What was the situation?
As a single parent of two children, times were hard for Henry’s mum Libby. The family were living in a damp and mouldy house in need of repair, and Libby had money worries that were made worse by the cost of living crisis. Because of the difficult home situation, the family were disengaged from school and were not in a good routine. Henry had attachment issues and would often refuse to go to school, something Libby was struggling to cope with.
How did School-Home Support help?
School-Home Support Katie began by building a relationship with the family, meeting with Henry and Libby weekly to gather a picture of the challenges they were facing at home. From this, Katie developed a program of support to help the family overcome them.
In particular, Katie focused on Henry’s health and wellbeing, working with Libby to set targets and goals to achieve each week. Katie offered a listening ear, taking the time to understand the challenges going on at home that may affect Henry’s attachment issues.
To ease some of Libby’s immediate worries, Katie made a referral to an organisation that could help her with emergency food parcels. Katie arranged and attended a meeting with a housing officer on Libby’s behalf. This helped her to get improvements made in her home and improve the family’s living conditions. Using the School-Home Support Uniform Fund, Katie was also able to purchase a new uniform for both children.
Through a referral to Family Holiday Charity, the family were able to go away together for the first time. Libby told Katie that the holiday was a dream come true.
As a result of the interventions from Katie, Henry now comes to school happier, calmer and ready to learn and has grown in confidence. His attendance has increased from 61% to 97%.
Katie’s whole family support approach has made a big difference to the family. Libby is in regular contact with Katie and their trusting relationship has improved her interactions with the school. The whole family now feel supported, and long term strategies have been put in place to continue building on the significant progress they have already made.