Early Words Together at Children's House Nursery School

1. Children’s House Nursery SchoolProviding the highest quality of education and careEarly Words Together A programme to support families in improving the home learning environment for two to five year olds

2. Improving Life Chances • Children’s House Nursery School is committed to: • giving children in Tower Hamlets the best possible start in life • working in partnership with families • drawing on community resources including partnerships with health • building resilience • empowering parents to support their children • providing pathways to employment through a structured volunteer programme

3. Children’s House works in partnership with parents/carers ‘Parents are children’s first and most enduring educators. When parents and practitioners work together in early years settings, the results have a positive impact on children’s learning and development’ • The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) (2004) report concludes ‘What parents do is more important than who parents are’

4. Why do we volunteer? • Giving back to our outstanding nursery • We want to support our community • We believe in the Early Words Together programme • We want opportunities to grow and develop • For some of us it is a springboard to employment or a chance to keep learning and developing • We want to give all children the best start in life

5. Early Words Together at Children’s House Nursery School Aims and objectives engage volunteers in promoting the importance of literacy, empowering them within their own communities support local partnerships and help facilitate joined-up working to support access to services • use literacy to enhance children’s attachment • support children’s literacy development by increasing their enjoyment and engagement • empower parents to support their child’s learning, improving the home learning environment by including positive literacy behaviours in daily interactions with their child

6. Early Words Together atChildren’s House Nursery School Who are the key partners? What we do as volunteers? Commit to training Plan the programme with staff Work with families one to one, within a group for six weeks We enable not teach We empower families We evaluate the impact • Our Families • The National Literacy Trust • Pearsons Education Trust • Penguin Books • Random House Publishers

7. Impact of the Programme • Children’s vocabulary improves significantly beyond their expected rate of development • Children who come in to nursery with low scores in communication and language make significant progress by the end of the year • Evaluations show that all families who take part report that they now read with their child every day and are talking more with their children and feel closer to their child • Families are visiting libraries more frequently • We as volunteers report an increase in confidence and skills

8. Session Delivery • Week One: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (made props, story time) • Week Two: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (made caterpillars/butterflies from fruit and vegetables and re-told the story) • Week Three: Library Visit • Week Four: Dear Zoo (making props for the story) • Week Five: Visit to the Zoo • Week Six: Reflecting and Celebrating

9. Family Awards Celebration

10. Children’s House Nursery School Pearson’s 2018 School of the Year “Shine a Light Awards” Supporting children’s language and communication Empowering Families https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWssz6ZK_0E

11. Children’s House Nursery School We have the Borough Licence to deliver Early Words Together Training across Schools and Settings in Tower Hamlets If you are interested please e-mail: deputy@childrenshouse.towerhamlets.sch.uk Tel: 020 8980 4662