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Aims – the Peep TALK Programme Training equips practitioners to:

• expand your knowledge, skills and understanding in supporting parents with their young child’s communication and language development, including those who are concerned about delayed language development

• use the Peep TALK programme as a flexible toolkit, offering parents strategies and activities to boost their children’s language and communication during everyday interactions in the home learning environment

• deliver Peep TALK sessions with parents and children together, in one-to-one or group sessions

During the training: You will explore practical delivery ideas, strategies and resources, using the Peep TALK Programme. The training values and builds on your knowledge, skills and experience.

The training includes on-going access to the Peep TALK programme, full of practical ideas and activities.  It contains eight group or 1:1 sessions, along with ‘Talking at Home’ handouts, tips and video clips for you to share with parents and their children.

Who should attend Peep TALK training: 

Peep TALK is for any practitioners working with parents of young children, particularly parents who are concerned about their child’s developing speech, language and communication. This could, for example, include staff in family hubs or centres, children's centres, community centres, or education and childcare settings.

Peep TALK aligns with our other Peep Programmes and Training, focusing on the why, what and how of supporting parents with their children’s development in a fun and flexible way.

Why Peep TALK Training is needed:

Speech, language and communication is the most common type of additional support need identified by primary schools. Early intervention is crucial in supporting children's communication (and preventing problems) in the earliest years, as well as identifying language difficulties early on.

The evidence-informed Peep Talking and Listening Kit was developed by Peeple in collaboration with Speech & Language Therapists, building on our joint work with early years settings and families over the past few years. It can be used to support all children with a developmental age of approximately 18 months to four years, including those waiting to see a speech and language therapist.

Peep TALK delegate feedback:

• "Excellent training, plenty of time to look at all the session plans and it was lovely to see them come to life during the demos."
   
• "The training gives lots of knowledge and also how to share it with parents and carers in a very accessible way."
   
• "This was a brilliant training, with all the strength of the LTP [Learning Together Programme] but well-focused on Talking and Listening. The session plans are well planned and thought out with a good mixture of activities."

Duration: 

• One day:  9.30 - 4.30pm  

Training price: 

​£215 + vat per person, including ​online access to to all the planning and delivery resources
 

How to book:

> Check course dates for open courses then complete and return the Booking Form for Peep TALK Training 

>  Download our Peep TALK Training flyer for practitioners

> Find out about arranging your own in-house training course (online or face-to-face)

>  Find out about a free Information briefing for managers 

For online courses:  We use Microsoft Teams. Delegates should each  have a laptop/ computer or tablet to use, at home or at work; if this is a problem please contact us in advance.

Please book and send delegate details at least 10 working days before the course, to ensure that your training delegate pack reaches you in the post in time.

Payment and Cancellation Terms and Conditions:  Peep Learning Ltd, the trading arm of Peeple, will invoice you after receiving this booking form. Payment is due within 30 days of invoice date. Fees are only refundable if cancelled more than two weeks before the course.
Peep Learning Ltd Vat Registration no: 768 4173 94.

Contact us with any questions:  training@peeple.org.uk  or  tel 01865 397970 

Changing baby's nappy is something we often do on autopilot, we do it so many times a day that we can consider ourselves nappy changing ninjas!  Nappy time is also a chance to spend some bite-sized 1:1 bonding time with your little one, especially if you have more than one child.

It's surprising how much learning and play goes on during nappy changes too - even though it might not feel like it as you're trying to do the whole thing one-handed while you're wrestling them back onto the changing mat with the other...  When they're in a more chilled out mood, there's lots of time for eye contact, singing a song and encouraging your little one to join in, helping them learn the names of body parts as they kick their legs around or smiling and laughing together. And if the two of you get into the habit of singing at nappy time it might even win out over the grouchy escapee act some of the time! 

Peep TALK is our new programme created for practitioners to help families foster their young child's speech, language and communication development in everyday life. Created by Peeple in collaboration with Speech and Language Therapists, Peep TALK emphasises the importance of everyday interactions in enhancing communication skills within the home.

Key features of the Peep TALK Programme:

• Comprehensive content: The programme offers eight engaging group or one-to-one sessions, supported by ‘Talking at Home’ handouts, practical tips, and video clips that practitioners can share with parents and their children.
   
• Parents and children together: Designed for parents and their young children with a developmental stage or age from about 18 months to four years.
   
• Empowering parents: Peep TALK helps parents understand how and why different ways of interacting with their child actively supports their speech and language development, and the positive impact it has on their child’s future communication skills.
   
• Real-life activities: Peep TALK offers free or low-cost activities, ideas and interactions that fit easily into everyday life, and make a big difference to a child’s communication development.
   
• Flexible delivery: The sessions are adaptable, enabling practitioners to deliver them in a way that best meets the needs of their local community, whether in groups or one-to-one.
   
• Early intervention: Ideal as a first in-house intervention or for families awaiting support from a Speech and Language Therapist.
   
• Strengths-based approach: The programme promotes a positive, non-judgemental, and interactive way of working with families, building on the things they already do.
   
• Evidence-informed: The programme was developed by Peeple in collaboration with Speech and Language Therapists, building on our joint work with early years settings and families over many years. It complements our other Peep programmes.
   

Peep TALK Training for practitioners

The Peep TALK Programme and Training have recently undergone successful pilots and evaluation in Oxford and Hull. We're now delighted to open them more widely!  

>  Find out more about the Peep TALK Training - you can book your own Peep TALK Training course, or book places on one of our open face-to-face or online courses

>  Check forthcoming Peep TALK Training dates

"Really good training to help parents understand the importance of how they are currently supporting their child and how they can extend this." Peep TALK Training delegate, Hull

CBeebies star Nigel Clarke joined our recent Family Fun Day at the Peeple Centre in Oxford. 400 parents, babies and children enjoyed a day of free activities with local partners including The Story Museum, Ashmolean Museum and Oxfordshire Libraries.

Nigel Clarke, a Peeple Ambassador, delighted children with a story session and chatted with families about the positive impact of everyday play and learning on children’s earliest years. Oxford University BabyLab shared information on early brain development and current research, and Oxfordshire Fire Service invited children to climb on board their fire engine and ask questions.

Families joined in lots of Peep activities including sensory and water play, singing and storytelling, parachute games, playdough and craft activities. Local community-based dance school Messy Jam performed for the crowds, and children enjoyed the free face painting, bouncy castle and snacks, kindly sponsored by MPD Print, Co-op and Asda.

As Peeple CEO Dr Sally Smith commented: ‘We have been embedded in the Leys and Littlemore community for over 25 years, supporting parents to recognise that the little, everyday things that they do with their children has a huge impact on their learning. Today is a thank you to families and a chance to showcase our work, and that of our local partners, to the wider community. It’s been a hugely successful day.’

The Family Fun Day kick starts a summer of free activities that Peeple will be taking part in across the county. Please email us at families@peeple.org.uk to find out more.

In the autumn, our CEO Dr Sally Smith and our National Training and Accreditation Manager Liz Ersoy visited our Peep partners in Melbourne. Playgroup Victoria hold the exclusive licence for training practitioners to deliver the Peep Learning Together and Peep Antenatal Programmes in Australia.

Claire Georgiou is Playgroup Victoria’s Peep National Manager and has been at the heart of Peep training and support in Australia for the last few years. By continuing to offer training online, establishing communities of practice and fostering valuable partnerships, the Peep programme is now being used in every state and territory across Australia!

This year Claire will be pulling on her travelling boots, thanks to securing government funding to train and support Peep trainers across five states: Victoria, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. You can find out more about Peep Training in Australia or contact Claire here: www.playgroup.org.au/for-professionals/peep/.

Peep was a focus of the Playgroup Victoria Conference, where 300+ professionals from a wide range of early years settings created a really lively atmosphere.
Sally gave a keynote speech about Peep, Claire led a workshop focusing on Peep and the home learning environment, and Liz participated in a panel discussion focusing on children’s agency in the early years.

The trip also gave Sally, Liz and Claire the opportunity to visit some brilliant Peep groups and have valuable discussions with families, professionals and researchers. These included the Parenting Research Centre, the Australian Catholic University, Thrive by Five, Monash University, the Tomorrow Today Foundation, Milla Milla Aboriginal Playgroup, and many other early years, family support and health organisations.

Images:  
Top right: Peeple CEO Sally Smith and Playgroup Victoria CEO Danny Schwarz
Above right (l-r): Panel host ABC broadcaster and writer Jacinta Parsons, Dorothy Scott AM, Playgroup Victoria Patron, Liz Ersoy, Training and Accreditation Manager, Peeple UK, Dominic Alford, Programs Leader, Relationships Australia VIC
Left: Liz, Sally and Claire Georgiou
Below: Playgroup Victoria staff and board, Sally and Liz

>  News: Peeple Family Fun Day

CBeebies star Nigel Clarke joined our recent Family Fun Day at the Peeple Centre in Oxford. 400 babies, children, parents and carers enjoyed a day of free activities with local partners including The Story Museum, Ashmolean Museum and Oxfordshire Libraries  - read more

>  Blog: 3 key messages from new Sure Start research for organisations using Peep Programmes 

Find out how and why the new research findings are echoed in Peep delivery - from engaging families who might most benefit, to having a joined-up approach, to narrowing the attainment gap - read more

>  News: our next free info session about Practitioner Accreditation

Find out how you or Peep Learning Together Programme-trained colleagues can complete the Practitioner Accreditation unit as part of your Peep delivery:
Join our next session on Wednesday 8th May 3.30 - 4.30pm
> Email us and we'll send you a Teams link for your calendar:  pa@peeple.org.uk

>  News: update on Peep in Australia – empowering families in every state and territory

A recent visit enabled our Peeple UK CEO and Training Manager to catch up with colleagues at Playgroup Victoria, the Peep Training licence holder in Australia - meetings lots of families and professionals, and presenting at their conference - read more

>  News: Remembering Sir Tim Brighouse - former Peeple Trustee

We were very sad to hear of the death of Professor Sir Tim Brighouse on 16 December 2023. Tim was one of the great minds behind Peeple, and went on to serve as a trustee - read more

>  Blog: Growing Minds - lessons learned and getting involved

Our third Learning Event enabled us to reflect on the last few months in our Growing Minds collaborative, community project that helps improve young children's development and outcomes - what we did, what changed within our communities, and what we learned - read more

> News:  Narrowing the attainment gap - Learning Together Study update

Further analysis of our RCT study has shown that Peep made the greatest  difference to children eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium - they made an additional 4 months' progress in core language skills and in communication, and 3 months' additional progress in early literacy development - read more

>  Blog: Everyday play with free, everyday things

Children love exploratory play, experimenting with the objects around them. When you harness this curiosity together, it might surprise you what fun you can have. Check out our list of everyday objects and ideas for how they can be used in play - read more

>  News:  Rod's Bicycling for Books campaign to get books into the hands of children is complete!

Cycling 745 miles in 90 hours to raise over £6,000 for Oxford Peep's Dolly Parton Imagination Library - helping to provide the gift of reading by providing a free book every month for local children - read more

>  Blog: Supporting the Peep Progression Pathway - England

Our Adult Learning Development Manager for England began her Peep journey back in 2010 as a Children's Centre teacher in Leicester. She's now supporting Peep practitioners to use the Peep Progression Pathway, enabling parents to gain qualification units - read more

>  Blog:  Ayrshire College's innovative early years offer

Early Learning and Childcare students at Ayrshire College are given the opportunity to support Peep sessions for families, alongside their Peep-trained lecturers - improving their skills and experience in communicating and engaging with parents - read more

We were very sad to hear of the death of Professor Sir Tim Brighouse on 16 December 2023. Tim was one of the great minds behind Peeple, set up in 1995 with the audacious plan to improve education outcomes of children at secondary school, by working with their parents from birth. Mike O’Regan, our founder, recalls how Tim (then Oxfordshire’s Chief Education Officer) responded to the idea with his characteristic enthusiasm and supportive energy and helped give PEEP (our former name) its confident start.

Tim went on to serve as a trustee until 2014. During this time, we benefitted from his kindness and warmth as well as his wisdom, extraordinary breadth of experience and, when needed, his firmness and authority. We were lucky to have him – clearly a feeling shared by (almost!) everyone he worked with or who enjoyed correspondence with him, judging by the personal and poignant comments shared recently in the press. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this letter from a Nursery Teacher in the Guardian: “I once wrote to Tim in despair about the effect of some educational ‘reform’ on my nursery class. He replied by return post and advised me to collect all the relevant paperwork, set fire to it in the garden and dance around it. ‘It won't make any difference, but it might make you feel better’ he wrote. His letter certainly did.”

Sally Smith
Peeple CEO

Our third Growing Minds Learning Event in November enabled us to reflect on the last few months - what we did, what changed within our communities, and what we learned - helping us to plan for the year ahead. 

Growing Minds is a collaborative, community project that supports and improves young children’s development, school readiness and life chances. We do this by bringing together experienced organisations, local parents and carers, and tried-and-tested interventions.  It is led by a partnership of third sector organisations - Peeple, Home-Start Oxford and the Berin Centre – working together in the Littlemore and Berinsfield areas of Oxford and south Oxfordshire.

We really appreciate the positive and thoughtful contributions from everyone who attended, and the generosity of our hosts The Story Museum in Oxford.
Read on – and if you’d like to commission, fund, signpost, find out more, or attend any of our Growing Minds local provision for families - then do get in touch: becky.young@peeple.org.uk.

Here are some of our successes and challenges:

We’re proud of our new 5-minute Growing Minds video, which provides an overview of the project for families and professionals. It captures the voices of partners, practitioners and parents, reflecting on the impact that Growing Minds has had on their lives. Do watch it if you have a few minutes!

Expanding our reach across the communities:

There are now over 500 children registered with Growing Minds. A variety of support is offered, based on families’ interests and needs, ranging from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library books that are posted free of charge to any family wanting to sign up, to Stay and Plays, groups and 1-to-1 sessions for parents and children. Stories shared by Growing Minds parents about their own experiences highlighted the value of this ‘progressive universalism’ approach. For some families, the initial contact about the Imagination Library books provides the first step into accessing other local services. As Sally Smith, Peeple CEO explained, the latest findings from the Learning Together Study show that the Peep Learning Together Programme improves outcomes for all children but has the greatest impact for those living in disadvantaged circumstances.

School and community links:

Katie Screaton, Executive Headteacher of John Henry Newman Academy, enthused us all with her passionate presentation on the impact that Growing Minds is having in Littlemore. Before it began, there was scarce community support for children under five in Littlemore, so it marks a significant transformation.  She pointed out that Growing Minds is fostering a sense of community, diminishing isolation, and boosting parental confidence and enjoyment, helping more parents to see and value their role as educators.

Practitioners from the school and Growing Minds deliver a range of sessions with families, often combining topics from the Peep Learning Together Programme with a particular aspect of everyday life, all of which support children’s development and the home learning environment. Following conversations about cost of living issues, for example, the local St Mary and St Nicholas Church donated a number of slow cookers. These were given to families, who also attended a six-week course where parents and children had fun preparing dinner together (cowboy casserole, anyone?) then taking the food home to cook in their slow cooker.

Other groups include Nature Tots, a Special Educational Needs (SEN) parent support group, and Stay and Play sessions focusing on supporting school readiness.  For the Growing Minds children who started in Reception this year (aged 4-5), Katie's initial observations were that they have all settled well, and are confident explorers of the Early Years Foundation Stage. 

This is the first cohort of Growing Minds children to have started school. It’s exciting and we cannot wait to see the impact that Growing Minds has over the coming years, though we are cautious that this year group will have been most heavily affected by lockdowns and the lack of provision that was available during those periods. We are very fortunate to have such a community-focussed school on our doorstep, and we really appreciate the collaboration that has such a wide impact.

Impact stories from parents:

Gathering stories from families about their experiences is an important part of the project. Reading and discussing the stories in groups is always a popular part of the Learning Day. We pulled together common themes, which included the project being as meaningful for parents as it was for children, delivery being done with families not to them, reduced social isolation and easy-to-access support. Statutory services and professionals are stretched to the limit, often accompanied by long waiting lists, and finding an understanding and friendly face was always appreciated by families.
Below you can see a short version of one of the stories.

Local partnership work:

Staff from the The Story Museum took us into their small world area to deliver a section on their community outreach work with Growing Minds. After exploring the room, Victoria Jones, the Museum’s EYFS Co‑ordinator, gave us a captivating demonstration of their storytelling approach and the profound impact that it can have on people of all ages. Story Museum staff inspired families during a dozen Stay and Play sessions in Littlemore – our work shares numerous similarities, and it was a great opportunity to work together. Their sessions culminated in a visit by families to the Story Museum in early November, which went down a treat (and is well worth a visit!).

Lessons learned:

We reflected on what we had learned over the past few months, and our progress on the action plan from our independent evaluation. For example:

• We initially relied heavily on statutory services for recruitment or registrations of families. These referrals from birth registrars are very important as they allow families to hear about the local provision from very early in their child’s life. However, using a more mixed approach through social media, local advertising, schools, nurseries and other community groups means that our registration rate has significantly improved.
• Following feedback from families about the times of our Peep groups, we swapped the toddler group to the morning and babies to the afternoon, and attendance has improved.  
• We piloted a community Transition group in the summer for Littlemore families whose children would be starting school outside the local area. This was less well attended than most of our groups, partly for logistical reasons – more than half those invited said they worked during the week. However, we’d also had less interaction with these families when children were younger, due to Covid. This really speaks to the power of the earliest contact with families, building relationships and being able to support them sensitively from when their babies are small. Families were still interested though, with several saying they would have found this type of course useful before starting nursery as well as school. We were still able to offer every family support, and an ideas mat of appropriate activities in preparation for school transition. We will reflect further on our learning in the design of these sessions later in this academic year.

Partnership working and future opportunities:

• We were invited by the Sutton Trust to speak about Growing Minds at the Social Mobility All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) at the House of Commons in July. The theme was parental engagement as a tool for social mobility, and it was an honour to share our learning around engaging with parents as early as possible in children’s lives.
• Talking and working with other organisations to learn from each other is an important part of Growing Minds, both locally and further afield. Over the past few months we’ve enjoyed collaborating with organisations such as Oxford Inclusive Economy Partnership (OIEP), Oxford University's Brain Story and Thrive at Five in Stoke-on-Trent.

What next?  (how we can help you and you can help us)

We hope you agree that our services are valuable – but they need to be funded. We still need some funding for this financial year (2023/24) and the next. There are (as yet) no government-funded Family Hubs in Oxfordshire.

Do get in touch:

• if you are, or you have any contact with, a local commissioner of family support services or other potential funders (individuals, companies or charitable trusts), who may like to find out more about what we do, or to come along to our next event.
• if you’re a parent, carer or professional who lives or works in Littlemore or Berinsfield, and you want to find out more or come along to one of our sessions, or signpost other local families.
• if you’re part of a like-minded project elsewhere and would like to share ideas.

Becky Young, Growing Minds Manager - email  becky.young@peeple.org.uk  or  tel 01865 395145

Parent story (short version):

“I was a bit nervous the first time but everyone at Growing Minds and the Berin Centre was really welcoming. The first group I came to was a baby group. Each week is different, you learn so much and it's to improve your knowledge of certain things so you can enhance your child's life for the better. It was important for me to not just sit in the house with my little girl, it gets us out and interacting with people that we normally wouldn't be.

There's quite a lot of us who have similar ages of children, it's really good to see the same people every week, it helps us build the relationships. It's amazing, the other parents and their kids – it was really nice and friendly but if you're having a bad day like you can just tell someone and they'll try and help you. There won’t be any judgement which is really good because my life is chaos.

In the groups, we learn things to do with a child. There was something to do with the brain and I can see the image, that's really stuck with me. I'm quite a visual person so that really helped me. One week we also did about routines. I have difficulty with some of it and it was really reassuring that everyone goes through it which is a relief, and you can talk about it.

I also liked the making marks one that we did which was basically just like messy play. She didn't really get too dirty which was good for me, but she's done it since and she loves it, then I think oh I could do water play at home or I can do this at home - it's just fun.

This is somewhere that you're accepted and listened to.  I just think how amazing spaces are like this. I've always wanted a child, I will do anything for her. I just want her to have the best life and coming here definitely helped that and it helps me as well.  Parenting is hard, especially when social media says ‘do this’, ‘don't do this’ and it's so conflicting, you just want the best for you and your child. Mum guilt is so difficult but here they encourage you. I feel more connected with the other parents.”

During the Covid pandemic, delivery of Peep sessions switched to virtual as practitioners committed to finding new ways to reach parents who needed support. This way of delivery was very successful, with high levels of engagement reported. As restrictions have eased, some practitioners have flagged up anxieties, from themselves and families, about returning to face to face sessions. A common question has been about what measures to put in place to encourage group cohesion whilst still respecting personal feelings surrounding Covid.

Becky Robertson is a Family Support Worker at the Shetland Family Centre and moved back to face to face sessions in May 2021, before most of the country. Here is her experience:

I work in a family centre which is not registered with the Care Inspectorate; it doesn’t come under education or schools legislation either  – we are a bit of an anomaly really!  It means that our parent groups are considered to be under the ‘support group’ or ‘parent and toddler group’ umbrella, which enabled us to deliver in-person from May 2021. This was fantastic, but restrictions were still quite tight in some respects and anxieties around Covid were very high for staff and families.

We started with a pilot group of just three families and two workers, which still felt like loads of people to have in one room at that stage!  According to the restrictions relating to social distancing (then 2 metres), the room we were using could hold a maximum of eight adults, but even that amount felt really strange at first.

We adopted some subtle tools to social distancing, without it feeling awkward, and found these really helped to make people feel more relaxed in the ‘new normal’:

Invested in yoga mats for the families to sit on

At 1.5m long it meant that once the mats were spaced out on the floor people were distanced.  We also used name labels on the mats instead of on people, which meant a ‘safe zone’ for each family, and everyone stuck to their own mat.

Individual treasure baskets for each family and used washable shopping bags for ‘What’s in the bag?’

Having the individual trays of toys meant everything was washed after each session and we kept the same colour for each family each week; giving families a sense of security.

Laminated song lyrics

These were wiped down in-between sessions.  We even did our best to chant, instead of sing, to reduce concerns for all!

Individual reusable travel cups

I saw this in another Peep group and it worked really well.  Parents and carers could decorate them and write their names and preferences and we would have a cuppa ready when they arrived each week - they could also take them home at the end of the block.  It proved a great option for us as facilitators, not only because it cut out the anxieties around mug swapping, sharing spoons, etc. but also because we could have it ready in advance.

Small, individual snacks in decorated Tupperware tubs

We got the parents to write on any allergies and filled them with fruit/veg for the groups which clashed with snack time.

As well as these new ideas, we ensured that all rules around Covid were touched upon at the start of the session in the normal ‘housekeeping’ introduction, and hand sanitiser was available at various points around the room.

Now that we are living in a world of no masks, testing, or distancing that all seems pretty strict and historic… but some of the approaches are continuing into the new blocks which started in May:

We still use individual mats for the families, and label them, instead of the people.  It means less anxiety for families as they arrive as they don’t have to choose a space, know exactly where they are going and know what to expect. It also means that names are visible at all times; alleviating concerns around forgetting a name or a badge being obscured right in the middle of the 'Hello' song. We continue to work with small numbers, trying to facilitate more families by offering short blocks, as it still feels more comfortable to us at this time, but we now work on the principle of recruiting 5-6 families per block. 

My advice would always be to start small and see how it feels and progresses from there; it's always going to be easier once the first block is done and each block will flag up things that worked well, and things that didn’t!  Don’t overthink it, remember that the families have no idea if you’re ‘doing it right’ or not; plus they love it when you make a mistake or two - it makes them feel less pressured to be perfect themselves!

For Peep practitioners, head to the members area here for delivery support resources.