Peep Families Connect Programme
Families Connect is an evidence-based programme that helps practitioners work with parents to support children’s learning and development at home and school, as they move into and through the early primary years. During eight engaging sessions, parents and children explore practical, play-based activities that strengthen literacy, numeracy, communication and emotional development, while building positive relationships between families and schools or early years settings.
Families Connect was developed and delivered by Save the Children for over ten years. We are delighted that they have entrusted Peeple with its future – find out more.
Who is Families Connect for?
The Peep Families Connect Programme is delivered by trained practitioners working with groups of parents, carers, and their young children. It is most relevant to practitioners working in early years settings, primary schools, family centres/hubs and other settings that support families with young school-aged children.
How Peep Families Connect supports parents with their young child’s learning
Families play a vital role in shaping their young children’s learning and development. And as a recent report* highlights, ’They are key in establishing aspirations, providing the basis on which children engage with learning at school.’
When schools, early years settings and families work together, everyone benefits – children make better progress, parents feel more confident about supporting learning, and schools build stronger relationships with their families. Families Connect offers an effective and engaging way to help make these partnerships practical and sustainable.
Why Families Connect?
builds parents’ confidence to support learning at home
improves children’s social and emotional development, early learning and school readiness
strengthens home-school partnerships
parents and children learn together
practical, play-based ideas and activities using everyday resources
evidence-based
training and delivery support for practitioners
What’s included in the Peep Families Connect Programme?
- Eight structured session plans focusing on one of three key areas:
- social and emotional development
- literacy and language development
- numeracy and maths
- Programme Handbook for practitioners
- Parent handouts and resources, to print or share online
- Practical, low/no-cost activity ideas for during the session and at home
- Related training and support for practitioners
Sessions for parents and children
Sessions combine discussion, demonstration and shared parent-child activities. Practitioners explain how everyday play supports learning and development, and introduce parents to a related play activity. The discussion includes opportunities for parents to share their parenting experiences with each other, to incorporate their child’s interests and capabilities, and to reflect on previous sessions.
Parents then put these ideas into practice, during fun, hands‑on activities with their children. Each session also includes story, song, and ‘things to try at home’ ideas, encourage sustained use of new learning strategies at home.
Built on strong evidence
Families Connect draws on research showing that when parents regularly share stories, talk together, play number games and take part in everyday learning activities with their children, it strengthens relationships and developmental outcomes. An independent Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluation found that Families Connect increases parental engagement in their children’s learning, strengthens parents’ confidence and skills, and improves aspects of children’s social and emotional development.
Peep Families Connect Training and resources for practitioners
Our 1-day Peep Families Connect training is for any practitioners working with parents of young children, as they move into or through the early primary school years. This includes staff in schools, education and childcare settings, family hubs, community or children’s centres.
The training includes online access to all the programme resources – session plans, handouts and video clips – for the 8-week course for families.
> Families Connect Training
Why has Families Connect moved from Save the Children to Peeple?
The Families Connect programme was designed and developed by Save the Children, and they have delivered it to thousands of families around the UK since 2014. Save the Children’s work became increasingly focused on advocacy and research, they wanted Families Connect to continue reaching families through an organisation with a similar ethos and expertise in parent-child learning.
Families Connect is a natural fit with the Peeple approach, and we are delighted that they entrusted Peeple with the on-going development and delivery of the programme. It is now part of our suite of programmes supporting parents with their young children’s development. This marks an exciting new chapter for Families Connect, ensuring its long-term future and continued impact on children and families across the UK and beyond.
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