WHO LET THE DADS OUT?

Who Let the Dads Out? Is a group work programme for dads/male family members and their children in Family Learning link schools. It has involved families coming into school and participating in a range of fun learning activities.

Belmont Primary School, Dumfries and Galloway has recently been working together with Family Learning and YMCA to deliver the programme to their dads and children age nursery to Primary 3. This block has concentrated on sports and physical activity.
Research has established clear links between parental involvement and children’s educational attainment. Increasing attention has been paid to the specific influences fathers and other male carers have on their children’s development. This research has shown that when fathers take an active role in their children’s education by volunteering at school, helping children with their homework or attending school meetings or groups, children are more likely to do better academically and to enjoy school. Children also benefit in numerous other ways from having involved fathers, including increased cognitive abilities, higher self-esteem and greater social competence. Overall, children are more likely to reap these benefits the earlier fathers become involved with their children’s learning. Ann McShane, Family Learning Co-ordinator advised that – “Education and learning happens not just in school but at home too. Parents are their child’s first and most important educators; therefore it is vital that schools and families work together. Primary schools can be viewed as a predominantly female environment and it is important to encourage dads into school and make them feel welcome and valued”
These sports sessions have been one amongst many of the themed sessions that dads have been involved in at Belmont School. There have been story-telling sessions to help engage dads in the art and importance of telling stories. Families play a critical role in promoting male literacy, and the impact is especially powerful if the father is involved to help boys and girls see reading is not gender specific.
There have also been cooking sessions at Belmont School from Richard Line from the NHS ‘Lets Cook Initiative’ giving dads and their children practical workshops in cooking skills. Learning about healthy eating and healthy foods is an essential part of the early stages in the health and wellbeing curriculum. The course focussed on health and wellbeing outcomes allowing dads and their kids to cook together and also looking at government guidelines around healthy eating and what their children are taught in school.
These groups have helped dads/male carers gain a better understanding of and involvement in their children’s learning. This month’s session, facilitated by the YMCA, has helped dads appreciate the importance of one-to one and also team play with their children. There is consistent evidence that fathers’ interest and involvement in their children’s learning is statistically associated with better educational outcomes.
Councillor Jeff Leaver, Education Committee Chair, said: “Our Council is committed to giving our children the best possible start in life and we achieve this by delivering programmes which help parents participate in school. Children have clearly benefitted from these programmes by spending quality time with their dads in school and dads have gained the confidence to come and feel part of the primary school community. Programmes like these are particularly significant given it is the Scottish Year of the Dad in 2016, our Council will continue to support and operate programmes which encourage parents into school.”