Reflecting on the past year
The Finding Common Ground project started from experience of working with many families as a school leader, coupled with personal experience of being the parent of two adopted children and working with their schools through a whole range of issues.
It is clear to me that, when children are not thriving in school, for whatever reason, the first course of action is for the family and the school to collaborate closely. This has to be based on mutual trust and understanding. School staff want the best for the young people in their care and parents and carers want the best for their children. On that basis they should be able to work together! The systems and structures of schools often act as a barrier and schools, particularly secondary schools, can seem to be inhospitable places for families, particularly if their child is struggling. Early intervention and collaboration avoids the issue escalating, with all the conflict, tension, workload and demands on provision that comes with it.
So the Finding Common Ground project was born as a free service to provide advice to parents and carers so that they can go to meetings and have conversations with their child's school with confidence and understanding. This gives families control and agency which means that the discussions can be constructive and positive rather than confrontational and negative. Families often feel that the school is doing things to them and their child rather than with them.
I teach 3 days a week in a mainstream secondary school and do a range of other interesting independent work, some paid, some not, during the rest of the week, so I have fitted in the advice sessions for Finding Common Ground around everything else. About 60 families have been helped this year. As a result of the project I have also spoken to a number of parent/carer groups (in person and online) and have provided some training for schools, trusts and other agencies.
Some remarkable things!
What has been remarkable has been the way in which a simple half-hour conversation, usually online, has been of benefit to parents and carers. The feedback has been uniformly extremely positive (I ask for feedback from every conversation and also follow up with the families, if they consent, some weeks later to establish impact). The model clearly "works". There are benefits for family well-being and adult mental health alongside the impact on the provision for the young person.
The other remarkable thing has been the very positive professional interest in this early intervention model. I was fortunate to have a post on Special Needs Jungle (thank you!) within the first few months of the project and that generated a lot of interest and follow-up conversations. I have had discussions with a whole range of educational and other professionals, along with several agencies working in the area of special educational needs, attendance and mental health. Early intervention leading to positive collaboration is clearly of benefit.
There are some issues, of course
Funding is clearly an issue! I consider that the advice has to be freely available. If it is funded by the family then it becomes advocacy and sometimes you have to say to families that what they are asking for is just not possible for a school to provide. Also, the people who most need this service are those least able to pay for it. If it is funded by the school then parents and carers may not trust that the advice would be impartial. For the last few months I have started to suggest voluntary donations via the website, but that has been very limited! So this is an area for investigation over the coming months.
Advertising has been interesting. I have been wary about too much promotion due to a lack of capacity (it is just me, fitting it around other things). Most people come to me through referrals or word of mouth, with an increasing number of professionals and agencies signposting the service. I run a Facebook page, avoid X, use LinkedIn a bit. This, like funding, is an area for consideration over the coming months.
Expanding the project
So how does Finding Common Ground expand? The model works and this form of early intervention is beneficial. If it is valuable for the families who have accessed it this year then it is valuable to many, many families across the country. I am not looking to build an empire or make a fortune (!). Finding Common Ground is a good idea which is beneficial. A number of people have approached me over the course of the year asking if they can be involved so the next step is to create a network of interested professionals. Many of us, having worked in the education system, can see the benefit of improved parental collaboration and communication. I can't offer money (at this stage), but if you are interested in using this approach, perhaps in your local area or network or within the communities that you serve, please get in touch. I would provide training in the model that I use and we would use the Finding Common Ground website as a common point of contact, administration and information. Similarly, if you have ideas about promotion, advertising or funding, then I would be very interested to hear from you.
Looking forward to the next 12 months
So where might Finding Common Ground be in a year's time? A network of professionals using the strategies and ideas of the project to support families and schools, based on a common model. Training and advice provided to schools and other agencies based on the messages and strategies from the project. Active links with a range of organisations, embedding this early intervention parental support model into their practice.
If this interests you and you want to be part of it, please get in touch!
Best wishes
James Harris
Comments