Sure Start children's centres

Sure Start in England
Sure Start in Wales

England

Barrow in Furness have created Chatterbox, a special parent and toddler group to develop children's speech through play.

Bassetlaw west run Sure Tots, an active physical play programme for young children that emphasises learning by moving, with the parent/carer helping the child. The session starts with action songs and rhymes encouraging social interaction and continues with movement on, off and with equipment based on themes such as 'over and under', 'in and out' and 'jumping'. Sessions with the 2 plus age group also focus on active listening.

During the first week of April 2006 the 25 nursery settings and play groups in the Beaumont Leys area, totalling 400 children, took part in the launch of the leaflets. Each setting held one session to carry out an activity to help promote the messages in the leaflets - making the most of watching television or promoting activities to carry out instead. In one nursery all the staff and children dressed up as their favourite television character whilst others invited parents in to take part in a variety of activities from cooking to making Easter bonnets. All children were given a goody bag to take home containing an activity to carry out with their parents instead of watching television. The organisers commented: "Our aim is not to make parents feel guilty - but to encourage them to think about TV, good and bad!"

For more information or to purchase the leaflets, call 0116 2954565/2954566.

Bilston & Ettingshall have established Look Who's Talking groups with a weekly topic such as eye contact, turntaking, listening/attention, play, imitation and sound making. Each week's session has a welcome and goodbye song, a nursery rhyme slot, a toy-making slot (eg baby's first book, peek-a-boo mask, shakers) and every session has some free-play where staff can demonstrate ways of developing the particular skill with a range of toys. Amongst the free gifts to attendees are a tape and booklet of action songs and rhymes.

Blackpool's Grange Park run Talktime sessions, encouraging parents to talk and play with their children, sing nursery rhymes and read books. Worksheets for activities and discussions are being created for use at Mother and Toddler Groups as well.

Blaydon Winlaton Sure Start have a monthly 'Baby Bites' group, which is introduced to parents as a weaning group but goes much further with practical advice on general health and development, food-tasting sessions, FAQs and role-play to highlight communication and speech and language development. The group is led by a nursery nurse, with contributions from a health visitor, dental nurse, speech and language therapist, catering manager and midwife, depending on availability. The speech and language therapist uses role-play and humour to illustrate a few simple messages about communication - she and a partner act out some very unsatisfactory feeding scenarios in which she, as a very large baby, is fed by her 'mother'. The sketches include:

• Mum having a conversation with a neighbour while feeding baby - no attention or eye contact - baby cries.
• Mum putting on a video to 'amuse' baby while feeding - baby is distracted and the opportunity for communication is missed.
• Baby is playing with toys on high chair tray. Baby not interested in food or Mum's chat.
• Mum feeds silently. Baby loses interest in food and Mum.
• Mum keeps up constant chatter, no opportunity for baby to respond.
• Mum in a hurry, feeds too fast - not picking up cues when baby is ready for next spoonful. Baby 'chokes'.
• Finally, the ideal session. Mum is attentive, attuned, minimises distractions, times feeding well, has a 'conversation' with baby involving turn-taking, talks about the food, is relaxed and happy herself.

During the sketches the parents are asked to suggest ways to help the mother. After the last sketch, parents are asked 'what was different this time?'. Ideas are noted on a flip chart. 'Baby Bites' reaches a wide cross-section of parents as weaning is something many parents worry about. It is very informal, beginning with a buffet for parents.

Briercliffe Sure Start Children's Centre in Scarborough run Bond With Your Bump sessions to help mothers bond with their unborn child. Playing music, talking with their bump and introducing fathers and siblings help mothers begin to bond and build attachment and prepare for the baby's arrival. A resource pack has also been developed for other professionals across the region.

Brighton and Hove Sure Start groups share knowledge and skills to run weekly speech and language sessions and train staff. Groups have been filmed to show staff where their verbal and non-verbal communication was particularly helpful to the children.

Bulwell Sure Start in Nottingham have set up Wonder Tots, a weekly group for parents, carers and their children aged 1-2 to develop the children's early language skills. The sessions are run by a Speech and Language Therapist and a specialist in early play and language, using materials provided by Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP). At each session information is shared with parents on the current topic, new songs and rhymes are learnt, a fun activity is demonstrated and prepared for taking home, friendships are developed among parents and toddlers and an age appropriate book and toy are borrowed by each child.

In Camden, children's centre staff received training from the SLT service in Kentish Town, reported the RCSLT bulletin. The training aimed to improve staff's interactions knowledge and skills and ability to support children in settings. After the training staff co-ran language groups with a SLT to get hands-on experience of supporting children's language development. All staff reported an increase in confidence and skills with video recording of sessions also helping staff to be self-reflective and identify areas for improvement.
(Extracted from RCSLT bulletin, July 2008)

Cannock Chase in Staffordshire give all parents a booklet called "Please Talk To Me!" on their first visit. The book focuses on children from birth to 9 months, highlighting that it is never too early to talk to your baby. It gives lots of ideas on how to communicate with your child at all times of the day.

Central Hartlepool run 'Chattersacks', a pioneering project which enables nursery children to take home an activity sack containing books, a toy or game, a nursery rhyme and lots of ideas on things to see and do. The sacks are designed to support young children's early language development. Six nurseries are currently involved but the project will extend to local schools. Sure Start are responsible for maintaining the sacks, replacing books and games and adjusting the goodies in the sacks to suit the cultural make-up of different areas.

Chatham Sure Start focus on music and percussion to build early language skills in a fun and active way. This active participation helps children to focus their attention, listen and concentrate for longer. Music allows interaction at a nonverbal level, which enables children with delayed communication skills and reluctant talkers to join in with others long before they may do so verbally. Tactile songs, circle songs and bouncing songs are used to build the adult/child bond.

Corby Sure Start run a lunchtime club, once a week, where parents, children and professionals bring in a packed lunch, sit on the floor and share food and chat together. This is followed by a 30 minute activity, such as baking gingerbread men, based on Sure Start Speech and Language Targets.

Cowgate and Blakelaw in Newcastle is encouraging parents to swap their bottles for feeding cups and the children will be followed up to see if the switch helps to reduce tooth decay. In Cowgate and Blakelaw more than half of children under five have tooth decay, and the advice to parents is to get rid of bottles completely by 12 months. The Evening Chronicle, 25 March 2004

Eastbourne run two groups. Babbletime is for parents and babies from birth to one year. It is aimed at encouraging early interaction between carer and baby, demonstrating fun ways parents can help their baby's communication development through music and rhymes. Chattertots is for toddlers aged 1-3 years and their parents, and is a session of music, rhymes and language games to show the fun to be had in encouraging a child's speech and language skills.

Elland, near Halifax, run weekly storytime, music time and bounce and rhyme time sessions in two libraries, highlighting listening skills for both children and parents.

Goldington and Putnoe children's centres in Bedfordshire have established sessions which focus on developing language in different ways. ChatterTots, Baby Boogie and Once Upon a Time look at language through sharing books, playing and singing.

Haringey's Sure Start local programme has funded the creation of "Walking through the jungle", a CD with popular children's songs translated into 9 different languages including Romanian, Somali, Urdu and Afrikaans. The CD was produced as part of the storysack project at Pembury Baby & Toddler Group. All of the translations were done by parents and members of the group.

Lambeth ran an intensive 'Baby Talk Time' health promotion campaign in Gipsy Hill which had a preventative focus and targetted children under 18 months. The campaign is being extended to all Sure Start projects within Lambeth with a month of health promotion activity which will involve a combination of attending local community groups and venues such as mother & toddler groups, local childrens centres as well as some specific events.

Manchester run Babblegroups, starting the sessions with a giggle and encouraging eye contact, singing, body language and general communication between carer and child.

Manchester Central is running a joint Sure Start venture between Speech and Language Therapists and the library service to promote story bags in 12 libraries across the city. The bags include CDs in various languages, and the bags emphasise language enhancement. Each bag has a particular theme (for example, bedtime) and contains a book, a tape, a toy, an activity sheet, ideas for language enhancement, and ways to extend experiences beyond the bag. There are 40 bags per library, and all families with children under four years can access them, as well as child care practitioners in the city.

Middleton Sure Start run a 'Baby Bonding' project which aims to promote and support healthy early attachments between infants and their carers. Implemented by health visitors, a nursery nurse, midwife and psychologist, 'Baby Bonding' is introduced to women during pregnancy by the midwife with a special leaflet. Women who are likely to experience difficulties in their relationship with their baby are offered therapeutic help during pregnancy. Families are given a special booklet to help them to 'read' their babies cues and to help them to communicate and interact with their babies. The interaction between the baby and their main carer is assessed at five to six weeks after birth. Careful feedback is given involving the carer and the family receives a copy of a video to keep. Any support, advice or interventions to assist the developing relationship is arranged. Babies and carers are seen again routinely at seven to nine months and at twelve to thirteen months when a full assessment of the relationship is done. Various measures are taken during the process such as maternal depression, carer self-esteem, carer social support and parenting stress levels.

Netherley Valley Sure Start in Liverpool has a Chatterbox Team in local primary and nursery schools, trained to introduce guidance for all parents on how to develop their child's language, listening and communication skills. The ten local people have received accredited training, working closely with speech and language therapists. They also ran informal workshops over the summer during the Play and Stay month. In addition, the team is working with mixed ability groups in nursery and reception classes, with all the work being evaluated to check the children's progress.

Northumberland, Tyneside and west Durham, in collaboration with the Countryside Agency's Greenstart project, uses the natural environment to promote early learning, stimulate language skills and encourage interaction between parents and children. Research by the Countryside Agency suggests that children who spend more time outdoors have increased independence and self-reliance, have a greater sense of freedom and have a greater ability to think creatively. For the last two years, hundreds of families on the Sure Start scheme have been digging allotments, planting trees and going on woodland walks around the towns and villages. Children take part in all sorts of activities such as making bird puppets, building nests, going on worm hunts and finding out how birds fly. The activities emphasise discovery, questioning and play and, according to Greenstart Coordinator Caroline Jackson, have resulted in improved communication skills and creativity.

North Washington in Sunderland has an integrated approach to promoting young children's communication skills through Talk Talk sessions for parents, alongside open access play activities and training for nursery staff.

Ocean Estate in Tower Hamlets, London, has developed the Kheli-Boli project, meaning Play-Talk in Sylheti. It uses themed bags - containing books, toys and activities - to promote early language development in families where English is a second language, and make the link between the culture experienced at home and the expectations of an English nursery setting. The activities have also proved useful in helping speech and language therapists identify children in need of specialist intervention. The idea was based on the Bangla Bag scheme developed by Sunderland ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) team.

Partington and Carrington run a "dummy" project to raise awareness among parents on how dummies and bottles can impair communication and language skills. All nursery children in local schools and family centres receive an information flyer outlining the disadvantages of dummies, which includes helpful hints for parents on how to wean their child off the dummy. It also invites parents to exchange their child's dummy or bottle for a gift. For more information call 0161 777 8437.

Queensbridge and Dalston has created six Talking With Your Baby bookmarks for different age groups, each covering 'things you can expect', 'talking hints' and 'fun and games'. They are available in English, Turkish and Bengali. These are given out on home visits, at events, and by other early years staff. They are also trialling Babies Babble, Toddlers Talk groups, which are being run by students who will be evaluating the work.

Roehampton has a Chatterbox group, organised with speech and language therapy, health visitors and NNEBs. It is open to all and aimed at children 18-24 months and their parents. They sing, talk and read stories together, as well as having time to play.

Rowner in Gosport, Hampshire, run a Play and Learn Scheme (PALS), a programme which involves working for one hour each week with a family and their new born baby.

Shelten, Cobridge and Hanley run language groups alongside nursery staff, with the aim of enabling a member of staff to facilitate children's language development through small group interaction without the presence of a Speech and Language Therapist. For one morning or afternoon a week, the Sure Start Speech and Language Therapist attends a nursery and implements the language group programme with six to eight children and one member of the nursery staff. Each session focuses on a certain vocabulary topic as well as other developmental skills such as listening and looking, turn taking and enjoying communication. The groups runs for 6 consecutive weeks. After this period the group equipment is loaned out to the nursery so the group can continue with the nursery staff member.

Westgate, Newcastle-upon-Tyne has created Before Words, an information resource in the form of a set of sheets in strip cartoon format to be used with parents, families and early years workers to support very early communication skills, covering the first twelve months of a child's life. This guidance is developing further into images on postcards, posters, height chart and a colouring book, and a baby changing mat will follow. See www.beforewords.co.uk