Month: July 2015

Dads; what are your schools male engagement strategies?

It will not come as a surprise to most women to know that men are different! In fact women probably have a strong evidence base in support of this statement. But when it comes to thinking through how we engage Dads in our schools there is often a one size fits all approach for both parents regardless of sex. Men don’t do Coffee Mornings!

So as you think ahead to the next academic year, before you start complaining that Dads don’t turn up to anything, please think about the channels through which you are asking then to become involved. There may be issues around time of day, or content of a session / meeting , or just that coming into a school holds memories of their own unsuccessful and unhappy times at school.

Below is a research summary of current thinking in this area , and also an article I have written on this topic which contains helpful suggestions for appraising your school’s male engagement strategies.

 

RiP: Are we including fathers? What we say, what we assume and what we’re not asking
This blog post discusses how practitioners can assess whether they are engaging with fathers effectively, and how they can improve the way they work with them. 

FASD & the Criminal Justice system

This Australian produced video raises some important issues related to the management of people with FASD in the criminal justice system of any Country.

As an Educationalist, the issues raised underscore for me the need for high quality Education for children and young people with FASD, to prevent some of the tragic admissions to the criminal justice system. Many go on to become ‘revolving door prisoners’ with no quality of life.

One day Society will wake up to this ticking time-bomb.