Interview: Alison Jones, School Home Support worker, Tower Hamlets, east London

Here, parents who had been reluctant to leave their homes are volunteering support to after-school clubs, or listening to children read and helping them in maths classes.

"One mother who never went out now runs a credit union with children from the school two mornings a week," says Alison Jones, who is employed by charity School Home Support to work at the school.

"She's going to a meeting today to help another school set up its own credit union."

About 30 per cent of parents with children at Marion Richardson are either volunteering or attending courses. Jones acts as the catalyst. School Home Support, which works in schools across the UK, helps disengaged parents to access adult education, family trips or volunteering opportunities, that often provide a route to employment.

Jones is a former youth and community worker and brims with enthusiasm for a job she has done for 15 years. "At the moment we have a Moroccan parent teaching Arabic to four Bengali parents and four Somali parents - it's amazing in terms of community cohesion," she exclaims.

At both ends of the school day, Jones can be found in the playground, encouraging parents to attend a course, a class or even a theatre trip. "For most parents it's about having the confidence to move out of depression and into the community," she adds.

"At this school 92 per cent of children speak English as a second language. If you have not been educated here, how do you know what is happening in the community?"

The Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities course is a way in for many. "It helps them get to know other parents, but also learn about violence in our community, how to stop kids getting into gangs, what is domestic violence and child abuse," she explains. "As parents begin to think, 'I want to make a difference', we can say why don't you do the volunteers course?"

Jones is often found in The Parents' Hut, a mobile building that sits proudly in the corner of the playground. There she offers one-to-one support to parents facing unemployment, family sickness, bereavement, domestic violence or housing issues.

"One mother fled domestic violence and was moved six times in four years with two young children," recalls Jones. "She finally got a permanent house in January and we were able to give her money for beds and a fridge."

Jones firmly believes volunteering opportunities should be instrumental in plans to get more parents into sustained work and reduce child poverty: "When people gain confidence and skills through volunteering, they begin to feel they have worth again."

Her track record speaks for itself. Parents who had historically lived "in the bubble of their own family" are now teaching assistants, school governors, doctors and nurses. Some are organising trips to museums and theatres, while others provide peer support to less confident parents.

The impact on children is evident. "Children enjoy seeing their parents volunteering in class," Jones says. "Parents are less stressed and feel more confident. Also, going on outings means children form memories of doing positive things as a family."

Despite being a shining example of how the Big Society could work, the volunteering courses are under threat. The Department for Communities and Local Government's Working Neighbourhoods Fund is one of the programme's backers. The government has recently announced a £50m cut to the fund.

It costs £500 a term to run the four-week introduction to volunteering course, while the NVQ costs £1,600 a term. Marion Richardson School is one of a number being forced to find alternatives. "Schools that have done phenomenally well in Tower Hamlets will end up not being able to afford to do the courses," Jones says.

WHAT IS IT?: SCHOOL HOME SUPPORT

• School Home Support (SHS) is a national charity that places trained practitioners in schools to support children and families
• The charity, which has been running for 25 years, is working in 240 schools across 22 local authorities — in nursery, primary, secondary and pupil referral unit settings
• Main areas of SHS's work include supporting and engaging parents in the child's school life, improving children's attendance, improving behaviour and working with communities
• Independent research in 2007 showed that for every pound spent on SHS the taxpayer saves £21.14