peep learning together programme

The Peep Learning Together Programme helps parents, carers and practitioners make the most of the learning opportunities in everyday life, supporting their babies' and young children's learning through play.

Watch our 'What is Peep?' video to find out more about Peep groups, and to hear from Peep practitioners and families:

Research has found that the main influences on young children’s outcomes are the quality of the relationship with their parents and carers, and what they do with their family, from birth (known as the Home Learning Environment). Early intervention makes a real difference. Our evidence-based Peep Learning Together Programme contributes to this, by helping:

• parents and carers to improve their children’s life chances, by:
  • developing sensitive and responsive relationships with their babies and children, 
  • making the most of day-to-day learning opportunities – listening, talking, playing, singing, and sharing books and stories together,
  • recognising and building on their own learning potential and achievements,
• babies and children to become confident communicators and learners through play
• practitioners to develop their work with parents/carers and young children
• communities to narrow the attainment gap, which appears even before children reach school.

what is the peep learning together programme?

The Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) values and extends what parents/carers already do to support their child's learning in everyday life. Peep is a strengths-based approach to working with families, focusing on doing with  rather than doing to  parents, in line with our principles.

>  Click here to watch Fife's 5-minute video about how their Peep-trained nursery staff use Peep with families and their older toddlers and pre-schoolers

If you are already a Peep-LTP-trained practitioner, you can access the whole programme by logging in to the Members Area.

Practitioners from any sector can use the structured but flexible Programme once they have completed the two-day Peep LTP Training.  This includes downloadable access to information, ideas and activities within 74 child development topics, each with session plans and parent handouts. The Programme covers five strands of child development, which it aims to improve by working with parents: 

• personal, social and emotional development
• communication and language
• early literacy 
• early maths 
• health and physical development.

>  Look at an overview and examples of LTP topics and their downloadable resources.

what happens in a Peep session

Peep-trained practitioners share the Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) with families through conversations and joint activities focusing on aspects of children's learning and development, underpinned by the ORIM learning framework. Peep sessions are for parents/carers and children together. Each session is based on a child development topic, which contains:

• talk time, to discuss key ideas with parents and carers relating to the topic focus
• songs and rhymes
• books and stories
• ways to put ORIM into action (Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, Modelling)
• play activities (during the session and/or ideas to try at home).

Peep sessions raise awareness and model how singing, talking, playing and sharing books and stories together help strengthen relationships and develop children's listening, talking and later literacy.  Families also consistently report that Peep sessions are fun, increase their confidence (both adults and children) and provide an important source of ideas and support from the practitioners and other families.

Practitioners can decide the length and format of their Peep sessions and courses. On average, sessions last about an hour (generally shorter if online or 1-to-1). Practitioners often run Peep courses of between 6 and 10 weekly sessions, though some offer one or two taster or focused sessions (e.g. focusing on ‘Transition into the setting’), while others offer sessions on a rolling basis throughout the year or term.

who the Peep Learning Together Programme is for and how it can be delivered:

Peep is relevant to all parents/carers and young children, and can be used for both targeted and universal work with families. The Programme was designed to be used flexibly by Peep-trained practitioners, to meet the needs and interests of their local families.  Practitioners can decide whether to focus on any or all of the five child development strands, and with any or all developmental stages/ages: babies, toddlers and pre-school.

Peep can be used wherever families spend time - indoors, outside or online. Click the links below to find out more about some of the ways of using the Learning Together Programme: 

• in universal or targeted groups (usually for about six to twelve families)
• one-to-one
• in drop-in sessions (such as Stay and Play or child health clinics) 
• in a school or nursery.  

The programme can be used as part of a multi-agency approach to working with families – Peep practitioners work within Health, Education, Childcare, Family Support, Early Help, Children's Centres/ Family Hubs, Portage/ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Adult and Community Learning, Social Care, Prisons, Youth work, Psychology, Libraries, Volunteering...  You can read case studies about a wide range of delivery contexts.

> The Peep Progression Pathway offers formal recognition of parents'/ carers' learning based on supporting their child's learning and development through Peep, with nationally recognised units to cover three qualification levels for parents and carers as learners. This builds parental capacity and ‘learner identity’ which research shows makes further progression into volunteering, further learning or work more likely.

> The Peep Antenatal Programme is the LTP's sister programme, and supports strong parent-baby bonding and attachment relationships during the perinatal period, beginning in pregnancy.

>  Download our Peep Learning Together Programme Overview leaflet and join us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram - all @peeplecentre. 

> Find out more about Peep Learning Together Programme Training or about holding a training course for your local staff and colleagues.