The Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) is a pre-school
intervention created in 1995. When PEEP began it was conceived
primarily as a literacy programme with an expanding focus
on numeracy, self-esteem and readiness to learn. It was,
and still is, intended to benefit children from an economically
disadvantaged area of Oxford who were compromised by their
lack of skills and confidence when they made the transition
to secondary school.
Its principal aim has always been to foster reading readiness,
and thus to enable each child to maximise their potential
within an education system that requires (and often assumes)
a certain level of literacy skill. Over the last ten years
the organisation has grown and developed, and the principles
and practice of PEEP have become widely disseminated throughout
the UK and beyond.
PEEP is based on a framework that recognises children's
need for:
- Opportunities to learn;
- Recognition and valuing of their early achievements;
- Interaction with adults in learning situations;
- Models of literacy and numeracy behaviours and learning
objectives.
PEEP's objectives and practice are centred not on the children
themselves but on the relationship between adults and children,
which PEEP considers to be at the heart of learning. It
supports 'parents as parents', encouraging them in their
role as their children's first and most important educators,
not by 'teaching' their children, but by communicating with
them.
Literacy flowing from interpersonal relationships is central
to PEEP's philosophy. They also make explicit the assumption
that positive self-esteem is an essential pre-condition
for successful life-long learning.
There is a recognised link between social class and achievement.
It is known that disadvantage begins early and has a cumulative
effect. Consequently, the chances of breaking the cycle
of poverty and deprivation are considerably reduced as children
get older. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children are
particularly vulnerable at two different stages: during
the early years and at the transition from primary to secondary
school (DfES).
However, a range of protective factors has been identified
which can help children overcome their initial disadvantage.
These include:
- Strong relationships with parents, family members
and other significant adults;
- Parental interest and involvement in education with
clear and high expectations;
- Positive role models;
- Active involvement in family, school and community
life;
- Recognition, praise and feeling valued.
In particular, research suggests that 'parenting appears
to be the most important factor associated with educational
attainment at age ten which in turn is strongly associated
with achievement later in life. Parental involvement in
education seems to be a more important influence than poverty,
school environment and the influence of peers' (DfES, 2003).
Current policy is focused on a commitment to strengthen
provision available to families during their children's
early years in such a way that more and more children experience
'protective factors' and are thus put on a surer road to
reaching their full potential...The PEEP early intervention
programme fits into strategy to support children and families
with the ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of low educational
achievement, anti-social behaviour, poverty and deprivation.
The aims and principles of PEEP read as a 'microcosm' of
the protective factors identified in Every Child Matters
(DfES, 2004).
For more information go to www.peep.org.uk
(The Birth to School Study: A Longitudinal
Evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP)
1998-2005, August 2005)
80px.gif)
.gif)
