1. FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS TOGETHER (fast) FAST family in Belfast

2. WHAT is FAST FAST stands for Families and Schools Together Award winning UN endorsed early intervention programme Developed in 1988 by Professor Lynn McDonald – underpinned by substantial academic research and science Focus of FAST is improving educational achievement 85% of a child’s success at school depends on the support and stimulation their parents provide for learning in the home FAST was developed to give parents the confidence and skills needed to support their child’s education.

3. Programme goals Helping children to succeed in school and in the community Increasing parental involvement in school Reducing the stress of daily routines for children and families Strengthening family cohesion and reducing family conflict Helping to intervene and prevent against substance abuse

4. Who is FAST for? FAST is for children age between 3-8 years and their whole family FAST is delivered in primary schools Each FAST programme is 8 weeks long – we run two cycles of the programme in each school Each FAST session is delivered after school and has a cycle of activities which are repeated every week Following the completion of FAST the parents continue to meet as a group for the next 22 months

5. how is FAST delivered? FAST is a community programmes which is supported by team made up of approximately 20 people – this includes: School staff – to help staff get to know parents and build links to school Parent partners - to provide peer support Community partners – to provide links to other services The team is fully trained over two days and supported by a dedicated FAST trainer

6. WHAT HAPPENS DURING FAST SESSIONS Each FAST group is made up of 40 parents and 80 children Families are split into smaller groups of 10 – know as a hub We aim to run four hubs for each FAST group At least one of the children per family is between the age of 3-8 years. During the sessions families: Sit down to eat a meal together, cooked by one of the families each week. Play and learn together Win a resource hamper which includes learning resources such as books and toys).

7. WHAT HAPPENS DURING FAST SESSIONS Each FAST session is 2.5 hours long and comprises the following elements: Family Flags ~ 15 minutes Welcome ~ 5 minutes FAST Hello ~ 5 minutes FAST song ~ 5 minutes Family Meal: Children serve the parents ~ 30 minutes Scribbles ~ 15 minutes Feeling Charades ~ 15 minutes Parents’ Buddy Time/ Parent’s Time/ Children’s Time ~ 30 minutes Special Play: one-to-one ~ 15 minutes Lottery ~ 10 minutes Closing circle and RAIN ~ 5 minutes

8. Family Table Lottery Entire Team Closing Circle Announcements & RAIN Entire Team Siblings continue Kids’ Time 19/09/20158 Family Unit at Family Table FAST Hello & Singing Meal Scribbles Feelings Charades (Entire team facilitates these activities) Parents’ Time Buddy Time  Parent Self-Help Group (Only Parent Partner and Mental Partner) Kids’ Time Children divided by age group for group activities (Alcohol & Drug Partner and school partner) Peer Group Time Special Play  One-to-One Time (Parent & Mental Health)

9. Evaluation process Parents and teachers complete questionnaires before and after the eight week FAST programme Evaluation of these questionnaires involves various measures to investigate changes in: 1. Improvement in family and parent child relationships 2. Improvement in behaviour of child at home 3. Improvement in behaviour & academic performance in school 4. Improvement in social community relationships 5. Improvement in social support and reciprocal exchanges 6. Improvement in parent school relationship

10. Fast outcomes Teachers reported a 10% improvement in children’s reading, writing and maths after just the initial eight weeks of the programme Children’s disruptive behaviour in school reduced by 40% and at home by 52% Parents involvement in their child’s education increased by 73% Family conflict was reduced by 23% 63% of parents had more local social support 26% of parents enrolled in further training or adult education.

11. How fast is different Focus on experiential learning Builds child-parent, parent-school and family-community bonds Multi-agency working/fostering trust amongst professionals Sustainable – Training of Trainer/development of local trainers and parent led FASTWORKS High retention rates – average of 80% Middlesex University accreditation Builds social capital and the whole community benefits

12. Fast – any questions?