One primary academy school in south-east England has used its own initiative to tackle issues of poverty head-on. So concerned had the school become that issues of familial poverty were impacting some children’s educational chances that they created a new role, that of ‘Health and Wellbeing Lead’.
Its remit is broad and flexible yet deeply embedded in a hands-on approach to problem-solving that builds trust and holds families close, enabling children to flourish and succeed in school. Its setting-up and designation is distinctive to the school itself which is in an area of deprivation within a market town often noted for its relative affluence and social and cultural capital. The school leadership team had become concerned by the extent to which families were increasingly impacted by financial struggles, with a high proportion of children eligible for free school meals. It recognised that there were many low-income families who had been significantly impacted by the sharp rise in the cost of living which had also impacted upon some support staff in the school. Some, for example, joined families to receive food hand-outs during the COVID-19 pandemic. For these individuals and families, there was no financial ‘buffer’ and the school stepped in.
The school’s creative leadership generated the Health and Wellbeing Lead role. Its creation resonated with earlier research we conducted on the negative impact on young children (and their families) due to the demise in the reach and role of the Maintained Nursery School (MNS) in England. We’d noted the value of a designated member of staff in the MNS whose remit had been to attend to the holistic needs of children in the context of their own families’ contexts, especially those experiencing different and/or multiple effects of poverty.
At the time we met Katie, the Health and Wellbeing Lead, she had been in the post for about three years. Her role was primarily focused on children of families in receipt of ‘Pupil Premium’ – funding from the government designed to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. Although not a teacher or part of the senior management team, Katie was required to liaise closely with the Head and Deputy Head and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. They met regularly to ensure a joined-up and effective approach to improving children’s outcomes. Katie had her own private office where she met children and their families: a space that felt safe and familiar.
Katie’s everyday duties involved supporting breakfast and lunch clubs and being attuned to the needs of children and their families as they dropped off and picked up; working with children on a one-to-one basis in class and out; liaising with outside agencies to champion specific needs; and supporting Homework Club. More than this, however, Katie’s role allowed her to meet and liaise with children’s wider families: she saw this as relational and about the ordinary and everyday experiences of families where ‘little’ things could go wrong (often unexpectedly) with the potential to flare up and impact negatively on the children.
Without exception, the parents who consented to be involved in our research into Katie’s role spoke with enthusiasm about the positive effect she had on their lives and on those of their children. We were struck by Katie’s unconditional positive regard for families which dignified them with the assumption that they were ‘all good parents’ wanting ‘the best for their children’. Katie enabled families to share their challenges, without fear of judgement, with someone they trusted and who they knew was there to listen and offer practical support. In conducting our research, we heard from individuals about how the malfunctioning of something as commonplace as a cooker could be enough to tip them into crisis on top of other pressures in their lives. In such situations, the early intervention, resourcefulness and signposting that Katie was able to provide was regarded as a lifeline.
The compassion and confidence she instilled in families meant that they were able to become agentic and resourceful in helping themselves and in offering caring and educational experiences for their own children in a way they had not done previously. One parent shared how she turned shopping into a challenge for her children, actively involving them in the task of sourcing all the food they required within their limited budget. Another recounted cooking outside on an open fire when they could no longer afford the gas bill. One other parent, keen to work together with the school to address food poverty, set about creating a vegetable plot on the school premises.
During the time we spent in the school and with children and families, we came to feel that Katie was a crucial cog in the wheel of care and education both inside the school and within the wider community itself. Katie’s ethic and commitment were clearly exceptional. If the wellbeing needs of families are to be met in order that children benefit from the educational opportunities offered by their schools, there must be properly funded initiatives which involve the generation of such well-supported roles at the same time as attention is given to eradicating the root causes of poverty.
Sandra Lyndon is a Reader in Childhood and Social Policy and co-chair of the Centre of Excellence in Childhood, Inclusion and Society at the University of Chichester. Carla Solvason is Senior Lecturer at the University of Worcester where she runs the Social Pedagogy Research Group. Rebecca Webb is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Sussex.
‘It’s a struggle’ – the role of the school Health and Well-being Lead in supporting families in poverty by Sandra Lyndon, Carla Solvason, and Rebecca Webb is available on Bristol University Press Digital here.
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