Fathers Plus Training transforms schools across Croydon

When the extended services teams at Byron Primary School attended a six month Fathers plus training course; Developing Men-Friendly Organisations, they realised that actively engaging male family members could have a positive effect on the school and its pupils. The school is a single-form-entry primary school on a social housing estate with many lone-parent families. A high proportion of pupils (27 per cent) are eligible for free school meals. The school has a children’s centre on site and offers the full range of ES, including breakfast and after-school clubs, adult learning, parenting support and childcare.

“We were amazed when it became apparent, through the Fathers Plus Training, that we were not as ‘men friendly’ as we thought,” says Sharon Marett- Gregory, ES Manager for the Coulsdon and Woodcote cluster. “Some pupils lack male role models in the home and there are very few at school, so we have planned activities that will encourage fathers to take an active interest in their children’s development.” The ‘bring a family man to school’ day invited male family members to spend the morning at school with their children, taking part in games and family learning activities and having lunch together. Thirty-two men, many of whom had never engaged with the school before, attended the event. Some of the men who do not live with their children particularly welcomed the opportunity to spend time with them in school.

Paul Movel attended the event and has subsequently become actively involved with the school and the parent-teacher association (PTA). He lives apart from his three children and found it difficult to become involved in their schooling.

Paul Movel thinks the project came at just the right time for him and it has helped involve him in his children’s learning.
Twenty-six men continue to be part of the Byron Family Man Group. The group has elected its own coordinator and is running an after-school film club at the school. Four men have joined the PTA. Others volunteer at school events, for example, by helping at the summer and Christmas fairs, coaching the football team and running events during Croydon’s Family Learning Week. The project is being rolled out to other schools in the area.

Taken from: Training and Development Agency case study 2009