draw a line under a long term relationship characterised by violent episodes. The child's profile at school is much improved and a flat-lining attainment level has jumped back towards normal progress. 

The School and Family Works is a change forum. We're after LASTING change and we recognise that, to enable significant shifts, we have to start where people are and be prepared for a long journey. The key characteristic of all SFW work is that it enhances the reflective capacity of all those involved. What does that mean?

• We design or use interventions that provide space for individuals to discover and explore other ways of being.
• We facilitate the sharing of experiences, ideas and solutions between peers, and with professionals.
• We provide opportunities to discover and exercise personal agency.
• We have a relational approach, and respect, trust, equality, commitment are hallmarks all those who have worked with us will validate.
• Safety is essential. When we are unsafe, none of us can think reflectively. 

At The School and Family Works, we recognise that real life is messy.  If we are going to be helpful, a service like ours needs to be reliable.  If we are going to be of service to people who have more than their fair share of mess, then we have to go one step further.  Persistence is another characteristic of our approach that I am confident families will endorse. 

In my limited experience, blogs are full of links.  I want to belong to that big blogging family so feel compelled to offer you a couple! For anyone interested in an outside view on our current work in the Feltham area, please have a look at OPM's Scoping Report for the evaluation they are conducting currently for The Paul Hamlyn Foundation.  Our project is featured from pages 19 - 23. 

Here's another one. The WAVE Report 2005 'Violence and what to do about it' is an excellent and very readable document I first heard about when Mike Taylor, Head of Crime Prevention at New Scotland Yard, introduced it at a Redefining Sanity conference in 2009.  I'm bound to refer to it time and time again - so here it is.