It's Your Child's Life London
Our It's Your Child's Life programme has been successfully delivered in Tower Hamlets for over 12 years. Working closely with primary schools and a children's centre, our programme has worked with over 4000 parents to tackle some of the root causes of poverty and disadvantage in our community.
The Programme
A taught course teaching and assessing parents on areas such as:
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Being prepared to learn;
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The role of the most important person - the parent(s);
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Attitudes, empathy and confidence;
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Language, numeracy and computer skills;
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Factors affecting success;
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The home environment.
Individual support, advice and guidance sessions with our Family Intervention Specialist. This could include discussing issues around the home, family, debt or employment.
Our Family Intervention Specialist also acts as an advocate for families in their relationships with other agencies.
A family experience day where parents can have fun with their children and put into practice what they have learned during the course.
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Results
Before and after the programme parents complete our "Wall of Success" measuring sixteen areas which are key to their personal welfare and hence, success. Our unique assessment system provides us with a real measure of the progress parents have made as a result of taking part in the programme. In the past three years, 80% of parents scored themselves higher on three or more areas of their "Wall of Success" on completing the course. In addition, an impressive 100% of parents have said the course helped them with their child’s education and that they would recommend it to others.
Why It Works
We have successfully delivered the It’s Your Child’s Life programme for over 12 years in Tower Hamlets schools and one Children’s Centre. We have worked with over 4000 parents to improve parenting skills, home environments and welfare. There is no other course like this available for families in Tower Hamlets.
In the past two years, our Family Intervention Specialist has provided the intensive support and mentoring many families need during and after the programme. Intervention consists of providing support and guidance largely for women facing a range of issues such as divorce, separation, domestic violence, substance abuse, housing issues and the effects of poverty.
Currently all of our family intervention work is carried out by one dedicated specialist, demonstrating the intensity and cost-effectiveness of our work. The intensity and duration of support that we provide parents is a major contributing factor to the success of the programme.
Why Our Community Needs It's Your Child's Life
It’s Your Child’s Life is desperately needed in Tower Hamlets to help reduce the effects of poverty and deprivation on a young person’s ability to succeed in life. According to the Deprivation in Tower Hamlets Analysis of 2015, our borough has the 6th highest level of income deprivation in the country, with 39% of children living in income deprived families. Housing is another area of particular concern in Tower Hamlets as 34.8% of households have fewer rooms than required. We also work with an increasing number of women affected by domestic violence. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to work with all of the families affected by these issues that have approached us. We currently have approximately 50 families on the waiting list for our services.
What Parents Say
I never realised I could get help like this.
Thank you so much!
My daughter seems much happier at home and things are less stressful
I never knew I was the most important person in my child's education
I feel like I have the knowledge of what my child should be learning - no one has ever told me this before