Dr. Paul Downes Director, Educational Disadvantage Centre. Senior Lecturer Education (Psychology)

1. A Community Based Multidisciplinary Psychological Support Service for the Northside Partnership Area: Building on the Familiscope, Ballyfermot Model of Early Intervention and Prevention Dr. Paul Downes Director, Educational Disadvantage Centre. Senior Lecturer Education (Psychology) paul.downes@spd.dcu.ie

2. Child-centred surveys: Ballyfermot, Downes 2004, 2004a; Blanchardstown Downes, Maunsell & Ivers 2006; South Inner City Dublin, Downes & Maunsell 2007; North Inner City Dublin,Ivers, McLoughlin & Downes 2010. Questionnaires returned:In 18 Primary Schools: 932 In 9 Secondary Schools: 677 Total: 1,609 Interviews conducted: In 4 Primary schools: 26 Focus Groups 58 Consultations with Community groups: 99

3. A Mental Health Strategy • A mental health strategy and fund for contexts of socio-economic disadvantageNot one early school leaving problem: ESL is a behaviour with a range of motivations, • Beyond 8 week bereavement courses, • Need for prevention and early intervention: non-verbal therapeutic intervention Cf. Familiscope , • NEPS – Reactive to critical incidents, not engaging with family level work, • Alternatives to suspension, • Drug prevention issue, • Wider referral processes – reach withdrawn kids (Doll 1996; Downes 2004), • Downes (2004) ‘being ignored because your head is down working is like a slap in the face’.

4. A KEY GAP IN EXISTING INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING • From isolated programmes and territories to a multidisciplinary team based approach, • Isolated HSL, • Narrow Behaviour Support Service, • Overreliance on Teachers for Teacher-Support (formerly teacher-counsellor) service.

5. COMMON FINDINGS • Evidence that some of the pupils and students that are most at risk of early school leaving are falling through the gaps and not accessing existing afterschool services, • The high levels of pupils experiencing problematic sleep patterns potentially affecting their academic performance and linked in some responses to levels of anxiety affecting their sleep, • A notable minority of pupils and students who stated that they have no one to talk with about their problems,  • The limited availability of drug prevention programmes in local schools, • The need for system level work with parents, for example, regarding early intervention strategies for their children’s literacy and speech and language development, • The need for early referrals, • The need for early intervention regarding speech and language development, and therapeutic emotional intervention.

6. Downes (2004) Ballyfermot research: • Results from these questionnaires and focus groups across the local schools highlighted: • a) particular distress among a range of primary school students regarding bullying, • b) a link between non-attendance at school and bullying, • c) the need for emotional support, particularly regarding esteem for girls. • At secondary level, the need emerged for • more emotional support, • sex and relationship education, • c) interventions for problems of binge drinking affecting school performance for a significant minority of students.

7. Downes & Maunsell (2007): Beyond Suspensions -“Suspension is stupid, just gives them a break” -“If you swing on a chair that’s enough for a suspension” -“I was one of the boys who got suspended, cos being very cheeky” -“About 8 out of 17 suspended, she suspended 7 people in one day” - Worst thing about school “getting suspended” -“He says if you do that boy you’ll be out of the school in a second and you’ll never come back” -“He threatens you, I’ll suspend you, I’ll expel you and you’ll never come back” -“Get suspended for taking a sup of water” One service provider suggests that: “suspension used a lot, need to put something in place if suspended, not much endeavour to keep them in school”. *The Irish post-primary figure of 5% for suspension, applied to the total population of 332,407 students equates to well over 16,000 students suspended from post-primary schools in 2005/6 (ERC/NEWB 2010).

8. THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY BASED EMOTIONAL SUPPORTS • Would you talk to an adult working in the school about your problems? • Yes Primary 240  • No Primary 300 • Maybe/depends Primary 25 • Don’t know Primary 6  • No Answer Primary 46 • Yes Secondary 131 • No Secondary 312  • Maybe/depends Secondary 23

9. Early school leaving is a mental health issue ! • Kaplan et al’s (1994) North American study of 4,141 young people tested in 7th grade and once again as young adults which found a significant damaging effect of dropping out of high school on mental health functioning as measured by a 10-item self-derogation scale, a 9-item anxiety scale, a 6-item depression scale and a 6-item scale designed to measure coping. • This effect was also evident when controls were applied for psychological mental health as measured at 7th grade. The significant damaging effect of dropping out of school was also evident even when controls were applied for gender, father’s occupational status, and ethnicity

11. Downes (2004): A COMMUNITY BASED TEAM AND A SCHOOL BASED TEAM – TWO SUBSECTIONS OF AN OVERALL JOINT TEAM • Overall aims of the recommended model: • Targeting at risk children in early years of primary school for speech and • language support • Targeting identified at risk children/youth for emotional and social support • Providing broader emotional and social support for other children/youth • Outreach Targeting specific families for therapeutic and practical support • Facilitating increased coordination between the network of local services

12. A key underlying goal of the project is to upgrade the skills of the • community and those working in the community, whether at the • levels of : • parental treatment skills for speech and language, ADD/ADHD, parental mediation in bullying, • learning support/resource/Home-School Liaison teachers skills in applying and facilitating interventions for speech and language, and for ADD/ADHD • teachers for conflict resolution, • peer support among the students and developing local youth as mentors • e) Emotional and social support interventions are developmental and sustained rather than being once-off events

13. SYSTEM LEVEL FOCUS – INTERVENTIONS WITH CHILD, FAMILY, GROUPS OF CHILDREN, AND TEACHERS • Service Delivery: Multidisciplinary team • Intervention Levels: Interventions at • individual • group • family • teacher • whole school level.

14. Outcome indicators from interventions of multidisciplinary team: • improved school attendance (outreach dimension and improved school climate) • improved student motivation due to improved class climate • improved student concentration as trauma related issues being supported • improved sleep patterns influencing improved concentration and academic performance • decrease in substance abuse influencing improved concentration and academic performance • reduction and elimination of suspension and expulsion • decrease in school bullying bringing improved school attendance, improved motivation for learning in school, less personal anxiety

15. professional development of teachers’ conflict resolution skills and social class and ethnicity diversity awareness • improved engagement of parents with the school impacting on improving motivation of the student to learn • a more democratic school climate improving school attendance and student motivation to learn • increased tolerance of diversity and confidence for minority groups in the school institutional culture • improved mental health and communication skills for students • improved self-image, self-esteem, self-efficacy for learning: overcoming fatalism as a risk factor for early school leaving, substance abuse, other risk behaviours

16. Familiscope? Mission Statement Familiscope exists to work with children, young people, families and groups in the Dublin 10 Community who may experience emotional, behavioural, communication and/or relationship issues

17. Familiscope aims: • To prevent children and young people developing behavioural, emotional, communication, psychological and relationship difficulties • To respond to children, young people and families with behavioural, emotional, communication, psychological and relationship difficulties • To support people living and working with children and young people who are already experiencing behavioural, communication, psychological and relationship difficulties • To develop a model to facilitate the provision and delivery of a community based psychological support service for children and young people

18. Familiscope objectives: • To provide child-centered family support interventions • To provide a range of appropriate therapeutic responses—individual, couple, parent/child, family • To deliver a range of accessible speech and language related responses— to children, young people, teachers, SNAs, parents, early education staff • To provide emotional and social support to children and young people experiencing difficulties • To transfer skills to people living and working with children and young people • To facilitate capacity building with people living and working with children and young people

19. How does Familiscope achieve its aims and objectives? • Speech and Language work—literacy groups, teacher language training, class based language therapy, 1-1 therapy, language groups, partnerships with schools– teachers, SNA s, partnerships with pre-schools & crèches, partnerships with parents • Parenting work—Incredible Years, one to one support • Emotional support/interventions—key-working, individual therapeutic interventions, attachment work • Behavioural support/interventions—lunch time clubs, Incredible Years small group, individual therapeutic interventions • Family Support—child centred, practical, emotional, social, physical, therapeutic interventions Please note: the case management/co-ordinating approach used by Familiscope is key in ensuring these interventions are effective with our target group

20. Overview of statistics 2006-2009 • IY Parenting: 62 parents (59 F 3 M) • Musical Beginnings: 46 mothers & babies (2009 programme commencing Sept) • Counselling: 2009 17 (13 F 4 M) • Art Therapy direct work cases: 25 (20 F 5 M) • Child Welfare Programme Total cases worked on to date: 60 2009 caseload: 25 families, 70 children (39 F, 31 M), 40 parents (27 F, 13 M), 34 on morning programme (20 F, 14 M)

21. Familiscope Intervention – Attendance Outcomes Across Five Schools

22. Familiscope Intervention – Attendance Outcomes Across Five Schools

23. Familiscope Intervention – Attendance Outcomes Across Five Schools

24. Familiscope Intervention – Attendance Outcomes Across Five Schools

25. Current staff

26. Funding 2009

27. References Doll, B. (1996). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and youth: An agenda for advocacy by school psychology. School Psychology Quarterly, 11, 20-47 Downes, P. (2004) Psychological Supports for Ballyfermot: Present and FutureURBAN Ballyfermot. Downes, P. (2004a) Voices of children: St. Raphael’s Primary School BallyfermotURBAN Ballyfermot. Downes, P., Maunsell, C & Ivers, J. (2006) A Holistic Approach to Early School Leaving and School Retention in Blanchardstown. Blanchardstown Area Partnership Downes, P & Maunsell, C. (2007). Count Us In. Tackling early school leaving in South West Inner City Dublin: An Integrated Response. SICCDA and South Inner City Dublin Drugs Task Force Ivers, J., McLoughlin, V & Downes, P. (2010). Current Steps and Future Horizons for CASPr: Review of CASPr North-East Inner City After Schools Project. CASPr: Dublin Kaplan, D.D., Damphousse, J.R. & Kaplan, H.B. (1994). Mental health implications of not graduating from high school. Journal of Experimental Education, 62, 105-123 Millar, D. (2010). Analysis of school attendance data in primary and post primary school, 2006/7 and 2007/8. Dublin: ERC/NEWB