Pioneering home-based project has boosted young children’s literacy

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A pioneering home-based early years project has successfully boosted children’s literacy attainment and engagement, while encouraging effective parenting approaches and strengthening home-school relationships.

The Home Literacy Project, led by the Astrea Academy Trust, aimed to raise literacy attainment for disadvantaged nursery children.

It involved 51 nursery children from across seven settings in South Yorkshire.

Thanks to a grant of almost £100,000 from SHINE, over three years, early years practitioners worked with nursery new starters and their families in their homes.

During four home visits over the course of a year, children and their parents engaged in everyday family literacy activities such as writing shopping lists, sharing books, and singing nursery rhymes together. There were also three workshop events held in the schools.

Each child taking part was tracked during the project to see what progress they made in the five strands of early literacy.

Evaluation was integral to the programme, with both qualitative and quantitative data being collected and analysed to demonstrate impact for children, parents and practitioners.

In many cases, excellent progress was made. Here are some of the highlights:

  • The number of children able to combine lines and circular marks increased by 54.9%, rising from 11 to 39 children.
  • There was a 43.1% rise in the number of children asking for stories to be told, growing from 13 before the programme to 35 at its conclusion.
  • The number of children who recognise some letters of the alphabet grew by 35.3%. Only 2 children had this skill at the start, compared to 20 by the end. Additionally, 4 children now know the entire alphabet, up from just 1 at the beginning.
  • 41.2% more children are now able to sit and hold a pen properly, with the number increasing from 7 to 28 children.
  • There was a 47.1% increase in the number of children who can identify the meaning of marks (e.g., saying “that says mummy”), with the total growing from 11 to 35 children.
  • The number of children who can remember a rhyme, song, or story rose by 47.1%, increasing from 17 to 41 children.
  • 39.2% more children can now string together 4 or 5 words to form basic sentences, with the number growing from 12 to 32 children.

In the final year of this three-year project, the aims and objectives were:

  1. Raised outcomes in literacy for children compared to others who did not take part.
  2. Parents more knowledgeable and interested in child development and how best to support their children at home.
  3. Creating a long-term plan for ongoing staff development and succession planning.

“Overall, the project has had a positive impact for children, families, practitioners and schools which is evident in both the qualitative and quantitative data,” said project lead Deb Shorthouse.

“This impact can be seen in the change in parents’ behaviour and how they now engage more in their child’s literacy learning at home and in their increased knowledge of their children’s literacy development.

Overall, the project has had a positive impact for children, families, practitioners and schools which is evident in both the qualitative and quantitative data. This impact can be seen in the change in parents’ behaviour and how they now engage more in their child’s literacy learning at home and in their increased knowledge of their children’s literacy development.

Deb Shorthouse. Project lead

“Many parents reported that they felt more confident in the way that they engage with their children during literacy activities.

“For children, the impact for them is demonstrated in their early literacy development, which can be seen in the data.

“Also, children’s progress in literacy development, and their engagement, has been observed by practitioners in the children’s settings.”

She added that practitioners have incorporated elements of the training into their everyday classroom practice.

“Furthermore, home school relationships have been strengthened as a result of the project as positive relationships between the practitioners and parents have been fostered,” said Deb.

Parents were asked to share the positive aspects of the project. One parent highlighted “seeing my child make progress”. Another appreciated “teachers showing you how to help your child when they’re struggling”. A third parent valued “being able to ask questions,” while another appreciated “engaging as a family – doing activities together”.

Practitioners who took part in the programme were asked about some of the stand-out moments. One practitioner said the visits had “changed [the] parent’s perception of me”. Another detailed how “a child who doesn’t engage in stories at school will now engage in oral storytelling at home and at school and is also making story maps.” A wow moment for another practitioner was a non-verbal child “pointing to a word in a book and saying ‘moo’”.

For another, a highlight was “when the children choose to pick up a book when they haven’t before”.

One practitioner said that home visits “enabled a better understanding of family dynamics and how to support that child at home and in nursery”. Another highlighted the “relationships you’re able to build with parents by visiting the home and how beneficial this can be for the children”. A third said that parents were “better informed and more involved in [their] child’s learning”.

They were also pleased to find “children enjoying story time” and “vocalising this”, and “children more resilient to try new things”.

During the final evaluation meeting, one practitioner said: “I felt like I was making a real difference” to families facing challenges. “[I] formed better working relationships [and it was] brilliant to watch parents begin to celebrate small wins with their child’s development.”

A second said: “It’s been great working alongside families and seeing the progress they made.”

Deb said: “All practitioners reported that they see the impact and value of the project and that they would like it to continue. Out of the 7 practitioners that attended the meeting, all 7 said that they would be willing to engage in any future projects if the opportunity arose.

“As the project ends, its success reminds me how important this work with families is – a vision that is very much echoed in the views of the practitioners. I am now looking to the future and making plans to ensure that this vital work with families continues.”

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