Support for families
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Information about the School
Ty Gwyn is part of the Western Learning Federation that works alongside Riverbank and Woodlands school. Ty Gwyn School is a special school in the Cardiff local authority. There are 222 pupils on roll aged 3-19. All pupils are identified as having additional learning needs. The additional learning needs of pupils are varied, around 36% of pupils are autistic and a further 35% have physical and medical difficulties. The remaining pupils have a variety of learning difficulties including profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, moderate and general learning difficulties. In addition, a few pupils have sensory impairments.
There are 29 classes at the schools, one of which is a nursery class. 45.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
32% of pupils have English as an additional language which is considerably above the national average of 6%.
Context and background
The Ty Gwyn Family Centre opened in 2007 to provide a place for parents to access support, form relationships with other parents and access specialist play and activities for their children. This service is also available to any family in the Cardiff area with pre-school children with additional learning needs.
Following feedback, the family centre developed to include parent courses such as ‘The Incredible Years’ and ‘Healthy Eating’ facilitated by the staff.
Parents’ involvement with the family centre can begin through referrals or word of mouth from the time of their birth, they can then access the centre through their child’s educational journey until they leave Ty Gwyn at 19.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
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The family centre offers support to parents to aid them in supporting their children’s learning and wellbeing. What is on offer is flexible and responsive to parent’s needs.
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The Family centre is often a first point of contact for the school and has evolved to meet the needs of all families.
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We provide a safe and confidential environment where parents can drop-in and receive advice, support and guidance.
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We provide opportunities for parents to meet, share experiences. We have developed and facilitate support networks.
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We run themed coffee mornings that focus on topics highlighted by parents such as sleep, finances and managing holidays have been held. Activities such as these focus on identified targets for pupils.
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We have provided courses in English as an additional language. This led to parents becoming involved in other courses that we run such as sewing and healthy eating.
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We demonstrate and run sessions in sensory stories, touch therapy and focused play. As a result, parents have a better understanding of the approaches used by school staff with their child.
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Parents can access an in-house counsellor free of charge. The service is open ended and fully confidential. The school councillor is also available to support and advocate for parents during IDP meetings and medicals.
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Following a successful roll out in classes, the family centre is now using online technology to communicate with parents and to provide information about upcoming events. Parents are able to use the technology to present information in their chose language.
Impact
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Parents have reported that accessing groups and courses at the family centre have helped them to develop skills that they are able to use at home which supports them to cope with their day to day lives. Positively impacting on wellbeing, confidence, and engagement.
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Supporting parents in meetings with other professionals has helped them to become more confident with sharing their voice and to be more transparent about home circumstances. This has resulted in children and families having more bespoke support.
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Counselling has allowed parents to notice and address patterns and behaviours that emerged from childhood experiences, gaining an understanding of themselves and of life in general. Consequently, the wellbeing of the families in general has been positively impacted.
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Several parents began attending the family centre prior to their children starting school and have continued to access it throughout their child’s time at school, regularly attending coffee mornings and accessing a range of the classes on offer.
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The parents who attended the sewing group have developed strong friendships and have formed a group called the Ty Gwyn Stitchers. They message each other regularly keeping in touch and sharing projects.
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Several the parents have now advanced to a sewing group for experienced sewers. Following the success of this group another sewing group has been set up for beginners and there are now two sewing sessions running weekly during term time. Parents reported having increased confidence to carry out their own projects at home.
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The parents who attend EAL classes engage in conversation, grammar, reading and writing. Their English skills continue to improve, and they enjoy coming to the classes. Some parents have gone onto access more advanced English classes in the community, even when they have moved to live in another country.
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The family centre organises an annual cultural trip where parents can enjoy time learning about Welsh culture.
How have you shared your good practice?
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Information on the family and learning centre, what we do and how to contact us is on our school website
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We are involved in steering groups for, community engagement and, an organisation that accredits schools for the work they do with families.
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School to school working with other family support workers.
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Our school governors are aware of our work and have attended the centre.
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We have ensured that our school nurses and other health professionals are aware of the work we do at Ty Gwyn.