What is a Parenting Support Adviser Programme?
The aim of the Parent Support Adviser (PSA) programme is to assist schools in tackling under-achievement by working with parents and their families to enable vulnerable pupils to overcome barriers to their learning.
How does this work?
The PSA service offers early intervention, preventative support, guidance and advice to improve outcomes for children and young people and families within a school context. The service is universal in that it is accessible by all schools, yet targeted towards the more vulnerable families.
South Gloucestershire schools have formed partnerships with the voluntary and community sectors to develop a targeted Parent Support Adviser service for vulnerable families across the Local Authority.
Barnardo’s and the Southern Brooks Community Partnership have been commissioned by 15 'school families' to deliver the service; each 'school family' has a designated Adviser who works closely with schools in his or her 'family to help parents in need with a wide range of family issues.
Core duties and responsibilities of the PSA:
- Parenting support, the provision of information, advice and guidance – supporting parents by helping them improve their parenting skills
- Parental engagement with their child’s learning – working with parents in a school context, supporting and building their engagement with their child’s learning
- School attendance, behaviour and exclusions – identifying with parents the reasons for their children’s non-attendance and poor behaviour, and working with parents to achieve full attendance, foster positive attitudes to learning and reduce the risk of exclusion