By Esther Fawcett, Family Support Worker

As a family support worker across six primary schools, my role is all about supporting children's wellbeing and helping families access the support they need. So when I saw information about Pact's Educational Forums, it immediately felt relevant.

It got me thinking about a family I supported a few years ago. A parent came to me for advice after a family member went into custody, and if I'm honest, I felt out of my depth. I wanted to help, but I didn't know where to start. I ended up researching everything myself and trying to piece together information from different places. Looking back, that's one of the reasons I wanted to attend the forum. I hoped it would help me feel better equipped if I ever found myself in that situation again.

At the time, we only knew of a small number of families in our schools who might be affected by the criminal justice system. But one of the first things I learned at the forum was that schools often only know about parental imprisonment if a family chooses to tell us. That was a real eye-opener. What we think is a small number may simply be the small number we know about.

I wasn’t sure what to expect

Before the visit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I'd never been inside a prison as an adult. My dad was a police officer, so as a child I'd seen police cells and been introduced to that world in a very friendly, sanitised way. But walking into a prison is very different.

One thing that struck me straight away was the security process. We went through the same checks that visitors go through, including drug detection dogs. Even though I knew I had nothing to worry about, I still felt anxious. Standing there, waiting to go through, surrounded by fences topped with razor wire, I started thinking about the children and families who experience this regularly.

It made me realise just how daunting a prison visit can be for a child.

Schools are often in the dark

The visit itself was incredibly informative. We heard from Pact staff, prison officers and other professionals working inside the prison. We learned about the practical challenges families face, including the fact that many people are held a long way from home, making visits difficult and exhausting.

What surprised me most was learning that there is no routine system for informing schools that a child has a parent in prison. As schools, we receive information about many aspects of safeguarding, but unless a family tells us directly, we may have no idea that a child is coping with the imprisonment of a parent.

That knowledge has already changed my thinking.

It’s our job not to assume, but to listen

The forum didn't tell us to make assumptions about families. Quite the opposite. What it gave me was a broader understanding of what might sit behind changes in a child's behaviour, attendance or wellbeing.

For example, if a child is regularly exhausted on a Monday morning, we might think about illness or family contact arrangements. Now I might also consider whether that family has spent the weekend travelling a long distance to visit a loved one in prison. It's about widening our perspective and being professionally curious in a respectful way.

Schools are in a unique position because we see children every day. Children often tell us things, sometimes directly and sometimes in ways they don't even realise. Many want to talk about what's happening in their lives, and our job is to listen carefully and create an environment where they feel safe and heard.

Children can’t thrive without support

We know that children cannot thrive academically if they are frightened, worried or carrying the weight of difficult experiences on their own. That's why support matters.

What the forum gave me most of all was confidence. I now know where to turn for advice and support. I know that Pact is there not only for families, but also for professionals supporting them.

I also came away with a much clearer picture of what prison visits are actually like. Seeing the family visiting area and hearing how much thought has gone into making those spaces more welcoming for children was powerful. Prison staff spoke about the importance of maintaining family relationships and helping make visits as positive as possible within a secure environment.

That means that if a parent comes to me worried about an upcoming prison visit, I can speak from experience. I can explain what the process looks like, reassure them about the support available, and help them prepare their children.

For me, that's the real value of these forums. They take something that can feel unfamiliar and overwhelming, and turn it into something we can understand and respond to.

Most importantly, they help schools do what we do best: recognise when a child needs support and make sure they don't face difficult experiences alone.

About the Educational Forums

Pact's Educational Forums, funded by Sony, bring teachers and school staff into prisons to learn more about the realities facing children with a parent in prison. Through visits, discussions with prison staff and Pact practitioners, and specialist training, educators gain practical tools to identify and support children who might otherwise go unnoticed. The forums are part of Pact's wider work to equip schools to better support these children and to advocate for systemic change so no child is left facing the impact of parental imprisonment alone.

This blog is the third in a series highlighting our educational and family forums in the Midlands. Read the other blogs:

• Why joined‑up working matters for children with a parent in prison
• How do we properly value family expertise in prisons?