On 24th September, around 50 people came together at Southville Primary School to mark the end of Family Group after six years of a group running at the school.

Many graduate Family Group families returned for the celebration, alongside school staff and The School & Family Works team. Former Headteacher Jo Lacey also came back for the occasion and spoke about the special place Family Group has held in the life of the school.

CEO Mark Griffiths thanked families for the courage, vulnerability and strength they had brought to the group over the years.

In a letter marking the end of the partnership, Southville Headteacher, Mrs Menezes and Deputy Headteacher Mrs Neillis described Family Group as a place where families had felt “listened to, understood and supported”, helping them build confidence, stronger relationships with school and a sense that they did not have to face difficult times alone.

The school also paid tribute to Family Group psychotherapist Helen Gidley and school-based partner Raquel Amoanyame. Their work together meant that the relationships built in Family Group could continue into everyday school life, giving children continuity and helping strengthen communication between home and school.

Although financial pressures and changing needs mean the partnership is ending, Southville described Family Group as “an integral and highly valued part” of its pastoral provision.

We’re sad to be leaving Southville, but the event felt like a fitting way to mark the end of this chapter: together, with families at the heart of it.

Our thanks go to everyone who has been part of Family Group at Southville over the years, especially the children and parents/carers. Families supported one another through difficult times, grew in confidence together and formed friendships that have lasted well beyond the weekly sessions. The strength of those relationships, and the way families learnt from and stood alongside one another, is an important part of Family Group’s legacy at Southville.

We wish the families, staff and whole Southville school community all the very best for the future. Southville has meant a great deal to SFW over the years, and so have the families we have had the privilege of getting to know and work alongside.