Theme 4: Interpersonal interactions

This level of the socio-ecological model refers to the formal and informal networks and social support systems that can influence individual behaviour. This includes friends, family, carers and teachers who act as role models and influence behaviour (Unicef, 2009). The findings from the present study suggested that interpersonal relationships were strengthened at a number of levels as a consequence of attending holiday club. Four sub themes of socialisation; parental interactions with children; building relationships, and wider support for families were identified.

3.5.5.1. Socialisation

For parents and children, maintaining and forming new friendships and relationships with their respective peer groups was perceived to be a huge benefit of holiday clubs across all stakeholder groups, with 48 participants commenting on issues relating to

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children being able to socialise and 41 participants commenting on issues relating to parental socialisation. For example, a holiday club member of staff said: “For me the

best thing is watching relationships erm start and grow and develop and watching people get to know each other and become friends and actually just watching those relationships kind of flourish as time goes on” (HCS7). A parent/carer reported that

without holiday club she may not have spoken to another adult for the duration of the holidays: “it gets me oot (out) the hoose (house) as well , and it gets me a wee gab

(small chat) and a catch up with some of the parents, because usually, if I don’t see them after, like when the summer, the holidays finish, I’ll not see them ‘til August so I’m still getting to catch up with them” (PC3). Parents said they had chatted with other

parents/carers with whom they had never interacted with before even though their

children had all attended the same school and they regularly saw each other at the school gate. For example, a father said: “A lot of us probably wouldnae (wouldn’t) talk, a lot

us, if you come down the school, a lot of us is just drop the wee uns (ones) off and away… but here, I, I dae (do) know some of the people oot (out) there, I’ve known them to see for a long long time, but this is the first time I’ve actually spoke to a lot of them.” (PC5). Parents expected these new relationships to continue after the holidays which

was considered to be particularly beneficial for parents whose children would be starting school in the new academic year, as one parent explained: “because when the schools

start back, I’m gonna (going to) know some of the parents that are already chi whose kids are already attending XXXX primary, so yeah, it will make a huge difference for me” (PC7).

New friendship bonds were also formed in community-based clubs. Those friendships, suggested a holiday club staff member, would endure and enable parents to support each other in the future: “there's friendships forming, two ladies who live around the corner

from each other didn't know (each other) and now they're friends, they're really close and it's good it's good because we know each of the parents and we know they need that stability around them” (HCS 22). A similar experience of forming a new friendship was

reported by a parent at a different club: “Yeah, literally a girl that lives across the road

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really good advantage of that” (PC20). Friendships were formed even in clubs where

parents did not have to stay. At one club a senior stakeholder described how staff helped facilitate meetings between vulnerable parents: “there was a group of maybe 3 asylum

seeker families and the mums were all going off to spend some time together while the children were at the holiday club …and I don't think that would necessarily have happened because they would have all just been at home” (SS5).

The opportunity for children to socialise, see and make new friends of different ages and generally interact with people they might not otherwise have mixed with was considered to be very important as the alternative might be a lonely, isolated summer in the house: “just the children really enjoying playing together I don’t know if there's the you know

there's a lot of solitary being in your own house nowadays for children you know” (HCS 6). A parent echoed the same sentiment: “because he’s not got any brothers or sisters and he doesnae (doesn’t) play with any of the ones round my bit, whereas in here he’s got plenty of people to play with” (PC3). Likewise, children reported that making new

friends: “makes us feel happier” (CFG1). Community based holiday clubs had an additional benefit in that they enabled children to make links with children from

different schools: “we do have kids from all of the three primary schools in the area and

it's nice for them to interact with kids that they wouldn't normally interact with because they go to different schools and we do have the different age ranges so it's a case of well it's not just the 30 kids that are in your class you can meet people from a different school or a different year group kind of thing so I think it's good for them to be able to make friends,” (HCS16). Parents also perceived this to be a benefit: “she gets to play with her friends and new you know new people and she makes new friends and then you end up seeing them in the street and you know or I think they get so much out of it” (PC21).

3.5.5.2. Parental interaction with children

Where parents were required to stay with their child at the holiday club, holiday club staff, parents and food industry representatives reported that the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal and participate in activities together that holiday club afforded was positive: “what I really saw when I was there were kind of family units uniting together

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eating with your family without all the other distractions that go around that” (FI7).

The demands of everyday life such as housework and chores during the summer normally prevented parents from interacting with their children at home but they said they were now squeezing in chores around going to holiday club: “you’ll be like that

“go on out an play, I’ve got the beds to make or I’ve got a washing to dae(do), where I just stick the washing on in the morning before I come oot (out)” (PC4). Furthermore, if

parents and children had not attended holiday club, parents said they would more than likely have been in separate rooms doing different (sedentary) things: “She’d probably

be watching something in her room and I’d be in the living room watching something different” (PC1). Parents welcomed the opportunity to spend time doing things together: “and it’s getting to do things with the kids as well, spending some quality time with them, whereas in the house sometimes you’d put that kinda thing off, you mebbe (maybe) wanted to do it, but just putting it off, so here, it’s, you dae, (do) you get stuck in and it’s spending quality time” (PC7). One holiday club staff member suggested increased

interaction between parents and children might improve relationships: “because at home

they were saying like oh they’re driving me daft I don't know what to do with them but they come here and they do a craft together and spend like half a day with us more or less and we don't have that behaviour because they're very busy” (HCS23).

3.5.5.3. Building relationships

Though not reported by parents/carers or children, senior stakeholders and holiday club staff involved in the development or delivery of school based holiday clubs considered that traditional school staff/parent barriers had been broken down in school based holiday clubs. One holiday club member of staff who also worked in the school explained that: “it’s a different kind of engagement because you're seeing them on a

daily basis and it's a chat you know hello and you feel like you’re getting to know them a little bit better, err as a teacher in the school that's not necessarily how you would be communicating with them in that sort of more relaxed and it's daily”(HCS6). Senior

stakeholders, teachers and holiday club staff all viewed this as important. It was

suggested that some parents had had a bad educational experience themselves and were reluctant to engage with their child’s school and participants felt this may contribute to

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the gap in attainment between high and low socio-economic status children. They felt that hosting holiday clubs in schools could potentially change that dynamic: “my strong

feeling is that a bit of that attainment gap is around parents’ ability to engage with the school, parents’ ability to talk to a teacher or to walk in here or come to parents’ night and I think that that's been a massive thing for some of the parents” (SS7). The benefits

of inviting parents in to a school and changing that dynamic were observed by a member of holiday club staff: “parents are not frightened to come through the door, so

ownership of the school was fantastic to see and that's a lot to, that’s down to (head teacher's name) because she allowed that to happen, you know she wasn't defensive about it, she threw the doors open and wanted that to happen” (HCS11). In addition,

children were able to engage and interact with staff in a more informal setting which may have benefits in terms of how children saw their schools and staff: “it can be that

they see staff and that building as an authoritarian, but I think by opening it up and making it more relaxed, and obviously there was staff there, the head mistress was there, and seeing her in a different sort of level and someone that they could approach” (SS2). Access to Meals & More funding also meant that children’s centres could

continue to build relationships with parents and families during the summer: “I mean

the funding is essential for us because as a service we don't have that kind of funds lying around to put all these err sessions” (HCS 23).

3.5.5.4. Wider support for families

Public health professionals attended some holiday clubs to provide advice and information on a range of public health issues including: smoking cessation, debt management, housing issues, dental care, sun safety and healthy eating. This enabled organisations to deliver public health messages in new ways and in new venues. In addition, organisations could offer support to families whom they may not normally come into contact with: “I think sometimes our targeted families get a lot of support

anyway, and then the wider community often doesn't get that opportunity to partake so , I think that’s, it's very positive in what we've done this time” (SS2). This in turn meant

that parents were able to access support, develop new links with health care

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offer emotional and practical support. For example, one parent explained that she and her mother had both previously put off getting debt management advice but they both received advice from advisors who attended the holiday club on how to resolve their financial problems. Working in a more relaxed and informal setting was also welcomed by public health practitioners: “it's quite nice for the parents to have that opportunity to

come together in a more relaxed environment and discuss problems, 'cause that's the other thing we found we were approached by some of the parents with other issues for the children” (SS2). The emotional support club volunteers offered was also welcomed

by parents, as one parent explained: “they’re volunteers, they really make you feel

better, they always offer you a cup of tea, you have a bad day and they say, it’s not always just about the money and everything else, sometimes you just need someone to talk to and these guys have been here for us for lots of different things” (PC20).