Education Scotland’s
Early Years
Matters
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES...LEARNING TOGETHER // ISSUE 4 // SPRING 2013
WELCOME
Contents
04
A few words from Liz Paterson
Assistant Director Children
and Families
Dear colleagues
Welcome to the latest edition of
Early Years magazine.
03Children and Families
Stuart Robb, from the Scottish
Government, gives an overview
04Learning Together
in Castlemilk Family Learning
Centre. Patricia Madden shares their
experience
06 The FAST Project
Families and Schools Together
in West Dunbartonshire
A partnership project between West
Dunbartonshire Council and Save the
Children
08Insight into the Role of a Family
Support Worker
Frances McIntyre, family
support worker in Inverclyde,
gives an insight to her work
10 Family Support in Fife
Jason Mason shares how Fife Council
are supporting families
As I mentioned in the last magazine,
early years now sits within the
Children and Families team at
Education Scotland.
The Children and Families team at
Education Scotland is developing
and increasing and we now have a
wide range of expertise across all
areas of our work including early
years’ inspection, support for early
years practice and family learning.
We have started to gather information
about the various aspects of family
learning that are already well
established, as well as those that
are newly developing.
We know that there is a lot of
innovative and interesting practice
going on. We would really
appreciate hearing from you about
your work in family learning – from
large-scale national projects to
those that are very local, involving
only a small group of people. You
will find details of how you can get
in touch with us on the back cover
of the magazine.
The theme of this edition of the
magazine is “children and families”.
We hope you enjoy reading the
articles which give a flavour of the
wide range of children and family
work being undertaken in Scotland.
We are extremely grateful to those
who have contributed to this edition
of Early Years Matters and we look
forward to hearing your comments.
With very best wishes
Liz Paterson
Assistant Director, Children and Families
12The Lighthouse Keeper Joint
Transition Project
Award-winning project to raise
attainment by engaging families
14Scots Tales Around The World for
Families
Jenny Watson explains how family
learning on the Aberdeen Reading
Bus supports literacy
15Update Noticeboard
News from other agencies
16Have Your Say
How to get in touch
16Early Years Matters Survey
Feedback
The results of our online survey
Throughout the magazine the term “parents” has
been used to mean mothers, fathers, carers, and
others with responsibility for caring for a child or
young person.
201 3
25-26
2013
The Scottish Learning Festival
Raising the bar in Scotland – Transforming lives through learning
•Over100conference
sessions
•KeynotesfromDrAvis
GlazeandProfAndy
HargreavesandDrPasi
Sahlberg
•Scotland’slargest
educationexhibition
www.scottishlearningfestival.org.uk
Cover photograph courtesy of Cate Gillon for Save the Children
2 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
Children and
Families
The National Context
Stuart Robb, Head of Policy Delivery,
Early Years Division, Scottish Government
The Scottish Government’s aspiration
for children is a simple but ambitious
one: for Scotland to be the best place
in the world to grow up.
The “Early Years Framework”, published in December
2008, signified an important milestone in encouraging
partnership working to deliver a shared commitment
to giving children the best start in life and to improving
the life chances of children, young people and families
at risk. The Framework is underpinned by “Getting
it Right for Every Child”, which is founded on the
principles of early intervention, through appropriate,
proportionate and timely intervention. We believe the
strategic direction set out in the Framework is still as
relevant today as it was then. It sets the context for all
of our early years work.
The Early Years Taskforce shares this commitment.
The Taskforce was established in 2011 to bring senior
cross-agency expertise to bear on the early years
agenda – it brings together leaders from across the
public and third sectors to coordinate policy across
Scottish Government and wider public sector to
ensure the early years agenda is prioritised by the
whole public sector.
We have reached a point now where we have the
commitment and the will to deliver in this area, and
we have a strong evidence base about what works to
make improvements. We now need that consensus to
translate into activity which will proactively support the
shift towards prevention and ensure that every baby,
child, mother, father and family in Scotland has access
to the best supports available.
To help achieve this we have established the Early
Years Collaborative. This is the world’s first national,
multiagency quality improvement collaborative,
working across Scotland to give our children the best
start in life.The objective of the Collaborative is to
accelerate the conversion of the high level principles
set out in the Early Years Framework into practical
action, premised on the fact that there is a gap
between what we know works, and what we actually
do. We need to work better together to deliver the
transformational change we are looking for, based
on strong evidence of what we know works.
Alongside other priorities such as implementation
of the National Parenting Strategy, the forthcoming
National Play Strategy and the Children and Young
People Bill, we have huge ambition for this work.
We are confident that it will provide the stimulus for
partners to come together to agree how we can make
the rapid progress required to meet our ambition for
early years – to make Scotland the best place in the
world to grow up in – by improving outcomes, and
reducing inequalities, for all babies, children, mothers,
fathers and families across Scotland to ensure that all
children have the best start in life and are ready
to succeed.
Stuart Robb, Head of Policy Delivery, Early Years
Division, Scottish Government
Follow us on Twitter @EYCollaborative
#bestplacetogrowup
Check out the website
www.EYCollaborative.co.uk
or visit the SG page:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/
Topics/People/Young-People/
Early-Years-and-Family/earlyyears-collaborative
03
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
Learning Together
in Castlemilk Family Learning Centre
Patricia Madden
Head of Centre
Partnership working promotes
positive learning experiences and
effective relationships for children
and families at Castlemilk Family
Learning Centre, Glasgow.
At Castlemilk Family Learning Centre we aim to
promote a positive learning experience and develop
effective relationships with families and children
through partnership working. This will improve parents,
carers and young people’s confidence and feelings
of engagement within education as well as with each
other, ultimately leading to children and parents
achieving their full potential.
Within our family learning centre we provide a holistic
approach to learning by engaging families in the life
of the centre. Our approach to learning ensures that
meaningful consultation and secure home links are
paramount to the ethos of our centre from the minute
families enter our establishment. The family learning
centre empowers our committed staff team to liaise
with a variety of agencies and community organisations
to benefit our young people and their families.
4 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
Initially, we invited all of our parents in the nursery
to form a parents’ group and access training and
classes appropriate to their individual needs. Through
consultation we identified key areas of interest which
parents felt would benefit them and their children.
The parents all felt that they would like support in
managing children’s behaviour, and we felt that the
“Positive Parenting Programme” (Triple P) would offer
this opportunity. From this, we accessed opportunities
on offer from Glasgow Life* to develop the parents’
numeracy and literacy skills, including creative writing.
We work closely with Glasgow Life to offer classes to
build and improve numeracy and literacy skills.
Following the success of our effective partnership
working with parents, in 2011 we accessed
funding from Glasgow City Council to offer parents
the opportunity to participate in our “Families in
Partnership” project. This project looked at parents
and children learning together and, in consultation
with the group, we planned a variety of outings within
Glasgow. The aim of this project was to develop
the parents’ confidence in going outwith their local
environment and ensure they felt able to do this in
the future without our support. Staff and parents
arranged transport to venues around the Glasgow
area, researched costs and facilities, and bought and
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
prepared a healthy picnic lunch for each outing.
This proved to be a very successful and positive
project for parents, children, the team leader and
Head of Centre. Overall, this programme achieved its
aims and exceeded our expectations.
When evaluating our programme, we received very
positive feedback from parents and staff.
“Taking part in the Families in Partnership
helped support the development of a
bond between me and my son.”
“My child is learning and interacting with
other children, and we both had a brilliant
time during Families in Partnership.”
The parenting classes and “Families in Partnership”
project have increased parents’ confidence in supporting
their child’s learning, whilst also building their own
skills and knowledge. Through this programme, some
parents have accessed further training opportunities
and have entered further education. Two parents met
with local headteachers to share their experiences of
the “Families in Partnership” project. They have also
spoken about their experiences on behalf of Glasgow
City Council at the Association of Directors of Social
Work and Association of Directors of Education
conference in Edinburgh.
Following our successful “Families in Partnership”
project 2011, we decided to apply for further funds
for 2012. We met with parents and children to discuss
the design of the programme for the year. They
decided that they would like to develop their creative
and expressive skills to allow them to engage better
with their children and to learn new ways to support
their children in their learning. For this project, we
decided to involve the Handmade Arts Company and
agreed that children of all ages should be involved.
In consultation with Miller Primary School, we created
an after school art class which continued throughout
the summer holidays. Our bid to Glasgow City Council
was successful and our “Families in Partnership 2012”
project was established. This project included classes,
an outing for all the families and the publication of a book.
For the last two years we have been offering creative
writing classes for all parents. These groups led to
parents sharing their poetry and stories at the “Aye
Write Festival” in 2012 and they plan to do so again
this year. Glasgow Life has supported this year’s
class, including the creation of a floor book detailing
their poetry and stories. Following the creative writing
classes one parent, who has attended many of our
groups, said,
“I missed school because of illness and
didn’t have any qualifications. Now I’m
thinking about going to college.”
Creative writing allows parents to express their thoughts
and feelings in a constructive way. The continued
success of this class is evident through its expansion
with new parents becoming part of the group. We aim
to be an integral part of the community and support
parents’ involvement in their children’s learning and
development. Through the continued development of
Curriculum for Excellence and the desire to embed
the “Getting it Right for Every Child” values and
principles, our centre has embraced the opportunity to
enhance children’s life long learning, whilst ensuring
parents are fully involved in this process.
*“Glasgow Life”
is the operating
name of Culture
and Sport
Glasgow.
It includes arts,
communities,
events, libraries,
museums,
music, sport
and Young
Glasgow.
05
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
The FAST Project
Families and School Together in West Dunbartonshire
The Families and Schools Together
(FAST) programme is an awardwinning, worldwide programme which
sets out to help parents become
involved in and improve their child’s
learning and development. It is open
to all families who have children aged
between 3 and 8 years old. Siblings,
grandparents and other family
members are also invited to take part.
The FAST project was founded in 1988 by Professor
Lynn McDonald. It was recognised by Save the
Children as a strong, evidenced-based approach to
early intervention. As a result, funding from Save the
Children has enabled a number of programmes to
run across the UK. In West Dunbartonshire, Linnvale
Primary School was the first Scottish school to trial the
programme. A number of others are now taking part.
6 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
What is the focus of the project?
The project aims to:
■strengthen the bond between the parent and child
and the family unit;
■increase children’s achievement at nursery and school;
■reduce the stress experienced by families in their
everyday lives; and
■improve communications and relationships between
the family and school.
Who runs the programme?
FAST depends on multi-agency teams which are
community based and link education, health and social
work. The FAST groups run after school and are led by
trained teams which include parents, school staff and
community partners. The trained teams meet together
regularly throughout the programme to review progress
and adapt plans to meet the emerging needs of families.
Having parents and community members as part of the
team ensures that local knowledge is used effectively.
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
How long does the programme last?
The programme lasts for eight weeks. Afterwards,
all families are encouraged to create their own peersupport network, “FASTWORKS,” for at least two years
to build on their family and community bonds.
What do FAST sessions look like?
The sessions are designed to engage all of the family
members taking part. Tasks and activities are fun,
interactive and empowering. Parents themselves choose
activities for the family table. Play through arts, crafts
and games is encouraged and supported. Each week
families take it in turns to plan, cook and serve a family
meal. During the session there is an opportunity for
parents to get together to begin to form the supportive
bonds that will last well beyond the programme.
Image courtesy of Cate Gillon for Save the Children
How do we know the FAST sessions work?
Evidence in favour of the FAST programme is strong.
The sessions address the social and emotional needs
of parents by giving them time to talk and be heard by
others within a supportive environment. Effective parenting
strategies are nurtured along the way and parents are
empowered to establish themselves as confident adults
with improved self-esteem. Parents and staff complete a
questionnaire at the outset of the programme and again
upon completion. The findings include:
■high retention rates for the duration of the programme;
■reduced conflict and stress within the family unit;
■increased parental involvement in schools;
■improved support within the community amongst
parents; and
■improved outcomes for children with regard to
health and wellbeing.
What do West Dunbartonshire parents think?
The Connelly Family
“My experience of the FAST programme was very
positive as it created a bond between the school
and our family. It was something that the children
were excited about attending. I would certainly
recommend this programme to other parents.”
Jennifer Connelly
The Fraser Family
“FAST encouraged parents and children to be
involved doing activities together – having fun as
a family. It also got families involved with other
members of the community giving each other
encouragement and support.” Liz Fraser
The Cameron Family
“FAST draws parents and education together to
meet and support the needs of their children in a
fun and social economic development programme.
It established and enabled community links and
friendship within the area with fun one-to-one time
outwith the normal home setting. It was loved by
all of the children and parents. Adult time was also
very important to highlight local issues in the area
and has enabled a support network and community
involvement.” Lorraine Cameron
“FAST is one of the most powerful tools that I have
come across to build sustainable community links
and partnership with parents. Already the parents
who have completed this programme are beginning
to evangelise to others in a bid to encourage them
to be part of our next cycle. There is no better
measure of the success of the programme than
when it begins to self generate and evolve!”
Maria Seery, Headteacher, Bonhill Primary School,
West Dunbartonshire
Conclusion
The FAST programme has shown that it has improved
measurably, how families interact with each other,
schools and their community. The outcomes for
children are very positive and there is evidence that
these outcomes are sustained. FAST is about to
become widespread across West Dunbartonshire
Council as there is an expectation that every school
will offer the programme.
You can find more information about
Save the Children’s involvement in
Families and Schools Together across
the UK at:
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/
sites/default/files/docs/BringingFamilies-and-Schools-Together.pdf
07
INSIGHT INTO
Insight into the Role of a
Family Support
Worker
An interview with Frances McIntyre
Family Support Worker, Bluebird Family Centre, Inverclyde
Tell us about your career so far:
In 1989 I began working from home as a childminder
and day carer for the local authority.
European funding, through Inverclyde Council, paid for
me to gain an HNC in Childcare in 1995. I particularly
enjoyed the day care aspect of my work and began
to understand and support many of the issues that
families faced.
In the year 2000, I began my career at Bluebird Family
Centre as a supply nursery nurse. When Sure Start
funding became available, my post changed to family
support worker. I felt that I already had many of the skills
needed for the post from my experiences as a day carer.
8 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
Two years later more funding became available for
training and I attended Jordanhill College of Education
and gained a post graduate diploma in counselling
adults. I then went on to gain a post qualifying diploma
in counselling children and young people, which has
really been of benefit to me in this job. Counselling
skills are vital when faced with traumatised children
and families.
In 2010 I was part of a multi-agency team which spent
a year conducting a research study for the Scottish
Government on how violence could be reduced
in Inverclyde. The outcome of this for me was a
greater understanding of how violence develops in
communities and provided recommendations on how
to improve outcomes for families.
INSIGHT INTO
Continuing my work as a family support worker
today, involves working in very close partnership with
colleagues in health, education and social work as
well as voluntary organisations.
response to an identified gap in provision and to promote
better continuity and support from early years to primary.
I will be working closely with Inverclyde Council to
evaluate the pilot using the wellbeing indicators.
Tell us about a typical day in Bluebird Family Centre:
Monday
First thing in the morning, it is vital that I am available
for parents. I like to ensure that I have the most upto-date information about their current situation and
the agencies they may have engaged with over the
weekend. There are always families that I will contact
myself to ensure that everything is well. I also like to
spend time in the playrooms, speaking and listening to
children and staff.
I also offer a wide variety of groups and individualised
support in response to identified needs. Parenting
support can be offered on a one-to-one basis and
can be tailored to the needs of each family. This is
an effective way to build greater resilience within the
family unit. I am always delighted when I see families
moving forward and being able to offer something
back to the nursery. Parents are very good at giving
their support to others and helping the nursery with
projects which enhance children’s learning.
On Mondays and Fridays we have the regular dropin carer and toddler group and Bookbug session.
This is open to the wider community and sometimes
parents are referred through their health visitor. This is
a great opportunity for carers to socialise and build a
supportive community amongst themselves.
What do you think makes a difference to families?
It is vital that you listen very carefully to what families
have to say. Often you do not hear all of their story until
you have built a trusting relationship with them over an
extended period of time. It is important to work alongside
others to plan interventions and support around the
family. I feel this builds greater resilience over time
and creates an environment where the life chances of
children can be improved. It is a privilege to do this job
and I am always thrilled when I see that children and
their families are thriving as a result of family support.
However, many families are still in real need of support
and it is essential that we use all of the community
resources and work together to make a difference.
Later in the day, I spend time supporting a small group
of parents as they make plans to open a Friday Café.
This has become a tradition at Bluebird Family Centre
and starts with parents who have formed a strong bond
during a parents’ group, and continue to work together
to open a café. They are gaining valuable experience
in budgeting, planning menus and working with external
regulatory bodies. So far, over the past 8 years as a
result of the café, all parents have gone on to further
training or have secured a job.
Monday is also a day for working alongside other
agencies. It is vital that we communicate effectively,
sharing information and planning interventions. I have
very good working relationships with Barnardo’s,
Women’s Aid, Mansionhouse Clinic, health visitors
and local social workers.
Do you work with children and families
in Scotland?
We would like to hear about your work and the
impact it is having for future issues of the magazine.
Are there any projects you are particularly
involved in just now?
I have become involved in a pilot which is about
providing family support in schools. Even though
families are supported when their children are young,
it is clear that a number of families need much longer
term intervention to maintain their family unit. I am now
spending two days per week in a primary school working
closely with P1 to P3. My counselling skills are used
effectively to create a nurturing ethos when working
with groups of children. I work alongside the school to
provide stimulating activities which enhance children’s
health and wellbeing. So far parents really value the
opportunity for support and it has been good to work
again with families who used Bluebird Family Centre
when their children were very young. The pilot is part of
Inverclyde’s vision for ‘Getting it Right for Every Child,
Citizen and Community.’ It has been put in place as a
09
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
Family Support in Fife
Creating More for Families with Less
Jane Mason
Early Years Development Officer, Fife Council
Fife Education Early Years
Team are working to support
the Scottish Government vision.
“Family Support in Fife” (FSF) was
established in January 2010 as a
“spend to save” initiative which
aims to provide early intervention
for our most vulnerable families.
The aim of the project is to build trust and confidence
with parents by developing relationships with them
as they access nursery provision for their children.
The overall objective is to work closely with a range
of partners to engage with parents and their children
under 3 years old. The initiative has supported over
3000 families who may not have otherwise been
reached by local services.
When the “Family Support in Fife” project started, support
for younger children and their families was limited to
centres and free-standing nursery establishments
across Fife. We are now working in communities and
have established satellite groups for hard to reach
parents in outlying areas and rural communities.
The project was initially funded through Fairer Scotland.
The establishments and communities targeted were
within the top 15% across Scotland based on SIMD
(Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) data.
In each setting, the FSF team develop partnership
working within the community, in particular with the
voluntary sector. The service is offered to all parents,
to avoid any suggestion that individual parents are
being targeted to receive support. This has led to
some of the most at need families self-selecting
support and has removed the sense of there being
any stigma attached to participation. The FSF team
work with parents to engage with local projects and
services to develop appropriate support.
The skills the “FSF” team develop whilst working as
part of the project are transferable and will help to
build capacity across Fife’s nurseries for the future.
The sustainability of the intervention work is built in
10 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
through the secondment model. Staff returning to their
substantive posts will have developed enhanced skills
to enable continued delivery of parental support and
interventions which allow them to embed family support
as an integral part of early years life in our school
communities.
“Getting it Right in Fife” (GIRIF) parenting sub-groups
and local multi-agency “Getting it Right for Every
Child” (GIRFEC) groups have been established across
the authority. The FSF workers contribute to planning
and can then target their services within the local
community. As the project has matured we are in a
position to collect evidence of impact and outcomes
for children and families.
“Family Support in Fife” is now part of core early years
delivery with clearly defined pathways enabling us to
deliver services to a wider population of families as
well as further developing the skills of our early years
workforce. This is evidenced by the number of families
accessing the opportunities on offer and being
actively involved in shaping future developments.
We are already seeing the impact of family support
workers developing groups and making use of
facilities that were previously unused. The workers
and families have grown in confidence and now
establish new initiatives with our partners.
Data gathered is now being used to develop programmes
and increase participation. We intend targeting
specific areas: adult literacy, income maximisation,
parenting skills, self-esteem and interpersonal skills
including positive mental health. To achieve these
outcomes we intend building on our well established
partnership work to empower communities to help
themselves. Feedback received from families is
overwhelmingly positive.
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
Lochgelly Sunflower Nursery – Family Nurture Approach
‘Children and Families Growing Together’
Staff have developed this accommodation into a
“Nurture Hub” focusing on family support delivered
on a multi-agency basis. The provision offers a warm,
welcoming and inclusive environment for children and
families and is accessible to all parents, carers and
extended families in the Lochgelly area with children
under 3 years.
Sunflower Nursery in Lochgelly is situated in a
regeneration area of Fife. The nursery provides pre-school
education for ninety-six three and four year old children
across the Lochgelly area. It also offers wraparound
care to support parents who are working or studying
and extended day places for vulnerable children and
families experiencing difficulty. The nursery has strong
links with the local community and has a long history of
actively encouraging and welcoming parent’s involvement.
In line with local and national priorities, and as an
identified local need, the nursery provision has recently
been extended to include support for families with
children under three years. Funding was allocated to
appoint a Family Support Worker and two workers
for children under 3.
Nursery staff are working closely with a range of other
professionals and voluntary agencies to develop and
deliver a varied programme of “play-along” and family
support groups. This liaison and partnership working
is ensuring the project is as accessible as possible to
many different groups within our local community.
We are currently offering a variety of different sessions
throughout the week which are aimed at different
groups of parents, carers and ages of children. This
includes both informal “drop-in” sessions and more
targeted support groups.
The programme offers valuable opportunities for
parents and carers to experience new activities with
their children, which in turn supports increased selfesteem and confidence.
The ultimate goal is to develop parenting skills and
build families’ capacity to make positive decisions and
choices for themselves and their children.
Grace O’Malley, Headteacher
Woodlands Family Unit
Woodlands Nursery Centre opened in 1977 to
provide pre-school education for children in the
Methilhill area of Fife. Research within the community
identified the need to develop support mechanisms
to build the capacity of local parents. The approach
taken was to develop a Family Unit as a focus for
those in the community who wanted or needed extra
support to bring up their children. Over the years the
approach has been refined so that support is based
on intelligence gathered, rather than what we think
parents need.
The important aspect of our work is that we are
accessible to all from our local community and benefit
from referrals from health, social work and the third
sector. This approach, we feel, helps in our efforts to
build a stronger community for the children of the future.
Elaine Cassells, Family Work Coordinator
Today the centre works very closely with a wide range
of both statutory and voluntary agencies to plan and
deliver programmes aimed at developing parenting
capacity. This enables parents to access support from
a wide range of services in the least intrusive way.
Services can plan together to meet individual family’s
needs, share skills, knowledge and resources whilst
also ensuring there is no service duplication across
the community. This approach helps target resources
and funding more accurately.
011
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
The Lighthouse Keeper
Joint Transition Project
Creative Approaches to Engage Parents and Carers in
their Child’s Early Learning – A Partnership Approach
Barbara Middleton
Community Learning and Development Family Learning, City of Edinburgh Council
In 2012 City of Edinburgh Community
Learning and Development Family
Learning worked in partnership with
Moffat Early Years Campus, Niddrie
Mill and St Francis Primary Schools
and the local community, to develop
a partnership transition project with
the aim of raising attainment by
engaging families.
Partnership working was fundamental to the success of
“The Lighthouse Keeper”, a 2012 joint nursery to primary
transition project in East Edinburgh. It is increasingly
acknowledged by researchers, educational practitioners
and politicians that engaging parents is essential.
Genuine partnership that respects parents’ knowledge
of their children and emphasises the importance of
their educational role is crucial. This was a key element
of the development of the project.
A key time for all, is the move from nursery to P1 and
this gave us the opportunity to create a model of best
practice. A collegiate partnership was developed
with parents, Moffat Early Years Campus, Community
Learning and Development (CLD) Family Learning,
Niddrie Mill and St Francis Primary Schools, Craigmillar
Library, and the multimedia team and an educational
psychologist from City of Edinburgh Council. In addition
to CLD funding, donations were made to the project by
Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Supporting
Parents and Carers in Edinburgh and Books for Babies.
The need for the project was identified through low
attainment figures for the area. As a collegiate group our
aims were to create a high quality, interactive and creative
learning experience for local families and in doing so,
raise attainment by supporting parents to become more
fully engaged in their children’s learning. In Edinburgh,
CLD Family Learning is a universal service working in
targeted establishments to support the council’s vision
of raising the attainment of the lowest achieving 20%.
“Professionals need to work more closely with each other and with parents and
families to give effective support when and where it is needed. Finding practical
ways of working together across professional and sector boundaries – including
with parents, volunteers and community organisations – is key.”
Dr Susan Deacon, Infant Mental Health: a National Picture (2012)
12 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
CLD Family Learning in partnership with parents,
developed new resources which aimed to engage
families in good models of learning. These included
a DVD and literacy treasure box. The impact of using
these resources is twofold: the parents become
more confident and skilled in being involved in their
children’s learning and children’s attainment increases
supporting our aim of “bridging the gap”.
“… are working together towards the same
ends to achieve the same results. We are
sharing a common language to see the
bigger picture using a solution-centred
approach to get where we are going.”
Angela Paul, Manager, Moffat Early Years Campus
During the 2012 summer break families were taken on
a transition journey from nursery into P1, by way of a
series of six enjoyable challenges developed around
the children’s books of Ronda and David Armitage. We
chose to use “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch” story
as our starting point because it was full of learning
possibilities and linked well with the experiences and
outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence. Working in the
collegiate group we were able to provide continuity for
families by using the book in nursery and in P1, using
the skills of the Family Learning Worker to glue the
pieces of the journey together.
“It was a good link between the school
and nursery, makes transition easier.”
Parent, St Francis PS
“We have been impressed with the numbers
of parents joining the children in school for
each challenge and the enthusiasm with
which both children and adults have shown
towards the project. This is a success in
itself, in terms of parent participation.”
P1 teacher
The target group was the P1 school intake of 2012 which
included 122 families. The original goal was to attract
50% of families to take part in the project. 100% of
families participated, with most of the sessions reporting
an average uptake of 73%. Many of these families may
previously have been regarded as “hard to reach”.
The project has shown an increase in parental
engagement in both library attendance and school
activities. Children demonstrated good listening
skills and developed their oral comprehension skills.
The creative approach in partnership working and
engaging parents at a point of interest has led to a
positive impact on children’s learning.
“He has loved reading the story and tries
to read it back to himself. Now he is
familiar with the story and can recognise
certain words. We also both enjoy doing
the treasure box activities together in
nursery, school and at home.”
Parent, Niddrie Mill PS
Our intended outcomes were as follows:
■To increase the confidence of parents to engage
in their child’s learning.
■To enable parents to familiarise themselves with,
and increase their confidence through using, a
creative project as a focus for transition.
■To increase parents confidence to read with their children.
■To offer creative mediums and methodology as a
way of attracting parents who would not normally
get involved in their children’s learning.
■To encourage families to engage with other local
educational services, such as the local library.
■To promote positive health and wellbeing through
healthy eating experiences.
013
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: SHARING PRACTICE
Scots Tales
Around the
World for
Families
Jenny Watson
formerly Reading Bus Development Officer
The Reading Bus is the focal point of a literacy initiative operating in
Aberdeen. The bus provides a context for innovative practice that promotes
and develops literacy skills outwith the school environment, opening
possibilities for new and different arrangements for learning.
The Reading Bus project aims to promote reading as
a source of life long pleasure; involve and empower
parents in their children’s learning; and encourage
family learning in a non-school environment. It also
seeks to raise levels of attainment and achievement
in children who are at risk of early failure.
Children discussed possible stories with their parents
at home and brought them into school in the form
of drawings, stories or rhymes. The response was
fantastic, with stories arriving in a wide variety of
languages including English, Scots, Lithuanian,
Nigerian, and Nepalese.
The Reading Bus has developed and delivered a very
successful Scots language programme. A series of
Doric books, published in-house by the Reading Bus,
provide a valuable tool for schools and communities
and bring enjoyment and pleasure to a wide range of
readers. Titles include “Fit Like, Yer Majesty?” and an
anthology of simple Doric poems, “Nae Bad Ava!”.
The books are complemented by a series of rich
learning experiences.
A ceilidh of stories, songs and poems from different
cultures evolved and were woven together from the
contributions of pupils and parents culminating in a
celebration.
One of these rich learning experiences has been the
delivery of “Scots Tales around The World”, created
by Grace Banks and Sheena Blackhall, the skilled and
experienced storytellers on the bus. Eight schools
were involved, with the aim of raising confidence,
creativity, and communication skills with families
and facilitating positive interaction between schools,
families and communities.
“It was a joy working with St Peter’s School, the
teacher was enthusiastic and committed to the
project, as indeed were the pupils. The parental
input was very valuable and the final performance
generated a lovely inclusive but cosmopolitan
feeling.” Sheena Blackhall.
Sheena worked with a P3 class from St Peter’s School
in Aberdeen where thirteen different nationalities were
represented by the children’s families. The programme
used poems from “Nae Bad Ava!” which were shared
and discussed with the pupils, parents and carers.
Using songs, stories and rhymes, they were encouraged
to think of tales that reflected their own culture. Stories
that have versions in many different countries, such
as “The Magic Turnip” and “The Little Red Hen” were
used, as well as simple nursery rhymes.
14 EARLY YEARS MATTERS | SPRING 2013
“Good idea to have so many stories from around
the world. Liked the traditional stories, the
awareness of other cultures and the singing.”
Parent
The Reading Bus team is now reflecting on the
experiences from this initiative and looking at ways
of deepening and extending the success. Work is
continuing to identify a model that would allow the
Reading Bus and a storyteller to be based at each
of the eight schools for one day a month.
You can find out more about the Reading Bus Project at:
www.readingbus.co.uk
UPDATES
NHS Health Scotland
Early Years and Families
Team Update
Parenting evidence briefing launched: http://www.
healthscotland.com/documents/6089.aspx
New “play@home” training dates: 21 February
2013, Inverness, and 17 April 2013, Dumfries.
For further information please contact:
nhs.HealthScotland-PlayAtHome@nhs.net
Update
Noticeboard
The 2013 edition of “Ready Steady Toddler”
resource, with updated content is available to
order from nhs.HealthScotland-Publications@
nhs.net
To find out more information and sign up to the
network and receive monthly newsletters:
http://www.maternal-and-early-years.org.uk
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Community Learning and
Development (CLD): Strategic
Guidance for Community
Planning Partnerships
The Scottish Government’s “Strategic Guidance
for Community Planning Partnerships: Community
Learning and Development” was issued in June
2012. It sets out expectations of Community
Planning Partnerships to maximise the impact of
Community Learning and Development on improving
life chances through learning, personal development
and active citizenship. CLD should also have a focus
on developing stronger, more resilient, supportive,
influential and inclusive communities as a central
part of public services.
The Strategic Guidance can be found at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/
Publications/2012/06/2208
015
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Survey Feedback
131 of you completed our online survey about “Early
Years Matters” between May and November of 2012.
We appreciate your feedback which will inform the
future development of the magazine.
The survey showed that “Early Years Matters” is a
popular publication, with a high level of long-term
readership – 58% of you have been reading the
magazine for more than 2 years.
79% of you rated the content of the magazine as
very good or excellent. You told us that the articles
sharing practice were the most useful to you. Reading
CHILDREN
AND FAMI
EarlyScotland’s
yEarS
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LIES...LEA
attErS
RNING TOGE
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ISSUE 4
// SPRING
2013
the magazine has influenced the majority of you to
change your practice by providing you with new ideas
and knowledge.
In the future you would like to see more sharing practice
across Scotland, together with articles giving an
international perspective, information on under 3s and
infant brain development, profiling and outdoor learning.
The majority of you, especially those based in
establishments, still prefer to read a paper copy of the
magazine. However, 25% of you now prefer to read online.