PARENT SUPPORT ADVISORS
Supporting parents
Schools
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
is designed to provide a standardised approach to
increasingly
assessing a child’s needs.
Around the country, PSAs are using it to explore
concerns about children’s health, welfare, behaviour
recognise that
and performance.
PSA Simon Milligan works in durham, where all
working in
PSAs have had CAF training.
He said: “To identify the right level of support, you
partnership with parents
need to get to the detail. Asking about the different
issues going on inside a family can be quite intrusive.
often, only PSAs have the sort of relationship that
is key to raising standards
makes that possible.”
PSAs are also helping schools to join up the dots,
and helping pupils to realise
streamlining and maximising their extended services
offer. In Bexhill, East Sussex, for example, a team of
their potential. Graham
PSAs works across a cluster of 11 schools. Each PSA is
attached to an individual school and works closely with
Holley from the Training
teaching and support staff to develop a detailed picture
of pupils’ needs.
At the same time, collaborative working across the
and Development Agency for
PSA team means that the cluster schools can share
resources, and any gaps in provision can be identified
Schools looks at how some
and closed.
For example, a meeting between PSAs and year 7
are using Parent Support
staff from one of the cluster secondaries highlighted
the case of a pupil with Asperger’s Syndrome who
Advisors to help them build
found friendships difficult, and who was worried about
making the transition to secondary school.
The PSA team arranged for weekly visits to the
strong links with families,
new school so he could meet his form tutor and other
teachers, and familiarise himself with the canteen and
and deliver their wider
the independent learning centre. Since the move to
secondary school, the team has continued to support
strategic goals
him with one-to-one visits.
Measuring impact
As the examples highlighted above suggest, the work of
odAy, THERE are nearly 13,000 PSAs is having a wide-ranging impact on children and
T
schools in England that employ a their families. It makes sense, then, to take a holistic
Parent Support Advisor (PSA), or approach to measuring impact. Local authorities have
a similar role, to help schools with adopted a range of approaches, both qualitative and
the parenting support strand of the quantitative, to gathering the data they need to assess
extended services core offer. PSAs’ performance and identify the most effective
Currently, all 152 local authorities approaches.
are either recruiting or employing PSAs, or looking for Cambridgeshire County Council uses a system
ways to sustain their PSA provision. based on the impact evaluation model, developed by the
Research carried out by Warwick University at Training and development Agency for Schools (TdA).
the end of the PSA pilot phase in 2008 suggests that data is entered into a centralised case management
advisors are a critical addition to the team of people system and then analysed monthly and termly to
working in and around schools, playing a vital role produce reports showing where PSAs are working, and
in strengthening channels of communication between what services they are providing.
parents and schools. The reports also identify outcomes – including
More than 90 per cent of parents surveyed rated attendance, improved behaviour, and the percentage
their PSA highly, and the vast majority said they felt of cases resolved without referral to social and health
they had been listened to and understood. Contact services, based on pre-agreed performance indicators.
with a PSA left them feeling more confident and “The relationships I have with the families make it services support officer, a childcare area development The council also gathers “softer” data from feedback
better able to cope with the issues facing them and easier for me to identify pupils in need and make sure worker, and two PSAs. The NESTs’ work on transitional forms to help it understand how PSAs are improving
their families. the money is going where it’s most needed.” parenting, school attendance and the common assessment behaviour and attendance.
As PSA numbers have grown, so too has the scope Attending multi-agency meetings also means Ms framework is contributing directly to Liverpool In Barking and dagenham, PSA interventions are
of the role. Now, as well as engaging with parents and Jones can tailor the support she provides for individual Children’s Services strategic parenting objectives. grouped by type. The local authority then looks at the
working with families to remove barriers to learning, families based on an in-depth knowledge of local Elsewhere, when Stockport Council decided its extent to which each intervention has met its aims.
we are increasingly seeing PSAs working closely with provision. parents needed information on e-safety, it turned of the 1,726 PSA interventions carried out in
other agencies to ensure early intervention, and swift She now has named contacts at a range of local to PSAs to facilitate training sessions and provide September and october 2008, 44 per cent completely
and easy access to targeted and specialist services. providers, including the sports centre and the arts ongoing support. The Local Safeguarding Children met their aims, 51 per cent mostly or partially met their
PSAs are also getting involved in specific initiatives centre, and a deal with a local taxi firm has made it easy Board developed a practical two-hour session, which aims, and five per cent did not meet their aims.
like the extended services disadvantage subsidy, Home to organise and pay for transport. Recently, she drew on PSAs then delivered at parent-friendly times, such as In cases where aims have not been met, staff will
Access, and e-safety. those contacts to help a boy with behavioural problems evenings and first thing in the morning. look closely at the case to see whether any lessons can
who was at risk of being excluded from school. The parents were also given Cds and factsheets be learned.
Supporting early intervention and “He excels at sport, so we’ve used subsidy funding to take away. Feedback from the sessions has been
Looking ahead: sustainability
narrowing the gap
to create opportunities for him to channel his energies extremely positive, and demand continues to grow.
into something positive,” she explained. Barbara Leech, one of the PSAs, said: “Lots of We believe that PSAs are a valuable addition to any
Identifying families at risk early on, and intervening “The impact has been great. His behaviour is parents say they had no idea what was out there, and school or cluster-based workforce. By engaging parents
to give them the help and support they need before dramatically better both at home and at school.” what kinds of things their children could be accessing. – in particular those who have traditionally been hard
problems escalate, makes sense for everyone involved. It’s a real eye-opener for them.” to reach – they are improving pupils’ attainment,
PSAs, with their strong network of contacts made in
Supporting wider priorities
attendance and behaviour, and are supporting the work
the playground and at the school gate, are well placed The ability to develop strong personal relationships
Joining the dots
of teachers.
to provide the kind of personalised, sensitive support with individual families is one of the key strengths PSAs are ideally placed to develop an in-depth, all- We are committed to supporting schools and local
that can make an enormous difference to vulnerable of the PSA role. But PSAs can also be deployed at round picture of a family’s needs. As such, they are able authorities as they explore the most effective ways of
families. a strategic level, supporting the delivery of wider to pull together a package of tailored help and support. sustaining PSA provision in their area.
At the Unity Academy in Middlesbrough, which educational priorities. PSAs are developing strong working relationships The TdA also believes that the PSA role should
serves some of the city’s most deprived social housing Liverpool has created five neighbourhoods, each with agencies and the voluntary and community sector be embedded at a strategic level, with PSA objectives
estates, PSAs are currently working with 34 young with a school-based neighbourhood extended services and, increasingly, taking the lead in signposting and aligned to school improvement, integrated children’s
people and their families. team (NEST). Each NEST is made up of an extended referring parents to appropriate provision. services, and the government’s ambitions in its 21st
Advisors run a benefit advice surgery, a social skills Century Schools White Paper.
group, and coffee mornings where parents can get Robust evaluation is essential, to clearly demonstrate
together informally and chat with others who are in a the value of PSAs’ work both in improving outcomes
similar situation.
Using this kind of “softly softly” approach, PSAs are
reaching out to socially and financially disadvantaged
families and, in many cases, making a big difference to
children’s outcomes.
‘
To identify the right level of support, you
for families and helping schools and local authorities
meet their objectives. SecEd
need to get to the detail. Asking about the
• Graham Holley is chief executive of the Training and
In didcot in oxfordshire, PSAs – known locally different issues going on inside a family can be
Development Agency for Schools.
as home-school link workers – are closely involved
Further information
in supporting the delivering of the extended services
quite intrusive. Often, only PSAs have the sort of
The TdA is offering a package of support, including
disadvantage subsidy, which is designed to ensure funding for PSA training, a series of events where PSAs
that all children can access out-of-hours activities,
regardless of their ability to pay.
relationship that makes that possible
can network and share best practice, and a model that
Home-school link worker, Amanda Jones, said:
’
local authorities and PSAs can use to measure impact.
Visit www.tda.gov.uk/psa
12 SecEd • January 7 2010
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