Management Information Sheet
Parent Support Advisers
In MI 11/11, schools were given example employment costs for the role of a Parent Support Adviser and details of case studies that outlined the differences that PSAs have made by working collaboratively across schools with children and their families in communities. At that time, the PSA grade was still subject to a Modern Reward Strategy appeal process.
Following the recent outcome of this MRS appeal process the grade of the Parent Support Adviser job has increased from Scale E to Scale F. The MRS team have identified and emailed headteachers a list of employees at their school matched to the Parent Support Adviser job. This needs to be validated by headteachers before any changes to employees' salaries can be made. If your school has responded to the MRS team's request for information the changes will be made in May or June payroll. If your school has not responded please do so by 13 May to mrs@norfolk.gov.uk so these can be processed in time for June payroll.
MI 99/11 referred to the evaluation report on 'The impact of parenting and family support strategies on children and young people's outcomes' which refers to the invaluable work of parent support advisers, see in particular references on pages 41, 55 and 71 - http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/families/effectivesupport/files/effective_support_full_knowledge_review.pdf
This report published in March 2011, shows that the most commonly reported needs of parents and carers are advice and emotional support, which may be met without referral to specialist services. School based programmes aimed at parents and carers have been shown to improve child behaviour, educational outcomes and family relationships. Effective school-based services offer a one-to-one and face-to-face approach to parents, provide a range of services in one location, and maintain the long term effects of the intervention.
Under the heading 'School Collaboration' on page 55, the report states:
"Harris and Goodall (2008) noted that schools can be daunting for some parents. Secondary schools are complex organisations, with many teachers and staff whom parents must interact with, which can act as a deterrent for some parents. Strategies that have single points of contact for parents can makes things easier when parents feel intimidated. For example, the Parent Support Adviser programme offered a range of one-to-one support options for parents of students with behavioural, emotional or social difficulties. Part of the role of the parent support adviser was to 'develop parent awareness and a sense of trust' (Lindsay et al 2009). Parent support advisers were involved in tasks such as contacting parents when their child was absent, developing the extended schools agenda around adult and community learning, and identifying families who needed further support. The evaluation of the programme found that parent support advisers were accessible because they were based in schools, and offered privacy and respect that parents valued (Lindsay et al 2009). This point is further emphasised in a study of disabled parents, which found that good leadership in schools was integral in shaping an inclusive school ethos and promoting positive attitudes, which, in turn, encouraged parents to become more involved in their child's learning (Brunner et al 2009)."
Cluster chairs currently hold the overall cluster funding for Extended Schools, PSAs and the Disadvantage Subsidy for 2011/12 and clusters/schools have been making decisions on how best to use this funding. Please note that the DfE are conducting the first stage of a two-part consultation on the future of school funding beyond 2011/12 and this is live on their website until Wednesday 25th May.
If you have a query or would like further advice on the above, please contact Paul Hoey on 01603 223824, paul hoey@norfolk.gov.uk, or Virginia Wakely on 01603 638092, virginia.wakely@norfolk.gov.uk, or Bev Bird on 01603 303328, beverley.bird@norfolk.gov.uk.
Following the recent outcome of this MRS appeal process the grade of the Parent Support Adviser job has increased from Scale E to Scale F. The MRS team have identified and emailed headteachers a list of employees at their school matched to the Parent Support Adviser job. This needs to be validated by headteachers before any changes to employees' salaries can be made. If your school has responded to the MRS team's request for information the changes will be made in May or June payroll. If your school has not responded please do so by 13 May to mrs@norfolk.gov.uk so these can be processed in time for June payroll.
MI 99/11 referred to the evaluation report on 'The impact of parenting and family support strategies on children and young people's outcomes' which refers to the invaluable work of parent support advisers, see in particular references on pages 41, 55 and 71 - http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/families/effectivesupport/files/effective_support_full_knowledge_review.pdf
This report published in March 2011, shows that the most commonly reported needs of parents and carers are advice and emotional support, which may be met without referral to specialist services. School based programmes aimed at parents and carers have been shown to improve child behaviour, educational outcomes and family relationships. Effective school-based services offer a one-to-one and face-to-face approach to parents, provide a range of services in one location, and maintain the long term effects of the intervention.
Under the heading 'School Collaboration' on page 55, the report states:
"Harris and Goodall (2008) noted that schools can be daunting for some parents. Secondary schools are complex organisations, with many teachers and staff whom parents must interact with, which can act as a deterrent for some parents. Strategies that have single points of contact for parents can makes things easier when parents feel intimidated. For example, the Parent Support Adviser programme offered a range of one-to-one support options for parents of students with behavioural, emotional or social difficulties. Part of the role of the parent support adviser was to 'develop parent awareness and a sense of trust' (Lindsay et al 2009). Parent support advisers were involved in tasks such as contacting parents when their child was absent, developing the extended schools agenda around adult and community learning, and identifying families who needed further support. The evaluation of the programme found that parent support advisers were accessible because they were based in schools, and offered privacy and respect that parents valued (Lindsay et al 2009). This point is further emphasised in a study of disabled parents, which found that good leadership in schools was integral in shaping an inclusive school ethos and promoting positive attitudes, which, in turn, encouraged parents to become more involved in their child's learning (Brunner et al 2009)."
Cluster chairs currently hold the overall cluster funding for Extended Schools, PSAs and the Disadvantage Subsidy for 2011/12 and clusters/schools have been making decisions on how best to use this funding. Please note that the DfE are conducting the first stage of a two-part consultation on the future of school funding beyond 2011/12 and this is live on their website until Wednesday 25th May.
If you have a query or would like further advice on the above, please contact Paul Hoey on 01603 223824, paul hoey@norfolk.gov.uk, or Virginia Wakely on 01603 638092, virginia.wakely@norfolk.gov.uk, or Bev Bird on 01603 303328, beverley.bird@norfolk.gov.uk.