The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has partnered with the Department for Education and Leeds-based education charity SHINE to test projects that support parents to help improve their children’s early language and literacy skills at home before they start school.
Together, they’ll spend around £5m testing projects in the North of England that aim to provide practical tools and advice to parents so they can help their children learn new words through simple steps like reading and singing nursery rhymes. All of the projects will have a focus on supporting families in disadvantaged areas.
Speaking at a summit on the home learning enviornment in the early years today, Education Secretary Damian Hinds announced five projects that will be taken forward through the funding partnership:
- Making-it-REAL, delivered by the National Children’s Bureau, trains early years practitioners to deliver home visits and literacy events to families in order to improve early literacy.
- The Triple P Positive Parenting Programme, supports early years practitioners to deliver targeted sessions to parents that aim to improve children’s language, and social and emotional development.
- The Parent Child Home Programme, delivered by Family Lives, is an intensive home visiting programme focused on improving disadvantaged 2‑year olds’ language and social and emotional development.
- Tips by Text, delivered by the Behavioural Insights Team, sends “nudge” texts to parents that offer them highly specific activities to do with their child, as well as tips and encouragement on how to improve the home learning environment.
- The North West Early Years Home Learning Project, delivered by the Parental Engagement Network, trains early years practitioners to deliver workshops to parents of children in nursery classes to build effective relationships, encourage attendance and model home-learning activities.
EEF is currently working with the delivery teams and independent evaluators to design the projects. Recruitment to the trials from schools, nurseries and early years settings in the North of England will begin from January 2019. Details will be advertised on our website. You can sign up to our email news alerts – or alternatively email us now – to register your interest in taking part
Sir Kevan Collins, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation, said:
Fiona Spellman, CEO of SHINE said: