Story by Kevin Stapleton | Photo by Ann Dawson
As part of a nationwide study involving 150 schools, Pye Bank Foundation are working with groups of parents to ‘improve the home learning environment,’ offering various workshops and coffee mornings to support home learning.
The ‘PEEP Project’ (Parents Early Education Partnership) is being run by Queens University Belfast, and is looking at how such improvements can impact upon children’s vocabulary, early literacy skills and social skills.
Deputy Head Ann Dawson said: “We have been very fortunate to have been chosen to be part of the intervention group and deliver weekly sessions to some of our F1 [four to five year old] children and their parents. Already our parents feel that they have learned so much about how to positively interact with their children and feel that their communication is now much more engaging and enjoyable.” The sessions offer lots of ways for parents to help their children develop their self-esteem and language, and they are warm about their enjoyment of the project: “It’s good to do everyday things but with a much better understanding of how they can help my children to learn. Seeing the big impact on my son’s learning has encouraged me to do more with my daughter as well.”
The university will report on the success of the project next summer.
