Early Years
Supporting parents and nurturing early childhood development in those critical first years lays the foundation for brighter futures and lasting impact.
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Supporting parents and nurturing early childhood development in those critical first years lays the foundation for brighter futures and lasting impact.
Play is increasingly being recognised as the engine of optimal child development, future happiness and achievement.
Children who experience regular open-ended play opportunities in their preschool years are more likely to be school ready, more likely to complete school, and far less likely to need academic, medical and wellbeing support later on in life.
While all parents want to play and bond with their children, those facing poverty are held back by very limited resources and the overwhelming stress of trying to provide essentials like food, warmth and shelter. Frequently there is a lack of access to the kinds of spaces, support and community that help make play possible and meaningful.
Children in more deprived areas are nine times less likely to have access to free outside play spaces than their more affluent peers.
We believe that every new parent has the right to community and support.
Our Play Pals groups provide a supportive, judgement-free, easy to access community for young families to play together.
We empower parents to enjoy meaningful, high-quality play with their children through music, storytelling, crafts and physical activities so that their little ones get to experience all the positive outcomes of play. Each week parents leave with ideas and resources to continue their play at home.
100% of the parents we have worked with this year said that our groups made them feel more able to be involved in their child’s play.
Over the past three years, 45% of children living in deprivation have started school without being fully ready—an outcome shaped by the complex challenges many families face early on.
Children who lack the skills and knowledge to be successful at school from the outset are nearly three times more likely to be persistently absent from school, and three times more likely to be out of education, employment or training by 16.
Everyday Play is a brand new group that helps parents prepare their children for school. The groups use play, music, crafts and games to highlight how everyday activities can be transformed into powerful development opportunities which set their children up for success.
Full-time dad Matt used to spend his days alone at home with his daughter Chloe unsure how to fill their days. Now they’re the first ones through the door at our Play Pals group—and the last to leave.
Read the full story about how playful prompts and supportive community created lasting change for this dad and his daughter
My son hasn’t had much time with other children and this group has been amazing at helping him learn to share.
GemimaThere just aren’t any other groups like this around for us to take our children to.
LauraWe loved using the chalk activities to practise writing my daughter’s name for school in September. It’s a new, fun and easy way to get her writing more and more!
Paul