Indigo Childcare Group is a social enterprise that reaches beyond the nursery and is making a positive difference to families in some of the most deprived areas of Glasgow. It supports parents’ understanding of their child’s learning and development and the important part they play in improving their child’s life chances by giving them the best start in life through a love of learning.
Part of the service includes a Family Matters-Loving Language strand, which provides universal and targeted support for children and families in speech, language and communication. Partnership includes stay-and-play sessions and a helpline. This strand became a particular focus post-Covid when the impact of lockdowns on children’s communication and speech was significant. Funding was secured to employ a speech and language therapist to support the team, children, families and the community to have a better understanding of speech, language and communication development.
This has resulted in 89 per cent of practitioners saying they feel more confident in understanding strategies to use to support children and families with speech, language and communication development, and what to do when a potential delay is highlighted. Families and practitioners have been able to identify concerns quicker, enabling them to put strategies in place at an earlier stage rather than being placed on a waiting list for support. This has resulted in 83 per cent of children meeting their milestones, with the remainder mostly being children with a diagnosed developmental or congenital delay.
Other initiatives where staff work closely with parents include a progressive Spanish programme. Indigo also focuses on sharing learning more widely through a National Steering Group.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Roots Federation – Hertfordshire
The Federation of three maintained nursery schools reviewed the quality of parental engagement across the schools when it formed in 2021 and made some bold changes to the ways it communicated with families to increase collaboration and value parents as their child’s first and most important teacher. New strategies include reporting to parents each day on one activity that their child has taken part in and sharing the key group book and key words weekly via an app.
FINALISTS
• Babblebrooke Day Nursery – Loughborough
• Bright Little Stars Nursery – Watford
• Centre for Early Child Development, Aga Khan University Hospital – Karachi, Pakistan
• Essential Early Years – Wirral
CRITERION
Open to settings, services or projects that support parents, enhance their understanding of children’s learning and development, or improve outcomes through involvement and co-operation with families.