Attwood announces £80,000 funding for parent and school together project in Ballymena

Social Development Minister Alex Attwood MLA today announced a funding package of £80,000 for a Parent and School Together Project for the Ballymena Neighbourhood Renewal Area.

The project will involve support for children, young people and their families in order to improve educational outcomes. Three project workers will be established in partnership with five schools to support the service which will establish links between schools and families, ensuring positive relationships between parents/carers and young people.

Alex Attwood said: “The funding of a Parent and School Together project for the Ballymena area is a huge boost for the local people with young children. It will help to develop programmes of support for parents and children with a view to creating a more socially inclusive, empowered and sustainable community infrastructure.

"Improving educational outcomes for our young people is an important part of ensuring a solid foundation for their future. Our young people need to be nurtured and providing educational projects like this one will help achieve that. I welcome this significant funding for a very worthwhile project for the people of Ballymena.”

The project worker’s, engaged and managed by Barnardos, will develop contact with vulnerable parents and children in the schools and community and deliver diverse needs led programmes of support. Such support will be drawn from a multi disciplinary team.

A range of strategies such as the development of a drop-in facility for parents and a variety of parenting programmes will be offered e.g. transition from primary to post primary. The project will offer programmes to address such difficulties.

Where appropriate individual parent support will be offered accessing support from a wide range of organisations in the community.

Notes to editors:

1. The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy “People and Places” which was published in June 2003, sets out governments proposals for closing the gap between the quality of life for people in the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of society.
   The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy has four interlinking strategic objectives:
   Community Renewal – to develop confident communities that are able and committed to improving the quality of life in the areas;
   Economic Renewal – to develop economic activity in the most deprived neighbourhoods and connect them to the wider urban economy;
   Physical Renewal – to help create attractive, safe, and sustainable environments in the most deprived neighbourhoods; and
   Social Renewal – to improve social conditions for the people who live in the most deprived neighbourhoods through better co-ordinated public services and the creation of safer environments.
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