With low levels of crime, close-knit communities and wide expanses of natural beauty, West Somerset seems an ideal place to bring up a family. However, the isolation of many of the remote villages creates challenges for families trying to access childcare, play, education and health services. There are only 18 schools covering the region and a small school-age population – fewer than 35,000 people live in the area and the average age is 54. Just over half the children in West Somerset achieved a good level of development at the end of Reception in 2015/16, compared with almost 70 per cent nationally.
‘I raised my family in a tiny village in Exmoor, I know the difficulties,’ says Clare Pound, chief executive of Home-Start West Somerset. ‘I got sick and tired of travelling to Minehead for everything: it is so special to have something in your own village.’
Pregnancy support
Home-Start West Somerset is one of the organisations that has benefited since the region was chosen as one of 12 Opportunity Areas in 2017. The charity received £79,142 and has been able to hire an Early Start co-ordinator and Bump-Start co-ordinator.
Bump-Start supports children and families in remote communities through pregnancy, birth and the first year of their baby’s life. Fourteen expectant and new parents have been visited in their homes so far. The organisation also plans to offer support groups as there is very little antenatal support available in the area. Ms Pound, a qualified nurse, underwent training provided by The Real Birth Company and has begun to deliver antenatal classes in the area, with 19 expectant mums taking part so far.
Communication and language
The Early Start co-ordinator looks after Story Start, monthly early years communication and language sessions currently taking place in seven villages with 105 families.
‘We tried to do something about school readiness as part of Home-Start’s core home visiting programme, but parents felt a bit targeted,’ says Ms Pound. ‘So we thought we need to look at this more holistically. At the same time we were talking to older people who would tell us “we see so-and-so struggling with little Billy, we would like to go and help out but feel embarrassed”.’
Story Start encourages parents to share books with their children and read to their babies from birth. Run by trained volunteers with support from Home-Start, each session revolves around a particular book and there are also plenty of books available for parents to borrow. ‘Last month we read Stick Man, and went out to find sticks, and made stick men,’ says Ms Pound. ‘We would like one in every village in West Somerset eventually.’
Both Bump-Start and Story Start are set to continue after the Opportunity Area funding stops, says Ms Pound. ‘The Opportunity Area was the catalyst, but as soon as that funding came in I was looking out for other funding to keep it going,’ she says.
Two- to four-year-olds attending 15 early years settings across West Somerset have also benefited from Opportunity Area funding through Healthy Movers, a ‘physical literacy’ programme delivered by the Youth Sport Trust and Futures for Somerset. Physical literacy is defined as giving children the foundations and confidence they need for lifelong participation in physical activity.
‘The earlier children understand why it is important to be physically active, and how that supports so many other elements of their life, the better,’ says Chris Caws, national development manager at Youth Sport Trust. ‘They are developing physically but they are developing other key skills as well. If they don’t understand until they are ten or 11, it is harder to get the concept embedded.’
Early years professionals attended training in October 2018 in order to become Healthy Movers Champions in their own settings, with a focus on developing their competence and confidence in delivering physical development. Training looked at how to deliver physical activity sessions that also promote learning in other areas of the EYFS.
Getting parents on board
Youth Sport Trust tutors come into the settings on a monthly basis to mentor staff and model the delivery of some of the activities, and the Healthy Movers Champions are also expected to share their learning with their colleagues. ‘It has been different across all the different settings as they all have different needs,’ says Mr Caws. ‘For example, tutors are helping practitioners to creatively use whatever equipment they have access to, and to deliver the activities in whatever space they have.’
The programme centres on fun activities such as chasing bubbles, balancing bean bags while moving, and acting out stories. Nurseries received resource packs to help them deliver the activities, and children received backpacks with activity cards and simple resources to encourage families to carry on the activities at home.
Settings have also been encouraged to hold termly stay-and-play sessions to show parents how the activities work, and around 135 parents have attended. ‘We know there are pressures on parents’ time so it is about supporting them to see the importance of physical literacy, and understanding it develops key skills that will help children throughout their life,’ says Caws.
An interim evaluation of the programme found 55 per cent of children taking part showed improvements in managing relationships, and 57 per cent showed improvements in listening and attention. Ninety-five per cent of parents said they had been given ideas to help their child to be active, and 90 per cent felt more confident in helping their child to be active at home.
Physical skills
Nursery teacher Alison Welch from Teddy Bears Nursery in Washford attended Healthy Movers training. She says before the setting took part in the programme, many children did not want to run around outside, but children are now much more engaged.
‘The sessions take around 20 minutes and we run them two or three days a week depending on how busy we are – sometimes we have had them every day,’ she says. ‘Whatever we have done the children tend to take it outside and carry it on in their own play, such as hiding behind a scarf.’
Ms Welch says the children’s co-ordination skills have noticeably improved, along with their balance, and that children who had lower physical abilities at the start have shown the most improvements. ‘One little girl had global developmental delay, she couldn’t even sit on a mat,’ she says. ‘Her core strength has improved, she can sit and listen for longer periods.’
While only one cohort of children has received the backpacks, Ms Welch says future cohorts will benefit. ‘It is 18 months since we first went on the training, and the first group of children has now gone on to Reception, so we have started again with these new ones,’ she says. ‘It is such an engaging and fun programme, you don’t need special equipment. It has the sustainability to keep going even if staff move on.’ So far 431 children and 46 practitioners have benefited from Healthy Movers.
The Opportunity Area has also funded the development of an Early Years Community network, helping early years workers to share ideas, best practice and support, a SEND mentor to spread best practice, and maths training for early years settings.
‘The maths training was amazing, it gave us lots of ideas to implement,’ says Ms Welch. ‘In the past, even when training has been provided, it has not necessarily been suitable for what we do; it is no good chucking training at us about things we can’t implement and put in place. But the Opportunity Area seems to have really thought about nursery teachers.’
TARGETS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Early years targets
Increase the proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of the EYFS to at least 70 per cent (above average).
Increase take up of early years education, so at least 80 per cent of disadvantaged two-year-olds attend.
Early years achievements
The proportion of children achieving a good level of development has increased from 57 per cent in 2016 to 73 per cent in 2019, above the national average of 72 per cent.
Practitioners in 31 early years settings have received extra training.
105 families are currently taking part in early literacy programme Story Start to encourage learning at home.
431 children, 135 parents and 46 practitioners in 15 settings have taken part in physical literacy programme Healthy Movers.