SOMPET came into existence through a lottery bid made by what was then called the London Black Women's Health Action Project. Its aim was to tackle the unprecedented number of exclusions of Somali children from schools in Tower Hamlets and other parts of London. BWHAFS took the initiative to seek funds to finance a project that would work collaboratively with schools and the community. The projected targeted Somali families and their children and worked to raise their educational standards. The project started in May 1998 and continued up until the 15th July 2001.

The project has had a great impact on the educational acheivements of many Somali children who, having received the support of our staff have settled well into their school. This project has improved Somali parents understanding of how the educational system here works and highlighted the best ways that they can support their children at home. 64 parents have been trained so far and they have expressed the usefulness of the training they had. Many young people are isolated because it has become hard for parents to understand their subculture. Many Somali youth have consequently rebelled against their parents and school. This is a common concern held by most parents who attend the parenting course. They have aquired skills that enable them to tackle such difficulties when they arise. This is an area, which we intend to develop further to include training on how to coach their children and support them in their homework. The project is also conducting research to establish the main factors that affect attainment. One volunteer who is engaged in this work has already reported that the literacy level of the parent/parents is the single most important factor that affects levels of achievement.

Volunteers recruited by the project assist parents in dealing with welfare, housing, immigration. They help to interpret sometimes they carry out advocacy work on their behalf. This takes great deal of pressure away from them and helps them concentrate on their children's education. In addition, we organised ESOL classes for the parents because our research has provided enough evidence to link parent's level of education with their children's achievement in schools. We have provided parent-training sessions for those attending ESOL classes and more advanced parenting course for the educated ones. Such training programmes equip parents to meet the challenges of bringing up children in Britain and indicate how cultural differences operating in the schools and at home can be bridged. It also covers the British education key stages and suggests ways in which Somali parents can support their children's education and increase their confidence.

In an attempt to improve access to education Sompet in partnership with Tower Hamlets College's Regeneration Team has arranged home-based teaching for mothers with children under five years. Volunteers are recruited and trained to carry out this important function of supporting families and people with disability at home.

Parent training has generated a lot of interests among Somali parents and has resulted in an increased communication between parents and children. The training has also improved the relationship between parents and schools. Most parents showed a greater understanding of the ever-widening gap between themselves and their children and emphasised the importance of the skills they have learnt in helping them to deal with the kinds of problems that often erupt. They have asked for more sessions which we are prepared to do. In this scheme we have covered Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Islington, Camden and Newham.

Feedback received has shown the project to be a success. Having direct contact with the teachers and the school has meant that parents are fully informed about their children's educational achievement and social development. In the past they used to depend on their children to tell them about what was going in their schools.

Sompet, in conjunction with other Somali organisations, is empowering Somali parents to form a Somali Parents Association so that they can voice their opinion on their childrens' education. The new association will address issues of low achievement, problems of exclusion, racism in schools and will campaign for resources.


WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS

The project supports schools in helping them develop language policies for refugee children. It highlights the importance of staff development, promoting an awareness of childrens' home culture, language and the circumstances of their immigration. It advises schools on how to deal with problematic behaviour especially when the student's culture or attitude runs counter to school rules or teachers expectations.

The project has co-ordinated a group of volunteers to go into schools to support Somali students who are experiencing difficulties in settling down. Schools call us for assistance when it is needed. At times, however, schools are reluctant to have volunteers assigned to them because they feel volunteers can leave the service any time and that good teaching relies on continuity.

Volunteers also accompany Somali parents to schools to interpret for them and sometimes do advocacy on their behalf. In addition volunteers support some children at home and help them with their homework and improve their literacy skills.


WORKING WITH CHILDREN

Somali children in East London are supported by the project in and out of school. They receive literacy and numeracy support from our trained volunteers. We are in contact with a large number of Somali children who receive help in their homework including planning project work. The project pays particular attention to the pupil's literacy and numeracy levels and gives extra lessons to those who are behind their expected level of achievement.

We work with those who are risk of being excluded from school by assessing their needs. We study the cause of any reported misbehaviour or any other special needs. Such children come to our centre and receive assistance which culturally relevant to help them overcome problems that are hampering their progress at school. The project has succeeded in reintegrating 23 students back into the main stream so far. There have been cases in which the project has to intervene in exclusions that are thought to be unfair (on the part of the student). In such cases we tried to bridge the gap between the student and teachers and facilitate communication in order to resolve misunderstandings.

We work with our youth team to organise residential trips, football matches and tournaments, health and female genital mutialtion awareness raising sessions.


THE VOLUNTEERS

Sompet prides itself on having dedicated volunteers who have helped a great deal in supporting parents and children. In the process of helping parents our volunteers have come to appreciate the difference their work makes to many families. Our volunteers have gained skills in the course of their voluntary work. This practical experience coupled with the training provided by the project has enabled up to 18 volunteers to get full time paid jobs.