City’s focus on early education under the spotlight
THE IMPACT early education has on boosting a child’s progress when they attend school will be the focus of the next Public Forum for Education in a Yorkshire city.
The forum, which takes place on June 14, will focus on the innovative work being undertaken by Better Start Bradford and how it is helping education leaders to understand how young children’s outcomes can be improved.
Better Start Bradford, a 10-year lottery-funded project based in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton, is a partnership working with families to help give children the best start in life.
The event will also focus on the current position of early years outcomes across the district.
Michael Jameson, strategic director of children’s services, said: “The first few years of a child’s life is a critical part of a their learning journey. This forum will look at what can make this journey a success and how we can share this learning across our district.”
Better Start Imagine is a scheme currently being run by the project, which provides children living in the selected areas with a free book every month until their fourth birthday.
Mona Shah, 29, who lives in Bradford Moor, has signed up her son Hamsa, aged seven months. She said: “Hamsa may be too young to read, but he loves lifting the flaps and looking at the pictures. He likes listening to my voice.
“Books are so important in helping to develop his language and literacy skills. Some children see a book and don’t know what to do with it and that is really sad.”
Michaela Howell, programme director of Better Start Bradford, added: “We want to make sure children in our part of Bradford and beyond have the best possible start in life, and a big part of that is enabling them to be imaginative and creative, and developing important literacy skills.
“One of our programme aims is for more children to enter school with the communication and language skills they need to actively enter this stage of learning and to develop effective relationships.”