Our support For families For Families This page is for families to find out more about West London Zone (WLZ). What does WLZ do? WLZ wants the young people we work with to be confident and happy, have positive relationships and to make good progress at school. “I think the WLZ should be offered to all schools as it is a wonderful way of learning life skills as well as academic work. It is a brilliant project!” Primary School WLZ Parent Why was your child chosen for the programme? Schools recommend children for the WLZ programme who they believe will benefit from additional opportunities that help their personal/social development, boost confidence, and improve progress at school. We work with children with a wide variety of skills and abilities, and the extra activities we offer are personalised for each child. “It helped me build up my confidence and bravery and showed me that I should never give up" Primary school young person on the WLZ programme “My child has come on leaps and bounds in terms of confidence since they started with WLZ" WLZ parent What does being on the programme mean for your child? Each young person has a Link Worker, based in their school, who coordinates these additional opportunities. We partner with over 40 charities working in our Zone to carry out specialist support sessions to help young people to reach their potential. Sessions are usually based at the school and can focus on many different areas, from English and maths to circus skills and street dance. Link Workers work with young people for at least 2 years, getting to know them really well. Regular 1-1 sessions with Link Workers focus on individual goals to help young people grow and develop in areas that are most important for them. We focus on building children's strengths and the things they enjoy when we are thinking about their goals for the future. Link Workers are a positive person in a young person’s life, who they can trust to support them, even when things are hard. When things go wrong, we encourage children to focus on their successes and build on what they’re doing well. What does it mean for families? Link Workers work closely with families to let them know about the opportunities that are available and to discuss their child’s progress. They also flag up opportunities in the community which could complement each child's WLZ individual support plan. Link Workers introduce these opportunities to the children and their families and often take the child to the first session themselves. These can range from youth clubs to local family events. Our programme is currently available in schools across Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster and Brent. “I have really appreciated the support during lockdown, specifically around my child's learning and development, and encouraging communication and good behaviour. Thank you also for supporting me and encouraging me as a parent and offering ideas and solutions to support my son emotionally and educationally during lockdown.” WLZ parent “My son’s speech has improved so much, considering French is his first language. Also, he is much more comfortable speaking and expressing himself in English at school and at home. It was a good decision for me to let him join your sessions, as this had a great impact on him. So a big thank you to you & your team, and of course to his school teacher & team.” Early Years WLZ parent