Welcome to the Dads’ Hub...

... where dads, stepdads, grandads, uncles and other male role models can spend quality time with children at school
15th July 2018, 8:04am

Share

Welcome to the Dads’ Hub...

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/welcome-dads-hub
Thumbnail

It’s 8.45am on a sunny Friday and a huge queue of 85 men has formed outside the school office at Rangefield Primary School in Bromley, South London. The queue stretches down the playground, outside the school gates and down the road.

These men are the male role models of the pupils at Rangefield - there’s a mix of dads, grandads, stepdads, uncles, big brothers and male carers. And they’re all here for one reason: to spend quality time with their children at the school’s termly “Dads’ Hub”.

At the hub, children are taken out of lessons to spend time with their dads, taking part in both sport and education activities. The sessions are held every Friday before half-term, last 90 minutes and are packed with laughter, love and learning.

Dad hub

The idea started with assistant headteacher Del Rowland, who says that when he first arrived at Rangefield, the school’s existing parent workshops were well attended, but that “99 per cent of attendees were women”. After approaching men at the school gates, he learned that they felt that those sorts of bonding workshops were for mums.

“I spoke to our executive head, Kathy Palmer, who said that at another school in the Lewisham area, Eliot Bank, they had a ‘dads’ breakfast’. I went along and was blown away by the number of dads that were there,” says Rowland. “So I grabbed a load of dads, had a meeting with tea, coffee and biscuits, and asked them: what do you want? Sport came up, which is a good ice-breaker and was perfect from the start, so we kept that the same, and it’s grown and grown. Seeing what Kathy did with dads’ breakfast inspired me and without her this wouldn’t have happened. She pushed me and let me do what I knew to be right for the kids of Rangefield.”

There’s no limit on the number of men that can come to Dads’ Hub, says Rowland. Whoever wants to come comes, and if it’s crammed, it’s crammed. And with 30 per cent of families represented by 85 men, and 27 per cent of pupils taking part in the hub on that Friday morning, the hall was bursting.  

“We don’t ever draw the line on numbers. This is about giving dads, uncles, stepdads, whoever, the opportunity to spend time with their children in school, seeing what they do, talking to their friends, interacting - just quality time,” says Rowland.

Pupils ‘proud to have their dads at school’

It may have started with sport, but there are a huge variety of different activities available to take part in. Outside, yes, there’s football (I witnessed a brilliant dads vs kids match), but there’s also a climbing frame, skipping ropes, cups to stack, building blocks and bean bags for those who just want to sit and chat to their children. After half an hour, the group moves inside, to have refreshments while Rowland gives a short presentation on what a child expects from a father figure.

“There is a section in which I talk about being a good father, but I don’t want to lecture them,” says Rowland. “I’m not telling them how to be a dad. The fact is they’re here.”

Dad hub

But what do the dads themselves think?

Dimitris Agamemnon welcomes the opportunity to come and spend time with his children at the school. “It’s really important that the dads get out there and do that because you ask a parent to come to a school and 99 per cent of the time a mum is going to come, but it’s really good to spend quality time,” he says. “Every time it’s been so successful, and the turnout is huge. It just goes to show how many people make an effort. After the first couple, word got around about how incredible this was, and everyone wanted to be involved.”

Another advantage to the hub, suggests dad Brian Dudman, is that it gives dads and male guardians the chance to connect with one another and form relationships - something that can be a challenge if mum is always the one doing the school run.

“I’ve been to all of them so far - they’re so brilliant and inclusive. It’s a good networking opportunity for the dads as well as the kids,” says Dudman.

Agamemnon agrees, and adds that seeing dads gathering together like this is not as common as it should be. 

“Dads are interacting, competing with each other and their children and are meeting new people and making connections within the area,” he says.

“It creates an incredible atmosphere around the community because you have to remember this is a very local school, and people know each other. Word goes around fast. It’s an incredible thing to see dads gathering together - it’s rare. This is something that should happen in every school around the borough.”

Headteacher Meghan Pugh says that she has witnessed a change in the dads since the hubs started and that it’s down to them having the chance to interact with their children in a “positive environment”.

“It’s nice to see the families together,” she says. “Dads work, and especially if it’s a broken family and they get [the children] every other weekend, it’s not fair. This gives them the opportunity to see their children. Mum is always there and always comes into school, and dads need to be celebrated, too.”

And, of course, at Dads’ Hub, grandads, stepdads, uncles and brothers are all celebrated, too. Grandad Michael Hollingshead enjoys coming each term.

“It’s such a great opportunity to support and encourage the kids, proving to them that you’re taking an interest in them at all times. They come over after school and on the weekends, and take over the house. But this shows you’re interested in what they’re doing in school, too,” he says.  

Dad hub

And the positive effects of the hub stretch even further, says sports coach Ola Walker. As a result of getting the dads into school and familiar with the teachers, he has seen a rise in the number wanting to be involved in the school’s extracurricular activities.

“We’ve had a lot of dads who have now volunteered themselves to help with the school’s football teams. I run the teams, and there used to be only two of us. But because they’ve come along to Dads’ Hub and met me, some now come along and referee the games for us, which gives us more time to watch the games and be with the kids.”

Back in the hub, it’s a busy 90 minutes. Children are eager to show the men off to their friends, keen to be by their side at all times (one Reception child cried when asked to let go of his dad’s hand so he could have his picture taken with the others) and excited to have them in the school building.

Setting up a dads’ hub is simple: clear an hour and a half in the school diary, get the word out and build up a buzz, and then just allow children and their dads to be together.

So simple, so effective and so very easily replicated. 

“The best part is watching the kids together with their dads,” says Rowland. “I’d love to see the idea spread across the country.”

If you are interested in beginning a dads’ hub at your school, Del Rowland would be happy to come and talk to you. You can contact him on twitter @2009dr.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared