The Travelling Fellowship in the Early Years Prevention and Intervention category offers specialists in this area the chance to travel anywhere in the world to observe and participate in diverse strategies and models.
The fellows are then tasked with documenting their trip, evaluating their findings for research and leading initiatives when back on home soil.
Lucy Potter, a family outreach worker from Leeds, successfully applied for a fellowship in 2013 and travelled to the United States and Brazil for six weeks to investigate parental engagement in socially deprived areas.
As part of her time in Canela in Brazil, Lucy was a guest speaker at an annual event Semana do Bebe (Baby Week), which brings together families, professionals and students who work in the early stages of child development.
The success of the event inspired her to share her experiences with Leeds early intervention and family services professionals – and now the city is running its own Baby Week starting on 12 September.
‘I originally did a degree in Childhood Education and Culture and then became a family outreach worker for 4Children, who won a tender for Leeds City & Holbeck Children’s Centres,’ said Ms Potter. ‘I thought we’ve got some fantastic services, how can we better communicate it to people? For example, one area was very isolated from services even though they were only five minutes from the centre of town. I wondered how do we actually increase engagement, where can I go where it does that better? I felt like we needed a better understanding.
‘Just after that I found out I could apply for a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2011. You have to think of your own research project title – mine was ‘Enabling Parental Engagement in Urban Areas of Social Deprivation’. I applied, submitted my purpose, my goal, and of course my intention of what I would bring back.
‘On the trip, my eyes were opened to new approaches. In both the US and Brazil the services were very targeted towards those in most need, immigrants and unemployed people. A lot of people would not qualify for it and the service is used 100 per cent, and has full engagement.
‘Both areas had a grassroots network of close-knit community organisations who work with each other and local universities, as unlike us they don’t have the universal childcare policy.
‘So all the organisations share resources and have one combined health visitor and family support/outreach worker – family agents who are from the area and trained in basic health.
‘Out of everything Brazil and US both seem to work really well with grassroots communities.’
Leeds will be the first English-speaking city to replicate the Semana do Bebe model. The programme includes a conference, networking events, exhibitions and even a pram push and baby rave in Millennium Square in the city centre as a major outreach event.
‘The idea is to get central policy on the ground and present it to everyone. We have The Best Start Plan Maternity Strategy, so let’s celebrate these services. And hopefully we will see an increase in attendance in non-registered families,’ said Ms Potter.
Julie Weston, chief executive of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, said ‘We are pleased that Lucy has managed to implement so many of her findings from her Fellowship so effectively already. We wish her all the best for Baby Week in September, and for her future work in this important area. She demonstrates the great capabilities of our Churchill Fellows, who are a wonderfully diverse community of highly motivated individuals. They all have three things in common – passionate interests, strong projects and a commitment to improving the quality of life for others.’
The Trust funds up to 150 Fellows per year across a wide range of categories and cover airfare, living costs, insurance and travel for approximately six weeks overseas.
Applications in the Early Years Prevention & Intervention category can be made up until 20 September and would involve travel in 2017.
- To find out more about the fellowship please visit http://www.wcmt.org.uk/
- And for more information on Leeds Baby Week https://lucylines.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/baby-week-leeds-2016-capturing-the-essence-of-brazil/
