Early Home Learning Experiences

1. Early Home Learning Experiences

2. Underpinning Research Desforges and Abouchaar (2003) and EPPE (2008) “what parents do with their children at home is far more important to their achievement than social class or levels of education” Nutbrown and Morgan (2005) “children showed better literacy progress when parents receive a programme on ways to support learning in the pre-school period” Chris Patterson (2011) “the most important factor influencing a child’s development is the quality of parenting they receive and the quality of the home learning environment this creates” “parenting is a learned skill at which all can improve”

3. Provider Influence on the Home Learning Environment • Differences between socio economic groups, number of children in a household, parents’ levels of qualifications • Parents not in employment do less with their child once their child starts in funded early years provision • Need to improve staff awareness of their important role in engaging parents in home learning and enhance confidence to talk about early learning at home with parents • Important role of older siblings – EHLE advice and activities need to be directed for children learning together

4. MORI Parents Survey (2010) • The proportion of organisations contacted by parents of children 2 – 5 about their learning and development varied significantly by area deprivation • Those living in the most deprived areas were least likely to contact anyone – or to speak to family and friends • Couples were significantly more likely than lone parents to contact organisations about their child’s learning and development • Lone parents use friends, relatives, other parents, TV programmes and internet sites • Only 21% of parents used Children’s Centres as sources of information and 12% use FIS

5. EYFS and Ofsted requirements Home as an ‘enabling environment’ Partnership with parents Role of the key person Reporting progress and following-up the 2 year old check FIS Information Duty “Supporting parents to provide a positive home learning environment is a vital part of fulfilling the Government's goal of improving outcomes for children – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds” Dame Clare Tickell

6. NYCC Strategic Responses • Leadership briefings / sharing research and best practice • 5-a-Day Training programme delivered in 2013 • Creation of EHLE toolkit on cyps.info • Embedding practice with Early Years settings, and through Children’s Centres • Early Years Closing the Gap Strategy priority • On-going Officer support for new and existing providers, eg. through Vulnerability Conversations • Parents can access ALSS family learning activities to enable them to support their child’s learning

7. Early Home Learning through Prevention Service services Universal learning and development sessions Parenting programmes Targeted provision PSA and CAF casework : home based family interventions Displays, leaflets, signposting, HLE and story sacks for parents to borrow

8. Early Home Learning Toolkit Based on Patterson’s ‘5 a day’ recommendations “5 most beneficial things that could be done by parents on a daily basis to aid their child’s development in the earliest years”

9. Parent-friendly materials

10. Current activities • New toolkit to be available on-line - cyps.info and FRONTER • New information on the northyorks.gov.uk website – Parenting Section for families • Targeted focus in Vulnerable Learner visits by consultants / early years closing the gap work

11. Support Materials • Information for parents and practitioners • 4Children - What to Expect When • Fatherhood Institute – First 1000 days • High Achieving White Working Class Boys – factsheets • Leaflets for parents

12. What are your next steps? • A staff meeting focus to reflect on your current practice / identify areas to develop • To provide information to parents – using some of the new factsheets • Consider how you are engaging fathers? • How do you provide EHLE support for parents and carers for whom English is not their first language? • Think about new starters and how you will provide EHLE support to new families • Are you linking EHLE support to the differentiated support for vulnerable learners and those with SEND? • Can you use EYPP funding to support early home learning activities with families • Do you have effective EHLE conversations on transition – with dual providers / on move to new settings and schools? • How are you reflecting your work re. EHLE in your SEF, and Development Plan? How are you going to evidence your EHLE practice at inspection?