Supporting parents to strengthen children’s early learning

Sharing evidence and practice from the randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Save the Children’s Families Connect Programme.

This Save the Children UK webinar launched the final report of a Nuffield Foundation funded Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of the Families Connect Programme and provided a forum for policy makers, practitioners and researchers to come together and discuss best practice with representatives across the early years sector.

The first few years of a child’s life are crucial, and poverty can have a long-lasting negative impact on children’s outcomes. Organisations such as Education Endowment Fund have highlighted how progress in addressing the attainment gap for children living in disadvantage have been reversed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Parental engagement in children’s learning has come under spotlight as critical for children’s well-being and development.

The event intended to strengthen learning and strategies to reduce the impact of disadvantage on the attainment gap and support approaches to parental engagement. It was an opportunity to share learning, highlight evidence gaps and promote enquiry into what makes for sustainable change. It is also aimed to support evaluation practice with a focus on addressing challenges of methodological approaches to measuring and interpreting outcomes in children’s early learning.

The webinar was chaired by Dan Paskins, UK Impact Director, Save the Children and featured presentations from:

• Eleanor Ireland, Programme Head of Education: Early Years and Primary at the Nuffield Foundation
• Ben Styles, Head of Trials Unit at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
• Tracy Jackson, Head of Early Years at Save the Children
• The Families Connect RCT project team from NFER, Save the Children and Queens University Belfast
• Sarah Miller, Queens University Belfast
• Cuckoo Hall Academy

Facilitated discussion forums were also hosted by:

• Kathy Sylva, Oxford University
• Carey Oppenheim, Nuffield Foundation
• Kirsten Asmussen, Early Intervention Foundation (EIF)
• Jane Lewis, Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI)
• Pippa Lord, NFER
• Arun Verma, Save the Children
• Greater Shantallow Area Partnership
• Lucy Williams, Save the Children
• Janet Goodall, Swansea University

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with Molly Imrie, Events & Communications Officer (mimrie@nuffieldfoundation.org)