The Marlborough model has been developed over the last twenty years as part of the mental health service provided by CNWL.  It is designed to help those families who are thought to be reluctant to seek help or who are hostile to the idea of professional intervention. The model has been designed to actively reduce feelings of anxiety, anger, stigma and fear often associated with being referred for help to psychiatric, psychological or other mental health based services.The presenting problem of the child failing in school, on the cusp of exclusion, has been the point of referral and engagement of families in treatment.

On any day up to 9 families take part in a multifamily treatment programme, delivered in the Marlborough classroom. The programme is designed to tackle blocks to learning by focusing on repeating cycles of disruptive, worrying and anti social behaviour. To monitor progress each child has measurable targets which are rated daily by the parents, the child's teachers and the child themselves. Common criteria examined are 

• Anger management and violence
• Attention span and focusing skills
• Stress management
• Empathy and social skills
• Academic achievement

On entry pupils usually score between 30% and 48% on these criteria over the first six weeks of observation. This places them in the risk of exclusion category on the basis that scores in acceptable classroom behaviour are consistently too low. On exit the pupil will only be returned to full time mainstream education when they have scored 85% of the time, every day for six weeks. This takes them clear of the risk of exclusion.

The time taken to achieve this varies depending on the length and severity of the child's problems on entry. However the programme generally takes between 3 months to a year to be effective Attendance at the Centre is part time, four mornings per week

We believe that the success of the programme is due in part to the support that the parents give each other. They share ideas and skills which promote change in the parent child relationship as well as challenging destructive behaviours and beliefs. Parents who have achieved success are actively encouraged to share their knowledge and experience with new and nervous parents. They become "trained peers" that prove invaluable in the engagement of the hard to reach parent. They have become an important component of our satellite family classrooms in mainstream schools, encouraging participation in these programmes and speeding up the development of trust

 A very exciting collaboration between the Education Centre and the Westminster Family Learning Service has enabled the adults attending to receive a literacy and computer skills training as part of the programme.  Some of the parents have little or no literacy skills which commonly feeds into feelings of inadequacy in relation to their children’s experience of school. Several ‘techno phobic’ parents have been transformed.