Positive Relationships: Learning together - PEEP

A development in confidence and self-esteem is just one of the many successful outcomes for both children and their families attending the weekly PEEP (Parents Early Education Partnership) group at Carlton Road Children's Centre in Boston.

The group aimed to develop partnerships with the Carlton Road Academy Nursery and to involve parents and carers in fostering their children's learning through everyday activities and routines. The approach is underpinned by PEEP's core principles of partnership working with parents.

Involved with the group are Dawn Owen, an early years practitioner from CfBT, Jacqueline Oliver, one of Boston's Children's Centre teachers who works for Lincolnshire Birth to Five Service, and Katharine McCabe, a teacher from the academy's nursery class.

Jacqueline says, 'Both the parents and children were understandably anxious for the first couple of sessions. Having the support of the nursery teacher really helped us to overcome this as she had developed secure relationships with the families.'

The group follows the same routine each week, involving PEEP's core activities of singing, rhymes and songs, sharing stories and talking about issues and concerns that relate to child development and learning.

A visual timetable helps the children to track the running order of activities during the session and supports English as an Additional Language families within the sessions. The group has also introduced a 'messenger hat' - the wearer has to speak to everyone, announcing, for example, 'Two minutes to tidy up time!' As well as promoting listening skills, the hat helps to build children's confidence in speaking to a familiar group.

MODELLING SKILLS

Katharine believes this partnership approach enables children to practise skills developed in the nursery. The skills can also be modelled within the group, providing continuity of experience for the children and increasing parents' understanding of their children's learning. Many of the PEEP activities are open-ended and can easily be done at home. Parents have also developed the confidence to exchange tips on supporting their children.

After a session on understanding and using numbers, the children sorted and pegged out the washing and matched the pegs. Practitioners observed the children talking about size, pattern and similarities and difference - for example, 'This one is bigger', 'I need two the same', 'The socks have got stripes'. Manipulating the pegs took a lot of physical skill too.

A leaflet was then developed to support parents, including those in the children's centre and academy, on making the most of everyday opportunities to support their children's number recognition and counting.

The parents and children have also made cakes and play dough, created jewellery using open-ended tools and materials, made and played games, created and designed their own rhyme boxes and invented new songs about toys and props at home.

As relationships in the group have developed and confidence has grown, parents have expressed a wish to extend their own learning. Two parents from the group are due to attend adult learning courses at Boston College, while another has also volunteered to work within the children's centre.

Parents have commented on their children's growing confidence, what they have enjoyed within the sessions, and made suggestions for the future. One parent's suggestion has been to include a teddy bear's picnic for the last session. The weekly sessions have really been about learning together.