As well as our work with pupils in schools, Routes 2 Success is now doing more work to support parents. To this end we have partnered with the Communities Empowerment Network (CEN)
CEN provides a London-wide service to mainly African and African-Caribbean parents by offering advice, support and representation for their children who have either been excluded from school or are at risk of permanent exclusion. The service aims to both help minimise the use of school exclusion in the first place, as well as to counter its damaging effects by facilitating a swift return to full-time, mainstream education.
CEN works to support the entire school community. It offers training and wellbeing provision for governors, leadership and teaching staff. Learning support and mentoring opportunities are provided for students, while parents receive advice, support and representation.
All parents of R2S participants are invited to attend free Parent Forum sessions facilitated by CEN and ARE. These sessions are safe spaces for parents/carers to build supportive peer networks and share knowledge, advice and information that will enable a collaborative home/school relationship. The forum also aims to support parents in forming their own self-empowered parent groups in the community.
The support from CEN aims to ensure that all of the adults key to a child’s learning work together to ensure that children have access to mainstream education and the right to stay there. The network also provides some helpful resources for parents.