SHARING IS CARING
HAVING a child with severe and complex learning needs can be incredibly tough and lonely for many families.
The staff at Fairview School were awarded the Parent and Family Engagement Award for the help and support they provide in these challenging circumstances.
Head teacher Leigh Verdot said: “It can be very lonely for our families, which can lead to social exclusion and poor mental health, which then affects our pupils.
“We have always recognised the importance of parents being involved. The use of sharing videos has been beneficial to give parents confidence in trying out new skills at home.
“We ask parents’ opinions on a regular basis and include them in every initiative. Parents feed into improvement plans, funding bids, and the education of their children.”
As children are delivered by car and taxi, the special school in Perth & Kinross has no school gates where parents and carers can get to know each other and build friendships and support networks.
Covid families they “Bringing have presented couldn’t really together missed additional go into parents the the barriers opportunities school. is vital as and of being in school,” Leigh added.
The school has raised funds to set up a social and support groups for families, including a book club and a dads’ group
Pupils isolating at home are given links to join online so they still feel part of the class, and this allows parents to join in too. During lockdown, weekly assemblies were shared with all families.
“Being approachable and having a
‘virtual’ open door means parents are not intimidated to ask for help, and they do,” said Leigh.
“The use of online forms to gauge opinion has been successful and since going back to face-to face meetings, we have continued to offer the online way as an option so that geography is not an issue.
“We also arrange translators whenever required and have raised enough money to buy an iPad for every pupil. This award is for the school, the community and parents. It’s a team effort.”