This factsheet was taken from the following website: www.coeureaction.qc.ca.

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Les ptits succs

1) Category:
Specific program

2) Issues Behind the Program:
Some children have difficulties in school as early as kindergarten or Grade 1.
Outreach to these children and their family is spotty at best.

3) Objectives:
Work with parents so that they feel more competent to help their children achieve
success in primary school.
Have the parents and children experience success.
Act so that conditions are conducive to learning in school, at home and within the
community.
Foster joint action between the school, the family and the community.

4) Environment:
Primary school
Families
The community

5) Target Group:
Students from 5 to 7 years old with difficulties in social skills, concentration or self-
esteem
Parents

6) Key Words:
Les ptits succs, coeuraction, school-family-community partnership, specific program,
joint action, self-esteem, concentration, social skills, community organizations,
collaboration, support, parenting skills, prevention, dropping out











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7) Description:
Les ptits succs is a joint initiative by community organizations and schools aimed at
providing training and support to parents and support to their children experiencing
difficulties in the early years of schooling. The program consists of three distinct
components:
o Les ptits succs workshops: Twice a week, small groups of students meet for
workshops to help them develop self-esteem, concentration and certain social skills.
o Individualized support for parents: Parents are given personalized support and
follow-up by a Dclic community worker. The purpose is to acknowledge and finetune
the basic parenting skills that parents need in order to help their children with
school.
o Work in tandem with the community through the Parent dabord issue table:
Regular meetings occur between the representatives of community organizations and
youth institutions.

8) Steps:
I. In June, the primary school, with the community at large, hosts an open house for
parents whose children will be starting kindergarten in September. This meeting is an
opportunity for initial contact between parents, the schools administration, and
community organizations (including Dclic) and between the children and teachers,
who, even at this early stage, can begin to screen for certain characteristics. The
community organization briefs the participants on Les ptits succs.
II. At the beginning of the school year, when the teachers begin to see which students have
problems with self-esteem, concentration or social skills, they determine which children
could benefit from the workshops.
III. The school principal asks potential Les ptits succs participants if they want to get
involved. Further to a positive response, the application is forwarded to the community
organization.
IV. Children can participate in the workshops only if their parents agree to meet with a
Dclic worker at least once a month.

9) Activities/Actions:
Les ptits succs workshops with a group of six kindergarten and six Grade 1 students on
developing concentration, self-esteem and social skills. There is no academic
intervention.
Individualized support for parents: Individual meetings take place at least once a
month. A customized support strategy for guiding children on their journey through
school is crafted based on the parents particular circumstances and skills.
Action in tandem with the community: Various means are used to carry out joint action
with the community (e.g. discussion and follow-up with school staff; reference
protocols; roles of the participants; follow-up for children and parents; family
strategies; and heightening awareness of the daily lives of these families). A minimum







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of six meetings a year is held to see how the families are doing, to put the members
expertise to use, and to come up with coherent action.

10) Resources Required:
Human resources:
o Two community workers (for two groups of children and 12 parents)
o One coordinator

11) Roles of the Stakeholders:
Community workers:
o One worker meets with the parents, works with the school, and co-moderates the
workshops (at least 28 hours a week).
o One worker co-moderates the workshops with the children and takes care of all
reference material, paperwork and information for issue table meetings (at least
21 hours a week).
o A coordinator plans discussion, reflection, analysis and supervision activities in the
case of families with severe problems (approximately 2 to 3 hours a week).

12) Scientific Basis or Validity:
For the past eight years, more than 100 children and parents have participated in Les
ptits succs. The annual evaluations, carried out in collaboration with the parents,
children, school and community, show the following:
o Families are gradually forging ties with the school and are putting more into
helping their children with school.
o The trust created with the Dclic worker optimizes family action and support.
o Parents have a more positive view of the school and more parents attend activities
such as graduation ceremonies.
o The school has noticed positive changes in the children, not only in terms of skills,
but also with regard to the quality of the ties it forms with the parents.
The school adjusts and improves how it goes about doing certain things because it has
become aware of what daily life is like for the families in the program.
The Les ptits succs program was the subject of evaluative research and the resulting
report was published in June 2012. The evaluative process gave all players (except the
children) the opportunity to express themselves. They, to various degrees, noted
positive effects with regard to:
o the children (self-esteem, concentration, social skills, and motivation to learn;
o the parents and the family (development of parenting skills, psychosocial
contribution, and development of the ability to act);
o development of ties between parent and school (mutual understanding, perception
of eachs others merit, and common strategies);
o rallying of the school community (positive spinoffs from the co-construction of a
project).







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o The complete report is available at:
http://www.agencelanaudiere.qc.ca/ASSS/Publications/Rapport%20evaluation%20-
%20Les%20ptits%20succes%20-%20Version%20finale%20juin%202012.pdf

13) Program Material:
Explanatory factsheet
ParenTrucs
Concentration tools

(Note: These tools are available from DCLIC.)

14) Additional Information:
The information in this factsheet is based on interviews with the people in charge of the
program.

15) Contacts:
Solange Tougas
Dclic
584, rue Montcalm
Berthierville (Qubec) J0K 1A0
Tel.: (450) 836-1079
Email: org@gpdeclic.ca