Three years ago, while working on an Action Research project project in Wales, I witnessed the neglect being experienced by the most disadvantaged families on a local estate.
The church and community centre had long been boarded up against vandals, and there were syringes and beer bottles strewn about in the long grass.
When I met local families I felt there was a tangible sense of hopelessness, but among them were older women who spoke eloquently of better times in the past.
I felt their embarrassment when young people (and one angry mum) told me to 'F*** off', showed that they associated me with their school and called their teachers 'old cows'.
Much has changed since then. The Welsh Assembly government, through the Basic Skills Agency (BSA), has embarked on breaking the country's cycle of educational underachievement by promoting lifelong education for all its citizens.
This developing system of education is underpinned by a cradle-to- grave philosophy which has at its heart the empowerment of everyone. Empowerment is a word that can provoke cynicism, but it was defined by Alain Thomas in his research into Welsh deprivation as 'the process whereby people, as individuals or in groups or communities, acquire skills, knowledge and confidence which enable them to make choices to effect change in their lives' (see References).
So, what has been done so far to achieve this? With renewed pride in their Celtic cultural heritage, after years of suppression of the Welsh language, young children are now being encouraged to learn Welsh in their playgroups and at the Foundation Phase. Books, information for families and many traditional stories and other works are now available in both English and Welsh.
To the envy of many in England, after consultation with teachers, Wales has abandoned SATs for seven-year-olds. Such tests are viewed as a poor measure of learning which only reinforces a sense of failure, low self-esteem, loss of confidence and disaffection with school in young children, families and teachers alike.
Schools are making real progress in fostering children's development. In Newport, for example, where there are still pockets of extreme poverty and unemployment, the schools are doing exceptionally well. Why? They claim that, in the main, it is because they have worked hard to build respectful and reciprocal relations.
They try to listen to all their pupils and families as well as to colleagues in other agencies, including those most experienced in the early years. Positive steps have been taken to help all parents to gain confidence in their parenting role as the prime educators of their children. For example, in an area with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe, 'formal' or 'informal' partnerships have evolved which include teenage parents, their friends, midwives, health visitors and family support workers. Those closest to the young parents are able to relate to them in a non-judgemental way and encourage them to continue with their studies or to discover their other untapped talents.
Birth to three
But it is the area of early preventative work with the very youngest children and their families that has received the greatest attention.
Setting aside current research and 'transition' theories for study on future teacher in-service courses, the BSA chose to respond immediately to the findings of its survey 'Young Children's Skills on Entry to Education'
(2002). In particular, teachers had reported that an increasing number of children were starting school with poor talking and listening skills. So BSA has focused on developing simple, clear and enjoyable language programmes for all parents with children from birth to three years old.
One such course, Language and Play, offers reassuring resources full of practical and low-cost ideas (see Professional Books, page 26). It manages to be simple without being patronising, and has the flexibility to deliver the core features according to the participants' specific experiences, needs and wishes. Its core features, covered over six sessions, are:
* the importance of talk
* talking and playing in everyday routines
* talking and playing, out and about
* sharing books and stories
* enjoying rhymes and songs
* early writing - making marks.
Evaluations by parents show how well they have been received and how much more confident they feel as a result. The lonely refer to the friendships made because of these sessions, especially those held in the former close mining communities, which have dispersed and in the process fractured family, community and cultural ties.
In response, early years workers have developed new partnerships with artists, storytellers, musicians, gardeners and former miners, all able to pass on to children their language, history and traditions, grounded often in rich Celtic culture. Such initiatives should give young children and their families confidence, a stronger sense of cultural belonging and pride in their cultural heritage.
That message comes through another BSA programme, Read With Me, which again emphasises the importance of stories. The well-illustrated booklet given to all parents encourages everyone to take pleasure in sharing books with babies and young children. The booklet gently introduces these golden rules:
* Make reading a time of pleasure for you both
* Start sharing books even before your child knows which way up to hold a book
* Learn to accept your child's efforts with praise
* Read books your child loves and don't set up a 'test situation'
* Focus on the things that are right, not on mistakes
* Keep reading to children even after they've learned to read independently
* Stop when they've had enough - it's not a punishment.
Of course, the BSA knows many young people do not choose to read or enjoy books. As one teenage mother said to me, 'I can hardly read myself. I hated primary school and everyone there. This is my second chance. My mates are helping me. It'll be better for Davy. His dad's still a bit switched off.... says kids an' books are girlie stuff!'
With statements like that it is just as well that the Welsh media have become involved. Using humour and everyday events that parents can relate to without feeling threatened or judged, a series of television, bus and billboard advertisements reinforces another new campaign, 'Talking Together'.These challenge such stereotypes of the male role. The first advertisement shows a new dad stroking his partner's 'bump' and holding a loving conversation with his unborn baby.
A clear and simple booklet, with an imaginative and interactive poster by renowned children's illustrator Penny Dale, links with the programme.
Families use her illustrated stickers to keep a record of the things they enjoy doing with their children. Recording 'when we chat, sing, read and count together' covers the key areas of listening, talking, singing, reading and counting.
Class divisions
With the introduction of Sure Start and the planned extension of a play-based Foundation Phase, the BSA promised in-service support for practitioners. Various conferences and courses have started. Some have focused on play, while others have emphasised the importance of partnerships with families and the need to share child observations with them.
As a result, many practitioners have embarked on research in their own settings. They have begun to observe children with transitional difficulties, that is, those who are not yet able to transfer the language and informal learning achieved so well at home or at play into their institutional settings.
Disadvantaged young children who grunt, swear or stand and stare blankly are often described negatively, language deficits assumed. Clearly, there are cultural clashes between some families and teachers. For example, a child with immature speech was heard to say, 'She (teacher) don't like my mum swearing... my mum don't like her posh!'
Much more parenting support is needed in Wales. But it has to be that special kind with people who can heal past hurt, give shape, hope and purpose to life, and know that children are not born to fail but all have hidden talents waiting to be found.
Teachers and other early years practitioners cannot embark on that search alone. In Wales they do not have to. It is appreciated how much support they need through all the different agencies. In some areas, there are already early years forums in which teachers can talk openly about the challenges of the job without being judged as unable to cope. It is in such forums that other explanations of children's language and learning are shared and reflected upon.
Without alternative points of view to consider, old 'social class' theories so deeply embedded in the teaching culture will be perpetuated and might never change. Changing minds is complex - but that challenging process has been embarked upon with passion and thought in Wales. NW
Jacqui Cousins is an early years consultant and family support worker
Acknowledements
I would like to thank 'June', an informal family support worker who wishes to remain anonymous, Pat Davies (assistant director of the Basic Skills Agency), Dr Claire Watkins (early years adviser, Newport) and Branwen and Robert Llewelyn- Jones (of PACE:Passion and Commitment in Education), for their help in preparing this article.The views expressed by me are not necessarily shared by them but their help has been invaluable.
References
* Alain Thomas (1990) Cynon Valley Project (funders) Save the Children and The Bernard Van Leer Foundation
