School-Home Support key workers win Community Inspiration Award
News article from October 8, 2021
School-Home Support key workers win Community Inspiration Award
School-Home Support key workers have been honoured at the HELLO! Inspiration Awards for their work with vulnerable children and families across the country.
The award, presented by Lord Frederick Windsor, shines a light on acts of kindness and community from people going the extra mile to help others.
School-Home Support is the only charity in England that works with the entire family to improve a child’s education and life chances. Its 60 practitioners work directly with vulnerable children and families to look past the classroom and tackle the issues they face at home. These include issues such as poverty, domestic violence and struggles with mental health – all of which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
School-Home Support Chief Executive Jaine Stannard said: “We’re absolutely delighted that our practitioners have been celebrated at the Inspiration Awards. The work we do to get children back into school and ready to learn is totally dependent on the skills and dedication of our practitioners.
“During the pandemic, our practitioners worked tirelessly to ensure vulnerable pupils still received the support they needed. Among other vital support, they delivered workpacks to doorsteps, bought food from supermarkets and checked in on them to ensure they were safe, fed and accessing their education.”
“Now, 18 months on from the start of the pandemic, the need for School-Home Support services has never been greater. We know that there are many more thousands of children and young people urgently needing specialist support from our practitioners.”
Practitioner Katy-Anne Waite said: “I’m so proud to be a part of School Home Support. We don’t do this work for recognition or credit, but it’s so rewarding for it to be celebrated.
“For many families we have been an emergency service during the pandemic and we have been able to make such a difference to so many lives. We will carry on going the extra mile, and seeing the impact of our work in my home borough is so rewarding. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”