Family School Partnership Award (FSPA)

The Family School Partnership Award supports schools to review their whole school approach to working with families in the widest sense, identify areas where they would like to see positive change and put in place actions to effect this change. The award, which includes a comprehensive training and support package is delivered by the school partnerships and enrichment team.

The Family Partnership Model

The Family Partnership Model, developed in Ealing, aligns the different aspects of schools’ work with parents and families under 5 key themes, with an overarching theme of monitoring and evaluation cutting across all areas:

Theme 1: Fostering effective family-school partnerships

Theme 2: Communicating and consulting effectively

Theme 3: Enabling parental engagement in learning

Theme 4: Empowering parents and carers to develop their own skills

Theme 5: Supporting successful transitions

The process supports schools to review their provision from the view point of senior leaders, teaching staff, support staff, governors and parents.

Evidence of impact

To date over 65 schools across the boroughs of Ealing, Harrow and Brent have engaged with the award and the impact on schools, families and pupils has been very positive with schools demonstrating improved outcomes for pupils in many areas.

Find out more in the latest Celebration booklet.

Support for schools

By taking part in the award schools get access to:

• Online surveys for staff, governors and parents
• Analysis of data by group and comparison with borough wide results
• Support to develop an action plan which address school priorities
• Access to the FSPA toolkit that includes practical resources, templates and advice for addressing areas for development
• Two planning and review workshops for staff leading the award
• Bespoke training courses on common areas for development, e.g. building positive relationships with parents.
• Awards ceremony for senior leaders and governors to recognise achievement.

Feedback from schools

Schools that have completed the award told us:

“I would thoroughly recommend to other schools participating in the FSPA process. It is extremely well structured and supported and can be hugely beneficial to both the school and parents."

“We would definitely tell other schools how positive the process has been; it has provided opportunities to meet with staff from other schools and discuss the similarities in our struggles with parental engagement and effective ways they have been tackled”.

Timescales and cost

The award, including all training and resources plus one years support from the school partnerships and enrichment team costs £500. The process of working towards the award runs across an academic year. Watch out for the FSPA launch event and sign up in the Summer term.

Contact

Please contact the school partnerships and enrichment team for further information or to sign up.

Libby Giarraputo, school partnerships coordinator

• Telephone: 020 8825 5465
• Email: lgiarraputo@ealing.gov.uk