Unique access to how one urban local authority and its schools are working with parents, hoping that their parenting classes will help families, and help their children do better at school. In 2006 the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, one of Britain's most ethnically diverse regions, launched a radical new approach to parenting classes - a universal, inclusive programme for all parents, available for free at any school trained to run the course. This film follows four weeks in the lives of the parenting intervention team, the teachers and community leaders running the classes, and the parents attending them, including mother of three Tracey as she struggles to become a positive role model for her daughter Ellie. How well is this government funded trial doing? What is the impact on families from the white, Somali and Bengali communities? And is it the answer to narrowing the gap, getting parents more effectively engaged with their children and their education?

Video Series: Working with Parents
Release Date 2009