You are here: News The Bridge School receives prestigious Families First Award for schools
The Bridge School in Ipswich has today completed the Families First Quality Award which recognises schools’ excellence in providing information, advice and assistance to local families. It is the first special school in the county to receive this award.
The Families First Quality Award, coordinated by UK charity, the Family and Childcare Trust and the National Association of Families Information Services (NAFIS), aims to help schools exceed the requirements set out in the Childcare Act 2006 which places a duty on local authorities to provide parents with information and advice about family services and childcare, including for children with additional needs.
The work to achieve accreditation to Families First was driven by the school governors.
The Bridge School Headteacher, Odran Doran, said:
"To be the first special school in Suffolk to get this award is a huge honour. The work of Liz and Frances in completing the award has been excellent."
Krystyna Pinches, Head of Consultancy at the Family and Childcare Trust said:
"For many schools, it is a challenging time as they are being asked to work more efficiently while still delivering excellent outcomes. The award gives schools the recognition they deserve and functions as an effective quality improvement tool, giving staff the confidence they need to provide an excellent service to families in their local area."
Cllr Gordon Jones, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education & Skills at Suffolk County Council, said:
"Families and communities play such an essential role in children’s education, and these Families First Quality Awards are a way to recognise the efforts of schools to keep families at the heart of their practice, and engage parents with their child’s learning.
"As part of our Raising the Bar programme we support parents to be actively involved in their children’s education, and for more schools to complete the Families First Quality Award, which Suffolk County Council helped to develop."
Families First assessors evaluate schools against a set of standards that demonstrate excellence in information provision for parents and children, especially disadvantaged or hard-to-reach families. Particular attention is paid to how well the school interacts with other local services such as the local authority Family Information Service.
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Contact: Mark Bou Mansour, Communications and Campaigns Manager. Telephone: 0207 940 7535, mobile: 07538 334 772, email: mark@familyandchildcaretrust.org.
Notes to Editor:
The Families First quality standards were originally developed in 2008 by the Family and Childcare Trust with the Department for Education and Suffolk County Council. Standards have been developed for local authority Family Information Services, Sure Start children’s centres, schools, nurseries and to cover special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and Welsh language requirements in Wales.
About the Family and Childcare Trust
The Family and Childcare Trust aims to make the UK a better place for families. We are a leading national family charity in the field of policy, research and advocacy on childcare and family issues, with over 40 years’ experience. Our on-the-ground work with parents and providers informs our research and campaigns. We focus on the early years and childcare because they are crucial to boosting children’s outcomes throughout life and supporting parents to work.