First Words Together: Books and babies’ brains
“Many of us associate Cornwall with surfing, ice cream and gorgeous beaches,” says Alison Tebbs, Project Manager of the First Words Together project. “But there are also huge amounts of poverty in the areas where tourists don’t go.”
In 2019, the Multiple Deprivation Index showed a picture of entrenched deprivation for Camborne and Redruth, which came in the bottom 10% in the country. The area is among the most deprived in Europe, with many residents relying on food banks.
The impact of poverty on children’s literacy is severe. In areas of high social deprivation in the UK, between 40% and 56% of children start school with a language delay*. The attainment gap worsens and widens as children get older, having a knock-on effect on their chances of gaining GCSEs and employment.
The Goldsmiths’ Company is helping to tackle this problem by funding the First Words Together project in Cornwall from March 2022 to February 2023 with a grant of £29,849.
Designed by the National Literacy Trust, First Words Together gives parents the awareness, skills and confidence to provide a language-rich home environment which supports their children’s language and literacy development.
The Goldsmiths’ Company has a track record of supporting literacy programmes, including a National Literacy Trust project in 2021-2022 that improved the speech, language and communication skills of disadvantaged three-year-olds in County Durham.
First Words Together will provide intensive support to 90 families in Camborne and Redruth, with the help of partners including the local authority, library services, food banks and social housing.
Unusually, the programme targets very young children from birth to the age of two.
Judith Cobham-Lowe OBE, Chairman of the Goldsmiths’ Company Education Committee, explains: “Four years ago, our initial focus was on primary pupils. But we now realise that even age four or five can be too late. You need to start earlier. First Words Together does just that.”
So how on earth can babies and toddlers learn literacy skills?
“People often ask that question,” says Kirsty Cunnington, Senior Programme Manager, Early Years, at the National Literacy Trust. “But the first 1,001 days of a child’s life are extremely important in helping them learn how to communicate.
“A baby’s brain doubles in size during the first two years and this is when the foundations for early language development are laid. Babies are communicating in so many ways, from gestures to babbling, and parents can support this through play and the home learning environment.
“When children learn how to communicate effectively, they’re more likely to be ready to learn when they start school.”
She adds: “We identified Camborne and Redruth as areas where we wanted to work with a birth cohort. We hope it will help break the intergenerational cycle of low literacy levels linked to poverty.”
In the programme, early years practitioners are trained to deliver five weekly sessions to parents and children. These sessions are based around five tips:
1. Be face to face with your child.
2. Let your child lead, then join in.
3. Wait – give your child time to respond.
4. Talk about what your child is doing.
5. When your child communicates with gestures or sounds, add the words.
“Often, we try to direct children’s attention,” says Alison. “But if we focus instead on what they’re interested in and provide the words to go with that, they will be much more receptive.
“Similarly, you don’t have to read a whole book from start to finish. If a child is fascinated by one page or engrossed in a picture, talk to them about that.”
Families receive a free book to go with each session, which might be a treasury of nursery rhymes, a book featuring baby faces, or a noisy farm book.
“By giving away high-quality age-appropriate books, we’re helping families to build up a little baby and toddler library that hopefully will set children up to enjoy books as they get older,” says Kirsty.
So far, the programme has reached 81 families and is on track to meet the target of 90 families by the end of its first year.
“It’s our partners who make this project special,” says Alison. “We’re working with Best Start in Life, who deliver one-to-one sessions at home for vulnerable families. We’re also working with an amazing local charity called Wild Young Parents that supports teenage parents, who are often 14 or 15 years old.”
The project is clearly reaching parents who wouldn’t otherwise have access to this type of support, and the waiting list is evidence of its success.
“It’s wonderful to see parents and children gaining confidence,” says Alison. “At the start, some parents seem flat and watchful because they’re not very sure of their own literacy skills. Children can also be clingy and uncertain at the beginning.
“But by the end of the five weeks, children are running in, anticipating a fun session. Parents open up because they love seeing how they can build their child’s language skills and help set them up for life. It’s transformational.”
The Goldsmiths’ Company is paying for the entire programme, from Alison’s role as Project Manager and input from speech and language therapists to training for facilitators and free books.
“The grant from Goldsmiths is so important to us,” says Kirsty. “It’s enabled us to start from scratch, working with the very youngest children in an area that has massively lacked support.”
The Goldsmiths’ Company has agreed to continue to fund First Words Together in Cornwall, expanding out to include Hayle and six other areas of identified need, including the Scillies. This time, there is a special focus on teenage parents with young children.
Meanwhile, the local authority has asked to deliver First Words Together through its Family Hub offer.
“We’re hoping that hundreds of young children who would otherwise struggle with their literacy and confidence will get a miraculous kick start from this programme,” says Judith. “Get that right and children never look back.”
Written by Fiona Thompson for The Goldsmiths’ Company.
Footnote:
*Locke A, Ginsborg J, Peers I (2002). Development and disadvantage: Implications for the early years and beyond, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 37