Starting Strong – Supporting families experiencing poverty through the early years transition phase
The early years are a critical stage in children’s development. Yet, we know that right now too many children in Wales don’t have what they need for a fair start in school. The aim of our Starting Strong project was to help young children adapt to the big change of starting school, making sure that they and their families had the right support around them at the critical point in their young lives.
We had the privilege of working with over 30 schools, nurseries and community partners across Wales, who helped us to understand what tools, techniques and approaches could support the transition into education, particularly for those children living in areas of high deprivation.
The schools and nurseries that took part in the research did so in the context of significant disruption; settings were working within the bounds of restrictions from the pandemic, and at the same time introducing the new Curriculum for Wales. Despite this, and testament to the tenacity and determination of educators to make a difference to children’s lives, the activities went ahead, and the case-studies and techniques highlighted in the report are evidence of the impact they made.
We hope the techniques outlined in the report will be useful for schools and nurseries across Wales and beyond. We are also able to share the two preliminary reports, outlining what children and parents told us was important to them. We are grateful to our partners Swansea University who conducted an analysis of the interventions. To receive a copy of the academic evaluation please email [email protected]
We would be grateful if you could share the reports and findings to your networks or on social media using #startingstrong #dechraungryf @savechildrencym
