Family Support
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40
Family Support Team: About Us
Hello! We are the St. Michael's Family Support Team - Mrs Nasreen Begum (Family Support Worker), Mrs Kamla Devi (Learning Mentor) and Mrs Megan Tucker (Community Engagement Lead). Our role in school is to provide support, advice and information to the families within our community. We can help you with any worries that you may have in relation to your child's education, behaviour and wellbeing. We are also here as someone you can talk to if you needed!
We can meet with you at school at a time to suit yourself. Advice and support is confidential, although concerns relating to the safeguarding of children will always be dealt with in accordance with the school's Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. We may not have all the answers, but hopefully we can help you to work out how to find them!
A to Z of Family / Parental Support Initiatives: 2022/23
- Adult fitness and nutritional support - In unison with Legacy West Midlands, our parents have access to weekly fitness classes and ongoing nutrition and fitness advice.
- Adult learning classes - In 2022/23, we are pleased to offer adult lessons in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), Childcare and Conversational English. These lessons are provided in partnership with Eagles Consultancy and Newbigin Community Trust.
- Breakfast Club - All pupils are provided with free breakfast daily, either via Breakfast Club (8:00am - 8:30am) or as they enter the school gates ('Grab and Go Breakfast').
- Coffee morning and Stay and Play - Each Tuesday morning from 9:00am, parents are welcome to drop in for a cup of tea/coffee, a small sweet treat and lots of great company and support. Our coffee mornings are a great way for parents to build relationships with fellow parents, and benefit from the wealth of lived experience that we have within our community.
- Community advocacy - Within the community of St. Michael's, amongst the staff, family and friends, we have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom thanks to our lived experiences. We put this to great use via community advocacy. We offer support over the phone or face to face for things such as: immigration, housing, benefits, employment and safeguarding.
- Community Allotment - Radishes, sweetcorn, tomatoes, potatoes, and so much mote. The St. Michael's Community Allotment is open to all parents and friends of St. Michael's, and provides a great source of wellbeing and another means for connecting with members of the St. Michael's community. Click here to learn more about our community allotment.
- Family after-school clubs - At St. Michael's, we value the importance of relationships and conversation. Our family after-school clubs provide pastoral staff with the opportunity to sit down with parents and children in an informal setting, while playing games, creating arty masterpieces and sharing a bagel or two. More importantly, this time enables staff to further develop meaningful relationships with the school community.
- Family Supper Club - December 2022 saw the first of our monthly Family Supper Clubs, with over 100 children and adults sharing a meal of sumptuous lentil dahl, rice and samosas. It proved so popular that it is now a monthly event. This initiative provides more than just free nourishing food. It provides our families with the opportunity to connect with others from the same community, and in doing so, they feel good about themselves and their part in the community!
- Food Cupboard - The St. Michael's Food Cupboard stocks a range of tinned food, fresh fruit and veg and long-life packaged food such as rice, pasta and cereal. Parents pay a small fee of £5 each time they access the Food Cupbaord, and in return can choose groceries worth many times more. It is open each Tuesday and Friday morning from 9:00am to 10:30am. Learn more about our Food Cupboard here
- Housing support and legal advice - We provide our families with monthly housing support in the form of a drop-in forum led by the housing charity, Shelter. Emily and her team are always on hand to provide our families with expert advice and guidance regarding their rights as tenants and much more.
- Parent wellbeing retreat - Each term, we take a groups of parents to Barnes Close, Bromsgrove. We spend the day enjoying the vast country ground, partaking in arts, crafts and baking, going on a walk in the lush Waseley Hills Country Park, and drinking plenty of tea while talking with friends.
- Parent workshops - We offer a range of workshops that provide information, support and guidance to parents and carers. From sessions that help parents to understand how their child is taught in certain subjects and what they can do to support at home, to sessions that focus on arts and crafts, parent workshops are an invaluable aspect of parental engagement.
Support for families includes:
- Providing information and signposting to other services in the local area
- Liaising with a range of external services such as housing and Social Care
- Assistance in completing paperwork and forms e.g. housing, special educational needs, school places and benefits
- Attendance and support at school and other agency meetings
- Advice and support in promoting positive behaviour at home
- Guidance with career and personal development and access to training and workshops in school
Support for pupils includes:
- Promoting good attendance and punctuality
- Promoting self-esteem and confidence
- Promoting positive behaviour and positive attitudes to learning
- Providing one-to-one support
We also have a Learning Mentor at St. Michael's. Mrs Devi is only too happy to help pupils with matters that might be impacting their ability to learn in school.
How to get in touch:
Our Family Support Team are normally based in school daily from 8.30am, but can also be available in the afternoons by arrangement.
Please call the school office on 0121 554 7818 to make an appointment or pop in and we will be happy to see you as soon as we can.
We can also be contacted via email: [email protected] .
