A unit that provides education for children who are excluded, sick, or otherwise unable to attend a mainstream school has become the first in Suffolk to be nationally recognised for the way it engages parents.

The Albany Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Bury St Edmunds has been handed the Families First award, which recognises good practice when engaging and valuing parents – especially in the way the school is led and managed.

Families First is a quality improvement framework developed by the National Association of Family Information Services (NAFIS) and the Family and Childcare Trust.

The framework was developed as part of Suffolk County Council’s Raising the Bar focus on increasing educational attainment and aspirations for young people throughout Suffolk.

Lisa Chambers, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for education and skills, said: “I’m delighted that this school has been recognised for its hard work and commitment to keeping families at the heart of their everyday practice.

“As part of this framework, developed through Raising the Bar, we identified the vital need to ensure that parents were fully involved with the learning their child receives, enabling them to help shape their child’s future.”

She added: “This has been a very successful programme and I urge other schools across the county to find out how they can benefit from Families First training and accreditation.”

Kirstie Land, The Albany Centre’s deputy headteacher, said: “We are delighted to be the first Pupil Referral Unit in the county to receive this award. This is a real testament to the hard work our staff put in to working in team with parents/ carers and external support agencies to support our young people to re-engage in education.”

The Families First standards are designed to help schools demonstrate how they keep families at the heart of their practice; support children throughout their education by helping parents to engage with their child’s learning and work with a range of partners to help families access a range of information, advice and support.

Contact the information Service by calling 0845 60 800 33.