Children's social skills have improved in the scheme

The Super Dads project is being run at Pen Pych Community Primary school in Blaenrhondda, near Treorchy.

Fathers, uncles and grandfathers are invited to go to the school on Tuesdays where they run different activities for the children.

Teachers say it has improved the social skills of their pupils by encouraging more interaction with the men in their lives.

The scheme which has been running for about a year has more than 20 men involved.

Among the activities that are being run in the scheme are sports clubs, camping trips, cooking with the children and teaching skills such as woodwork and sewing.

There has been a definite improvement in the performance in the classroom Head teacher Gareth Todd Jones

Head teacher Gareth Todd Jones has been heavily involved in setting up the scheme and believes that father-involvement is an important factor in children's development.

"There has been a definite improvement in the performance in the classroom," he said.

"The children with active fathers tend to have good social skills.

"It is about providing a balance - we saw that there was a huge amount of things for mothers to become involved in their children's lives at school but hardly anything for fathers.

"It is vitally important to the children that their fathers are able to spend time doing things with them.

Many children crave more time with their fathers

"So we provide the support for activities the father wants to put on for the children.

"We feel we are helping the fathers redefine their role in the children's lives and helping them to gain more status in the community," he said.

Child psychologist Doctor Gordon Harold, who lectures at Cardiff University said the benefits of such a scheme could be beneficial to children.

"As long as there is no obvious objection from the child, the basic practice of actively involving the father in his child's life through such a scheme may have positive implications for both fathers and their children" he said.

"For one thing it would give the father the chance to see what daily challenges face their child in the context of school life, thereby allowing improved understanding on behalf of fathers as to how best to support their children," he added.

Mr Todd Jones hopes to encourage schools in other areas to put on similar projects.

He told delegates about the Super Dads project at a conference about on fatherhood held in Cardiff on Monday by organisers of the website Fathers Direct - the national information centre on fatherhood.

Some children have raised issues that we as adults find very difficult Head teacher Gareth Todd Jones

The organisation has posted hundreds of messages on their website from children across the UK who revealed how much they want to spend more time with the fathers.

More than 500 children across the UK sent their message to the website.

Children at Pen Pych school were among those who sent messages.

Mr Todd Jones said that the messages had revealed great sensitivities in children.

"Some children have raised issues that we as adults find very difficult," he said.

"But we have a duty to allow children to express their feelings and to get alongside both parents to support them and their children," he added.