3COMPONENT Working with parents and carersCOMPONENT

Acknowledgement of Country

I would like to acknowledge the traditional

custodians of this land and pay my respects to

Elders past, present and future, for they hold the

memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes

of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

To better understand: – the KidsMatter Primary framework and the importance of working with parents and carers

– how to build effective collaborative working relationships with parents and carers

– how school staff can provide appropriate support for parents and carers

– how school staff can provide parents and carers

opportunities for increased connection. To critically assess our school’s practices in

working with parents and carers and begin planning for improvement.

Professional learning goals 3COMPONENT

What is KidsMatter Primary?

A national whole-school approach to mental

health and wellbeing that aims to contribute to:

Encourage ALL staff to have a voice in contributing to planning for each component

KidsMatter Primary professional learning

Increase awareness and

understanding of eachof the four components

The KidsMatter Primary framework

The best interests of children are paramount.

Respectful relationships are foundational.

Diversity is respected and valued.

Parents and carers are recognised as the most important people in children’s lives.

Parents and teachers support children best by working together.

Students need to be active participants.

Schools, health and community agencies work together with families.

The guiding principles

The four components of KidsMatter Primary

KidsMatter model for mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention (PPEI) in schools

Whole-school community, staff, students, parents and carers, health and community agencies

All students (and their parents and carers)

Students experiencingmental healthdifficulties (20-30% of students) and the 3-12% of students with mental health disorders, and their parents and carers

Adapted from World Health Organization (1994)

Works with the whole community and provides

support and information to staff, parents and carers

Through the curriculum,creates opportunities to practise skills and

engages parents and carers

Supports children in school and develops clear

processes and referral pathways (by working

with parents and carers and health and

community agencies)

Risk and protective factors for children’s mental health

Risk factors – increase the chances of children developing mental health difficulties (for example, childhood adversities).

Protective factors – are associated with good outcomes for children and can protect them in circumstances where they are exposed to risk.

(adapted from Commonwealth Dept of Health and Aged Care, 2000 and Spence, 1996)

Risk and protective factors for children’s mental health

Key outcomes for pilot schools

% increase in school staff and/or parents and carers who ‘strongly agreed’ with questionnaire statements from the start to the end of pilot.

Session 1: Collaborative working relationships with parents and carers

Session 2: Support for parenting

Session 3: Parent and carer support networks

An outline of what’s to come

3COMPONENT Session 1

Collaborative working relationships with parents and carers

Parent and carer perspectives

Activity

Form small groups. Select a volunteer who has a close,

personal relationship with a child. They tell the others in the group

about the child.

Working together with parents

Building positive relationships between parents and carers and school staff benefits children’s mental health and their learning capacity.

Making parenting information more accessible helps families care for their children and promotes effective parenting practices.

Schools + families + communities

Working with parents and carers

Discussion

Fear?

Relief?

Excitement?

Resistance?

When you see that ‘Working with parents and carers’ is a component of KidsMatter Primary, what comes to mind?

Working with parents and carers

Discussion

KidsMatter Primary schools aim to:

encourage staff to establish cooperative, collaborative relationships with families

actively promote parenting information and support

provide opportunities for families to develop support networks witheach other.

What is your school already doingin these areas?

Collaborate with parents and carers?

MacDonald, 2005, pp. 2-3

MacDonald, 2005, pp. 2-3

Collaborate with parents and carers?

Relationship bank

Relationships are built by small, regular deposits.

Deposits are an investment in the relationship

(they can also help manage future difficulties).

Regular contact is best built and maintained systematically.

Investing in the relationship

Activity

1. Positive connections

What sort of things do parents and carers like hearing from school staff?

How can these be communicated?

Activity

2. Regular connections

How can school staff connect regularly with parents and carers?

Investing in the relationship

Relationship building: An example

A systematic approach

(I) interpreter needed(L) literacy difficulties of adults(E) responds best to email contact(F2F) responds best face-to-face contact

Reflection Action

How might these practices make a difference for…

families and students?school staff?

Choose one strategy and plan how you can use it with parents and carersIdeas generated in the activities will be

taken to the Action Team for consideration for school-wide implementation

A collaborative approach between school staff and parents and carers is more likely to yield sustained improvements in children’s mental health and academic achievement.

Clarifying roles – this component builds upon what schools are already doing.

Relationships are best built by small, regular investments and maintained in a systematic way throughout the school.

Summary

3COMPONENT

Support for parenting

Session 2

Key messages from last session

A collaborative approach between school staff and parents and carers is more likely to yield sustained improvements in children’s mental health and academic achievement.

Clarifying roles – this component builds upon what schools are already doing.

Relationships are best built by small, regular investments and maintained in a systematic way throughout the school.

Common concerns

Discussion

What are some common concerns that parents and carers bring to school staff?

Two approaches

After GPs, teachers are the professionals most frequently consulted by parents and carers regarding children’s emotional or behavioural problems

Parenting resources

Parenting resources spectrum

Activity

1. What’s available?

Parenting resources

Component 3 information sheets, including topics:

– Children’s social development

– Children’s development: understanding emotions

– Children’s development: thinking and learning

– Effective discipline

– Family relationships

Enewsletters

www.kidsmatter.edu.au

Kidsmatter Primary supporting resources

Activity

2. How can we distribute the resources?

Parenting resources

How other KidsMatter Primary schools have provided access to parenting information

School newsletters

Pamphlet holders/mobile trolley

A resource library

Display boards

Leaflets in enrolment packs

In-transition programs

Through designated staff, parent or carer representatives

Responding to parent and carer requests for information

Discussion

You are asked for advice about family issues and/or the child’s behaviour at home.

How do you currently respond?

Responding to requests for information

The SIB model in action: A role-play activity

Activity

Summary

Teachers are the second most consulted profession by parents and carers about their children’s mental health (GPs are number one).

By helping parents and carers access information, schools can assist parenting practices and  enhance the mental health of children.

The S-I-B model provides a framework for communicating with parents and carers.

3COMPONENT

Parent and carer support networks

Session 3

Key messages from last session

Teachers are the second most consulted profession by parents and carers about their children’s mental health (GPs are number one).

By helping parents and carers access information, schools can assist parenting practices and  enhance the mental health of children.

The SIB model provides a framework for communicating with parents and carers.

Schools can provide a community hub for parents and carers by:

providing opportunities to build supportive relationships

promoting community resources.

Family and community support networks

What the research tells us

One in four parents and carers reports low levels of social support.

Feeling connected to a community helps parents and carers to cope better.

Schools are a community hub – connecting parents together can increase their social support which is a protective factor for children’s mental health.

Data from Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Connecting parents and carers with each other

Activity

Community resources

Schools can help parents and carers to link with relevant services in the community.

Community agencies can support families to address risk factors which will benefit children’s mental health.

Community agencies sometimes have stronger connections with families the school is finding hard to engage.

Community resources

Activity

Summary

Providing opportunities for parents and carers to develop support networks enhances social connection – a protective factor for mental health.

It is important that networking opportunities meet the different needs of parents and carers.

Where to from here?

Discussion

What’s in the pipeline?

What more do we need to find out?

What local organisations do we need to make contact with?

How can we involve them with our planning?

Is there further professional development available for staff?

Schools working together with parents and carers is beneficial for children’s mental health and wellbeing.

Relationships are best built by regular investments and maintained systematically.

By linking parents to information, schools can assist parenting practices and enhance the mental health of children.

Schools can assist parents and carers by helping them to connect with each other and resources in the community.

A quick review of Component 3professional learning

Improvements to student mental health:

– Increased positive mental health.

– Reduced mental health difficulties.

– Students experiencing mental health difficulties showed significant improvements in their mental health.

14% more teachers strongly agreed that KidsMatter Primary led to improvements in students’ schoolwork.

Evaluation outcomes

Component 3: Evaluation outcomes

KidsMatter Primary:– facilitated placement of mental health as an issue onto school’s agenda

– provided a common language for school communities

– had an impact on school culture, facilitating the raising of issues relating to mental health and child development

– assisted parents’ understanding of their child.