Working with fathers

 

• Try to find out who the single dads are and make sure they feel supported. Involved fathers in meetings and parents evening.
• We run a significant males and children outing to the beach. We have a barbeque where the dads argued about who was going to cook the sausages, and a sandcastle and rounders competitions where the dads were more competitive than their children. It was a successful day where dads with little contact with their children came along.
• This year we are holding a 'build a land yacht' race and lunch day for significant males and children. Katie O'Brien, PSA Plympton St Maurice Primary School
• Last year I started a Dads’ Breakfast on World Book Day. The school invited parents in to read stories but very few dads took part and I wanted to change this. By targeting dads and giving plenty of notice we got 72 involved last year (mainly dads but also granddads and uncles). This year over 160 came! They share a breakfast with the children and then read a story. We asked them to stay till 10 am so they can plan their time commitment.  Dads’ Breakfast has helped to engage some hard-to-reach families. One example is a little boy with poor attendance. I pick him up about 3 days a week to bring him to school. Mum is inadequate and family life is chaotic – without PSA involvement he would not attend. There is a lovely, lovely dad but so much is going on in his life…But I persuaded him to come to the Dads’ Breakfast and the little boy was thrilled. The thing is the Dads’ breakfast is non-judgemental with no pressure so dads like this one feel they can come.   

• We also had children from the local Indian take-away where the parents didn’t engage with the school at all. Rather than criticising the parents, I took the approach of going to the take-away and saying ‘I need some help’ and got the dad to come into school and run a whole day with the children on Indian cooking. He was very nervous but loved it and offered to come again.

  Julie Mayo, PSA, The Glebe Infants School, North Somerset.

 

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