The Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) is a parent education programme developed by the charity Peeple
The version of the programme evaluated in this trial, Peep-LTS, aims to improve parenting skills and the quality of the home learning environment in the early years (ages 3 to 4). This involves an initial home visit, then 20 weekly one-hour sessions held in the nursery setting, delivered by nursery practitioners and attended by parents and their child. The course evaluated in this trial focused on two topics: communication and language; and early literacy.
Sessions provide parents with background information about how children learn, as well as practical ideas and activities to help build on what they are already doing at home, in order to make the most of everyday learning opportunities, including listening, talking, playing, singing and sharing books and stories
Research shows that the quality of learning opportunities within the home learning environment is a predictor of positive academic and social outcomes, with parental involvement in their child’s learning a key factor that contributes towards development
Previous research on Peep LTP has examined the extent to which the programme can effectively reach target parents, raise parental awareness of how to foster child development, and demonstrate a positive and lasting impact on children’s achievements in both literacy and wellbeing domains, particularly self-esteem. Our evaluation is the first randomised controlled trialAn RCT is used evaluate an educational programme by assigning settings to one of two groups: the intervention group, who receive the programme or the control group, who continue with business as usual. This ensures that any differences in outcomes can be confidently attributed to the programme, providing a robust estimate of the impact and contributing to the evidence for what works in improving educational outcomes. (RCTAn RCT is used evaluate an educational programme by assigning settings to one of two groups: the intervention group, who receive the programme or the control group, who continue with business as usual. This ensures that any differences in outcomes can be confidently attributed to the programme, providing a robust estimate of the impact and contributing to the evidence for what works in improving educational outcomes.) evaluating the effectiveness of the programme in improving language and literacy in the early years, as well as exploring its impact on the home learning environment and parental skills
Our trial of the Peep-LTS Programme involved 1,447 families across 139 nursery settings. The independent evaluation found that pupils in the Peep-LTS made, on average, no additional progress in core language skills (the primary outcome), compared to children in the usual practice control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution.. These results have a moderate-to-high security rating: 3 out of 5 on the EEF padlock scale.
The evaluation did find that the programme had a positive effect on children’s early literacy development. Following the programme, parents also reported small improvements in the home learning environment and their confidence in enjoying and playing with their child, and moderate improvements in self-acceptance and confidence in their own parenting knowledge and learning.
In additional exploratory subgroup analysis (published 2023 as an update to the evaluation report), this study shows positive changes for EYPP pupils receiving the programme, most notably in core language skills (the primary outcome) and communication (secondary outcome) equivalent to 4 months’ additional progress, and for early literacy development (secondary outcome) equivalent to 3 months’ progress. Although these results have more uncertainty due to the smaller sample size of this subgroup, these are promising emerging findings.
- Pupils in the Peep-LTS Programme made, on average, no additional progress in core language skills (the primary outcome) in comparison to those in the control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution., equivalent to zero months. This finding has a moderate to high security rating.
- The analysis of the secondary outcomes showed a positive effect of the intervention on early literacy development. Pupils in the intervention groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the intervention group will receive the programme being tested. made, on average, two months’ additional progress compared to those in the control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution.. This finding is less secure than the estimate for the primary outcome.
- Parents reported small improvements in the home learning environment and their confidence in enjoying and playing with their child, following the Programme. There were moderate improvements reported in parental self-acceptance and parents’ confidence in their own parenting knowledge and learning.
- Nursery settings, supported by mentors, delivered the Programme with high fidelity. Engaging parents was a key challenge for settings: 23% of parents who signed up to the intervention did not attend a single session (parents who did attend the Programme joined, on average, 70% of sessions).
- Although more than 90% of practitioners reported that the Peep-LTS Programme was easy to use and implement, practitioners also felt that the length of the Programme — 20 weekly sessions — may have been a barrier to commitment for parents.
- Exploratory subgroup analysis showed that children eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) in the Peep-LTS Programme made progress in core language skills (the primary outcome) and communication (secondary outcome) equivalent to 4 months’ additional progress for each outcome, and for early literacy development (secondary outcome) equivalent to 3 months’ additional progress, in comparison to children eligible for EYPP in the control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution.. The sample sizes were small in these subgroup analyses, and so these effects have lower security than overall findings.
- Parents of children eligible for EYPP reported improvements in their self-acceptance following the programme. Parents of children for whom English is an additional language reported lower scores on the TOPSE play and enjoyment scale, regardless of whether they were in the intervention or control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution.. The sample sizes were small in these subgroup analyses, and so these effects have lower security than overall findings.