Supporting schools, strengthening families, enabling change

We are a team of experienced, fully qualified, practical therapists with an impressive track record of helping the families of children with additional needs.

Our ultimate aim is to help children succeed in school.  We do this by working with the school to create supportive communities that increase the wellbeing of the children and their family members.  We usually work in schools and childcare settings, often in areas of high deprivation – and we deliver long lasting change by providing insights into the problems our families are dealing with and by giving them the confidence that they need to face up to their challenges.

In fact, the problems facing our families are no different in nature from the problems everyone else faces.  Grief, hardship and emotional pain are common to all of us.  It is in degree that differences can be recognised: degrees of intensity, complexity, and frequency.

Because of this greater intensity, the reflective space required to process complex emotional difficulties is rarely available to families living in areas of high deprivation or to other families whose children have additional needs.  Recognising this, we create a safe, nurturing environment and offer opportunities to reflect, to sort out, to reduce reactivity and to clear space for rational choice.  As a result, parents become a resource to their children – who then find space to learn.  Behaviour improves, school attendance rises and children are happier.  In enabling communities to develop among families who are often isolated, our work also opens parents as a resource to each other and their relationship with the school improves.  Everyone benefits.

Our proven services take a holistic approach involving children, parents, school staff and our therapists.  Together, we identify and break through cycles which may have been repeated from generation to generation.

To achieve our goals and to operate effectively, we need to collect a certain amount of personal information from schools, families, supporters, staff, volunteers and trustees.  For details of our approach to safeguarding this personal information, please see our privacy statement.

If you are a parent or guardian looking for further information about Family Group, please visit our Family Group website www.sfwfamilygroup.org