School Focused Communities
School Focused Communities
This project is working with five Communities First areas in Rhondda Cynon Taf to build links between the community and schools and to support pupils and their families to get the best they can out of their school years. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded element will follow two year groups from Glyncoch as they progress through Pontypridd High School and then to decision making after receiving their GCSE results. Sam Turner is working with the pupils and their families providing support to improve attendance, achievement and family involvement in learning.
The other project workers are linked to Cymmer, Trealaw, Wattstown & Ynyshir, Pontygwaith and Glyncoch Communities First Partnerships and are working with school pupils and families from these areas. Each will seek to develop an in-depth relationship with at least ten families in their area.The project workers have established very strong liaisons with the local schools, teachers and support staff. Working closely with Communities First staff they have developed relationships with several families and are making their presence felt within the local community.
Mark Hutton (part-time project worker) based in Trealaw has created contacts with many services including The Youth Integration Office, the local Community Police and the Porth County Community School Cluster worker. He has taken under his wing several young people and has made steady progress integrating his sports background into the community helping to form the Trealaw Football Team whose kit has been jointly sponsored by The People and Work Unit. Taking on extra time banking activities is keeping Mark very busy but he always has time for the young people he is trying to support within mainstream education.
Lesa Whitehead (part time project worker) based in Porth and surrounding areas is spending her time supporting pupils individually or within their timetabled lessons. Lesa has set up cookery classes and attended after school clubs to establish relationships with young people who are not attending school as much they should. She is focussing on a few pupils she feels need the extra help and is continuing to support any young people and families that ask for her assistance.
Jess Adams (full time project worker) is based in Glyncoch, Wattstown and Ynyshir. Jess has been establishing strong links with certain key families she feels would benefit from her support. Forming liaisons of trust and personal involvement takes time but Jess is taking her role very seriously and is really making headway with the young people with whom she is engaged. Jess has also successfully started up cooking and homework clubs and is introducing courses about sexual health to young people in her area. She is in the process of starting up information sessions with the help of Taf Health Board Resource Centre and has already instigated interest in starting up Condom Card schemes once she has some local nurses on board.
Nev Macdonald, senior youth worker with Cymmer Communities First (25 hours per week), pioneered the work in Porth County Community School (12 hours per week funded by the local authority) for a year before the School Focused Communities project was formed. Most pupils and staff know Nev in the school and he has good links with local primary schools. He has been working closely with several pupils and families to help improve their educational engagement. The overlap between Nev's school and youth work responsibilities is considerable and a deliberate attempt is made to help young people and their families to see the relevance and importance of both formal and informal education for their future lives. The project as a whole seeks to encourage, enthuse and excite families and local communities with the life changing possibilities available through education leading to better employment, health and well-being.
School Focused Communities is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Welsh Assembly Government Communities First Outcomes Fund, and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
All the project workers' contact details are available on our Contacts page.
