Family Support Worker
Hello! My name is Michelle Brightwell and, alongside my role as Playleader with Pippins, I am the Family Support Worker at Freegrounds Junior School. My role in school is to provide support, advice and information to the families within our school community. I can help you with any worries or concerns you may have in relation to your child’s education, behaviour or wellbeing. I am also here as someone to talk to and lend a listening ear for any family difficulties you may be facing. My role in supporting families will include the following:
- Meeting with and getting to know families
- Promoting good attendance and punctuality
- Advice and support in promoting positive behaviours at home
- Providing information and signposting to other services such as housing, food banks and other local support
- Providing workshops in school to support parents
Coffee Mornings
I host regular coffee morning sessions, which have been very popular and always consist of a short presentation with tea/coffee and biscuits followed by the children of any parent/carer attending joining them for a fun activity session.
March 2026 - Coffee Morning
Over 50 parents attended our Spring term 2026 coffee morning, where we were joined by Alison from Children's Services to inform us of some of the support in Hampshire available to parents. We were also very lucky to have our refreshments provided by Starbucks – a real treat to have a coffee and delicious cake! When the children joined their parents and carers, they spent time decorating their wooden keepsake box with their 'pocket hug' inside. A lovely atmosphere in the hall with staff members also popping in to say hello. Some feedback from those who attended below:
- ‘I always enjoy your coffee mornings; you make it so lovely and welcoming. My girls are always looking forward to the next one. I thought the presentation today was really powerful, and was speaking to other parents about it, and we all felt a little lighter afterwards. I think the way you connect the mental health stuff you guys work on with the kids in school to us as parents is great. I am always grateful for the insight into how things are approached at school with the kids. Super grateful for you! Starbucks was awesome!’
- ‘… the keepsake box activity was a lovely thing to do with the children, and, of course, the cakes and Starbucks items went down a treat! Thanks so much for putting these on.’
- ‘The meet was greatly beneficial! Lovely to spend time with the children in the setting. Helpful talk and opportunity to seek support for parents in need. Nice to see school staff available too. The treats were an added bonus! Thank you for the support work you do.’
December 2025 - Coffee Morning
Our Christmas Crafts coffee morning was a huge success, with 51 parents attending to hear a short presentation on our Empowerment Approach – all about us all getting our daily DOSE of feel-good chemicals (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins) which we certainly did with the children joining their parents in the hall. Everyone enjoyed croissants and doughnuts and the chance to make some Christmas tree decorations.
Cooking with Michelle – online family cooking events
I host a cooking session from my own kitchen one evening per term. We have around 50 families joining up to these events which is fantastic and a brilliant community feel with all our families coming together over TEAMS. These are fully funded by Eastleigh Borough Council, and families who sign up receive all the ingredients they need to join in from the comfort of their own kitchens.
This year, I’ve also introduced some exciting new opportunities:
I arranged six weeks of cookery classes for parents, run with Chef Liam during the school day. We were shown how to cook some basic but tasty recipes on a budget. Our parents made a variety of meals – from a fake KFC to homemade sausage rolls. The final session involved us making scones with homemade compote and the children of the parents involved were invited to join in for afternoon tea. Thank you to Chef Liam and all the lovely parents who joined up to take part in the sessions – we all had a fun time together.
I would also like to start up a Community Gardening club, where I’d love parents/grandparents to join us as volunteers to share their skills and wisdom with the children. Please let me know if you have any spare time to spare or gardening equipment you no longer need as we would love to hear from you.
If you would like a friendly chat, you can contact me via the school office – I am available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays, 9.00am-12.00 noon by calling the school phone number – 01489 782295.
I am always happy to hear from any parent or carer and I can arrange to have a chat away from the hustle and bustle of the main reception area, perhaps over a cup of tea or coffee, outside of school at a local coffee shop or at your home if you would prefer.
I look forward to meeting you all, and to working together to support your children throughout their journey here at Freegrounds Junior School.
Michelle Brightwell