Carlton partners collaborate around High-quality Schooling
Through their strong relationships with families at Carlton, Our Place Community Facilitators recently identified an emerging need to provide families with further assistance during remote learning.
This need was particularly prevalent for single parent families who have younger pre-school children requiring care and supervision. Many of these parents have limited English and were having difficulty in comprehending remote learning tasks.
Community Facilitators were aware of a homework club being offered locally by The Church of All Nations. They reached out to the homework club provider to discuss and learn about how this service was being delivered to families during COVID lockdowns and restrictions.
From these discussions, it was identified that the homework club was operating remotely online and were seeking to increase the number of participants, as it had many trained volunteers waiting to be matched with students to support.
Playing our role as the glue, Our Place coordinated the referral processes and discussions between Carlton Primary School, The Church of All Nations and the families.
Currently, more than 15 children have connected with the homework club, with additional families making enquiries to seek support. Families having access to these sessions enables children to receive a minimum one hour per week of one-on-one support with a trained volunteer tutor.
Carlton Primary School have also supported the homework club by sharing learning materials and modules, so that volunteer tutors can plan content that aligns with what the children are currently learning at school.
Feedback from parents has been very positive in relation to the support they have received. This support has relieved a lot of stress within households and has been another way to help ensure that students remain engaged in their education during remote learning.
Due to the many benefits of the homework club and the strong uptake and engagement with this service, the site is exploring post COVID opportunities to have the homework club as an ongoing offering on site, which will be delivered in person, at least one day per week. This offering will also include an opportunity for parents to attend and connect socially with other parents.
High-quality Schooling is one of the five evidenced-based Elements that are central to the Our Place approach. Our Place supports high-quality teaching and learning environments that ensure each child receives the support they achieve and thrive. The key features of this element are:
- Parents engaged in children’s learning, with strengthened belief in the importance of education (linked to aspirations for children)
- Positive school culture and support for student wellbeing
- Strong leadership across the school that raises expectations for children’s learning and development.