building bridges forming friendships.pdf

7/28/2019 Building Bridges Forming Friendships.pdf

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Acknowledgements:

Theresearchteam:ledbyDrBethCross,InstituteforYouthandCommunityResearch,Universityof

WestScotlandconsistedofBethCross,KateFrame,LynTarlton,BarbaraMiddleton,MichelleJones,

KaraWhelanandParentRepresentativesfromtheBooksforBabiesprojectHeatherHutchison,

KaterinaHatziioannou Faulds,KatarzynaKopec,JaneLockerbie,andHelenTsolaki.

TheresearchteamgratefullyacknowledgesthesupportgivenbySadieMiller(NiddrieMillPrimary

School),MargaretDuffandMargotMcAllister(StFrancisPrimarySchool),AngelaPaul,Christine

McKechnieandstaffattheMoffatEarlyYearsCampus,IslaFinlaysonandstaffatGreengables

NurserySchool&

Family

Centre,

Lindsay

Watt,

Jane

Kelly

and

staff

at

Castleview

Primary

School

and

FamilyLearning(CommunityLearningandDevelopment).

Manyparentsandchildrengaveustheirtimetoattendsessionsandtobeinterviewedinthespirit

ofmutualsupport. Confidentialitymeanswecannotnamethembutwearegratefulfortheirtime

andparticipationintheresearch.

Theprofessionalsinterviewedrepresentedabroadrangeofexpertise. Theybalanced

encouragementwithcriticalinsightandweareincrediblygratefulfortheirsupport:MargoHayes

fromCraigmillarMedicalGroup,SandraClappertonfromtheEarlyCommunicationProject,Stephen

Souterfrom

Craigmillar

Library,

Christine

McKechnie

from

the

Moffat

Early

Years

Campus

and

Eric

BrennanfromGreendykesFamilyCentre.

AparticularthanksgoestoCraigmillarLiteracyTrustBoardofDirectorsandtheBigLotteryFund.


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1

BuildingBridgesFormingFriendshipsAnEvaluationofthe

CraigmillarBooksforBabiesEarlyLiteracyProject

ContentsExecutive Summary ................................................................................................... 2

Key Findings ........................................................................................................... 2Key Recommendations ........................................................................................... 3

Report ........................................................................................................................ 5Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5Methodology ............................................................................................................ 5

Primary One Survey and Focus Group Discussion .............................................. 6Family Story Pocket Project ................................................................................. 7

Telephone Interviews with Area Professionals ..................................................... 7

Analysis of Project Consultation Documentation .................................................. 8Findings ................................................................................................................... 8

Survey Findings .................................................................................................... 8Primary One Parent Survey ............................................................................... 12Interview with Area Professionals ....................................................................... 16Family Story Pocket Project ............................................................................... 19Review of Project Consultation Documentation ................................................. 21Summary of Key Findings .................................................................................. 22

Discussion ............................................................................................................. 23Key Recommendations ......................................................................................... 25References ............................................................................................................ 26Appendices ........................................................................................................... 27

Appendice 1: Survey for Parents of 2 and 3 year olds ....................................... 27Appendice 2: Books for Babies and CLD Family Learning Project Survey ........ 29


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Executive SummaryPurpose of Study:

This study reports on an evaluation project carried out from J une 2011-May 2012 for

Craigmillar Books for Babies. Building on the strengths based approach which underpins the

project, the evaluation has worked closely with parents, volunteers and board members to

develop an empowering process that captures the breadth and depth of views about

Craigmillar Books for Babies and the projects on-going role within the community -

supporting families to take up reading and engagement with books as a creative affirming

activity. This in turn contributes to childrens wellbeing by increasing the resources that help

children feel nurtured, included, respected and responsible in order that they can achievetheir full potential in life.

The project in important ways acts as a bridge between services and agencies thereby

increasing the communitys strengths and resilience. At the same time the project has also

worked to help support families own initiative, skills and goals. The projects on-going

contribution to childrens well-being and to the communitys resilience was assessed through

a number of measures.

The evaluation built upon the mixed method strategy used in previous evaluations and is

comprised of a survey of parents of children aged 2, 3 and 5, consultation with area

professionals with whom the project works to promote interagency cooperation, review of the

projects internal consultation documentation, and an arts based family scrap book activity

which enabled children to directly tell us about their experience of Craigmillar Books for

Babies activities. The report does not evaluate management or business plan aspects of the

project. This report concludes by identifying the projects key strengths and potential

challenges and offers recommendations for addressing them.

Key Findings

The project has maintained a high level of engagement and has continued to improve upon

this in a number of significant areas. This is reflected in a few of the most significant findings:

Parents report nearly universal uptake of resources, the few exceptions being

families that moved into the area after their children were born.


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Gains have been made in reported event and programme participation, up from

baseline figures reported in the 2005 survey. These are significantly higher than

those reported within the Bookstart National Impact Evaluation.

Comments volunteered within responses to the survey indicate many parents engage

in a broad range of learning opportunities across the day supported by the projects

resources and opportunities to learn rhymes and songs.

Most parents report reading with their children at least once a day, however the time

this fits into their routine varies, with bedtime being one of a range of times.

Parents reported that reading is often a family wide activity with older siblings, mums

and dads and grandparents reading or being read to.

Parents of children now in Primary One report that Books for Babies resources and

programmes have helped their children come to school with confidence to learn and

helped them build relationships with peers, though the degree to which they felt this

to be the case varied.

The arts based activity evidenced that children have engaged with books in creative

ways. Within their engagement in the activity they are exploring many of the skills

within Blooms Taxonomy, with older children (aged 3) able to articulate this in

interviews where they talked the evaluator through their story pockets.

Professionals working in a range of agencies that provide childrens services voiced

strong appreciation for the role the project plays in supporting parents and creatingpathways to increased uptake of other services for families.

A review of the projects consultation documentation provides detailed evidence of

the support parents appreciate from the project. Parents also appreciate the

opportunity to give back; which they have been able to do through the volunteer

opportunities the project has developed.

Key Recommendations

The project has an excellent record of anticipating changing needs and creating

initiatives that meet these. Areas for further development identified in this evaluation

are working with young mothers, first time mothers and families resettling back into

the area. Balancing continuity of provision and fresh ideas will continue to be

important in the projects strategic development.

In the past the project has developed projects that celebrate the Scots language,

tapping into the skills and interests of the local community. Continuing to listen to


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parents and developing with them activities that provide this kind of platform is

important.

Further consultation work is also needed with parents to address concerns about

library events being too busy or too large. Staff are currently considering possibilities

to address this need in conjunction with the library as it prepares to move into new

premises.

Parents would appreciate a more cohesive service across early years and nursery

age, with newsletters, activities and resources offered up until and including a childs

transition to primary school. They also recommend working more closely with schools

to advertise opportunities and resources as well as other community meeting points

such as shops and the community notice boards in parks.

Professionals recommended working more closely to communicate about the

circumstances and developments with vulnerable families.


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Report Introduction

Craigmillar Books for Babies has carried out evaluations regularly since its inception. The

evaluations have evidenced consistent development of programmes and resource delivery.

On a weekly basis project staff observe a high degree of engagement by local families. This

report fills out the picture of project activity and its impact, confirms the high level of

engagement that the project maintains and reports on baseline data that will help it gauge

progress towards meeting its stated goals of relationship building, confidence and resilience

for families and communities that literacy can foster (Scottish Literacy Commission 2009).

The report also details the expanded set of methodological approaches used to gather

information. These have been developed in tandem with the projects increasingly

participatory approach to providing programming, developing its volunteer base andgathering information on and assessing its impact. The report concludes with

recommendations, many of them generated by users of the programme and its volunteers.

Context: Craigmillar is a dynamic, changing community. A major housing redevelopment

project is still underway adding a dimension of uncertainty for area families. A large

redevelopment project aspired to build 3,200 units within the area by 2017 (Craigmillar

Partnership 2005). Whilst the economic downturn has affected these plans, stretches of

cleared land are beginning to be repopulated with housing. There have been 325 unitscompleted to date with another 153 nearing completion in 2012. This has drawn new families

into the community but has also meant displacement for others.

Childrens services more widely are changing as the GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every

Child) approach is adopted. It brings with it an increased emphasis on ensuring every child

develops a well rounded sense of well being that includes being safe, healthy, achieving,

nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included (Scottish Government 2010).

Methodology

As in past evaluations the methodology employed a mixed methods approach. Previous

evaluations (Cross 2010) have demonstrated the importance of viewing statistical data in

light of contextual and interpretive insights that dialogue with participants and wider

community stakeholders generates. The evaluation strategy was developed in consultation

with area head teachers and the area Family Learning worker. The focus of the evaluation

was further shaped by a meeting with the consultants advising all Big Lottery projects on

project evaluation strategy. As a result all elements of the evaluation ask questions that will

provide a baseline for the outcomes the project has set itself. For example, the survey asks


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questions about childrens confidence in communicating and making friends, and parents

confidence with encouraging their childrens development as well as seeking out further

opportunities for their and their childrens benefit in the community.

The elements of the evaluation are:

Supported Survey of families with children at a range of ages, including those with

two year olds currently attending events, parents now settling their three year old

children at nursery, and parents taking part in Family Learning projects for children in

Primary One.

An arts based family story pocket activity which enabled children to give us a tour of

their exploration of books over the past year and their experience of Craigmillar

Books for Babies activities.

Phone interviews with a range of professionals in the area who coordinate their

delivery of childrens services alongside the project.

Review of projects internal consultation documentation.

Supported Survey Interviews

The survey was modelled on past surveys, which in turn were based on research conducted

by The National Centre for Research in Childrens Literature, University of Surrey

Roehampton (2001). Volunteers with long standing relationships within the community and

experience conducting the supported surveys in past evaluations facilitated parents

participation along with nursery teachers and project staff. Wording of questions was refined

in line with developments in strengths based approaches and responses indicate these

changes elicited a better breadth and depth of views from parents. Survey interviews with

nine families were conducted where families routinely engage with services, such as the

library, parent and toddler groups, nurseries and family literacy project events in school.

Care was taken to conduct the interview in a confidential setting where possible, in an area

where they could have a cup of tea or coffee and sit comfortably. Forty-three parents took

part in the survey at nursery premises for a total of 52 surveys. Some surveys had noted

responses to only some of the questions giving rise to variance in response rate for each

question. A small gift of a hand knitted puppet was offered in appreciation of their

contribution at the close of the interview. The survey schedule used to conduct the

supported survey interviews can be found in the appendices.

Primary One Survey and Focus Group DiscussionThe survey of parents with primary one children was developed and piloted in conjunction

with the Community Learning Development (CLD) Family Learning Worker for the area.

Parents attending a series of workshops to create learning tools to enhance their childrens


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experience of receiving and reading a book gifted by the Scottish Book Trust were asked if

they would like to take part and completed the survey with the evaluation coordinator whilst

craft activities were being completed around the table. The survey asked about their uptake

of activities offered in the area for young families that encourage literacy and engagement

with books, their views on how beneficial these events and resources had been, what would

attract more parents to them, their childrens confidence and interest in reading and their

own confidence to seek help with any concerns they may have about their childrens

progress at school.Fourteen parents took part in the survey across three school settings,

including three parents of multi-lingual families. In addition, parents discussed the

programmes more generally at the close of the sessions within a focus group format

moderated by the evaluation coordinator. Parents gave their views on the projects

resources, their participation in its programming, the benefits of the project for their families,

and any drawbacks, barriers or areas for improvement they saw.

Family Story Pocket ProjectTo enable families to reflect on the place of books within their daily routines and to enable

them to express this in an appealing way that would have lasting value for them as well as

providing information to the project, an arts based project was introduced to families as part

of the previous evaluation. As the activity was appreciated by families it was incorporated

into the projects regular programming. At regular intervals parents have a chance to make a

story pocket at follow up activities offered at the close of sessions where they develop its

content with their children. Art supplies and a dedicated volunteer are provided for the

activity. The pocket is then used to store memorabilia about each childs engagement with

books and Craigmillar Books for Babies events and resources and other activities that

contribute to the childs exploration and learning. Parents have opportunities to share their

story pockets in group sessions. For the evaluation the evaluation coordinator observed and

documented families taking part in the story pocket activity after a session and interviewed

three families about the story pockets they had created. The interviews were recorded with

parents permission and care was taken not to video any identifiable features of the children.

Telephone Interviews with Area ProfessionalsProfessionals within the range of health and educational services in the area who would be

willing to be interviewed were identified by the project. They were e-mailed interview topics

in advance asking for views on the projects strengths, evidence of engagement with

families, challenges and the projects place within the wider community and provision of

services. These topics were discussed at length in pre-arranged phone interviews with theevaluation coordinator.


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Analysis of Project Consultation DocumentationIn addition the evaluation takes into consideration the documentation of the project staffs

consultation activity. Thematic analysis of participants responses was conducted and

compared to survey responses.

Findings

This section reports the findings of each element of the evaluation in turn and concludes by

highlighting the most important findings that can be identified by bringing the messages

across the evaluation exercise together.

Survey Findings

Three area nurseries facilitated conducting the survey, yielding 43 responses. In additionproject staff also surveyed nine parents currently attending project activities, which together

with the nursery surveys represents the views of 52 families in the area. The views

expressed evidence that families are actively encouraging their children to explore books,

language play and learning and that the project provides valued resources to do this, as

detailed below.

Range of Books:The survey began by asking about the kinds of books families share with

their children. All parents reported that they do have books for their children and commented

further on the kinds of books they have and which ones are their childrens favourites. J ust

over 56% reported that they had all or most of the kinds of books suggested within the

survey form, with nursery parents reporting a wider range than parents of pre-nursery

parents.Parents volunteered new categories of books not within the inventory offered. The

new categories of books all involved some kind of interaction such as sticker books, lift the

flap, touch and feel, colouring in, and jigsaw books. These contributions reflect the changing

market of childrens books. Books associated with TV programmes that offered structured

learning opportunities were also mentioned such as Dora the Explorer. One familycommented that they used these resources to bake together. When asked to talk about their

childrens favourite books, parents referred less to characters popularised by TV

programmes than in previous surveys and spoke more often about the topic, the kind of

interaction the book enabled, such as with flaps, textures or wheels, or sited a specific book

title or author, such as J ulia Donaldson.

Reading with in Families Routines:The next section of the survey asked about how books

and language play fit into family routines. Many families reported that they took a number of

opportunities to share books with their children throughout the day (79% of all families). Pre


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nursery families reported book sharing more than once a day slightly more (89%). Parents

reported that books fit into routines at different times of the day. As children progressed to

nursery and school, it is often just after returning home that books played a part in quiet

reconnecting time. What came across in a number of ways is that the whole family helps out:

Older sister reads to him

He reads first thing in the morning with mum then when his dad

comes in at teatime he reads with him. Then he reads with da at

bedtime. He reads to his dad. He sees me right through the day

Sometimes when she comes into living room to read to her brother

we'll all read together.

Granny also reads to her.

My son in P2 reads to her.

Another key finding is the high degree to which parents indicate that they share books in a

way that encourages interaction (97%). In addition several respondents expanded upon theiranswer to give examples of what they meant:

She looks at books during the day. We tell stories from our head

using our imaginations. I tell stories from my childhood, stories my

mum told me that she heard from my grandmother.

They love a bedtime book. I tell Goldilocks with their name in place of Goldilocks.

He turns pages backwards and forwards and relates to different parts of story.

Yes she is very interested in knowing things and names them. She

asks lots of questions like what is this mum?

Usually talks about what pictures he's pointing at, and he'll describe

how the textures feel.

Yes he does with the duck story he thinks the mum is looking for her

babies and he'll talk about that. He has a vivid imagination. He generally

follows the story and then makes up his own wee bit.

Yes hell draw pictures from books.

Yes we do and we make stories up too.

As a whole, parents spoke more readily about talk around books than they did about talking

about books during other activities. Interestingly, many parents did take the opportunity of

the question to relate positive learning interactions of different kinds that encourage

childrens imaginative and story making skills. Parents associating this with the question is a

positive sign. Responses to these questions in previous surveys often adopted a more

didactic tone and described interaction that quizzed or drilled children as a way of modelling

expected learning. In this survey there were more accounts of supportive and collaborative

models of learning.

Almost all families spoke about their children taking the conversation about stories beyond

the book into the rest of the day, which is a good sign that parents are tapping into the


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Picture 1: First book gifted by

Craigmillar Books for Babies at 10

days old

resources books offer to actively nurture the childs curiosity, sense-making and imagination.

This provides the foundations for achievement and contributes to the childs sense of being

respected.

Important to note is that far and away singing is often mentioned as another activity parents

do with their children with many parents emphasising just how much the child likes to sing

and express through music.

She's always singing and dancing and I join in. She calls it her

exercise. She sings and claps hands to baby if he's upset. I also sing

to her after her book.

She sings all the time, she sings what she wants to say.

In the bath he makes up his own songs. He plays around with songs he knows e.g.

baa baa blue sheep.

Responses also attest to the infectious character of singing:

We sing loads of songs. He sings to his sister. She sings songs, does actions. So does my mum and wee sister.

A few responses, however, expressed negative assessment of their own singing, which may

reflect the parents sense of feeling pressured to be able to do this. It is a reminder that the

project needs to remain mindful of issues of self esteem for parents.

Also important to note are the other ways in which

parents develop opportunities for creative interaction

and take the opportunity of doing things together to talk.

Drawing, baking and building with Lego are all stated as

times they talk and explore ideas and concepts with

their children.

Uptake of Books for Babies Resources and

Programmes:The final section of the survey inquiresabout families uptake of resources. Whilst most

measures of engagement remain steady the one area

of significant rise in uptake is that of participation in the Bookbug Library Challenge which

Craigmillar Books for Babies supports by offering the incentive of a gift book. The book is

gifted alongside the Bookbug Certificate after 4 library visits. This awards family for

developing library use and fosters home ownership of books. Take up rose by

14%. However among families there is less use of the library out-with Books for Babies

events, down by 11%. As thelibrary relocates to new premises issues influencing this

downturn would be useful to explore and address. Ten families surveyed indicated that there

was more than one language spoken at home. All but one of these families also indicated


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they had received bilingual resources from the project. Table 1 below provides comparative

findings across surveys.

1997(42) 2002(46) 2005(73) 2009(37) 2012(52) NationalEvaluation

2009(54/384)*

Uptakeofuseofresources 34%(14) 67%(31) 88%(64) 95%(35) 96%(46)* 61/83%

BFBindicatedasfirstbook 20%(8) 38%(17) 49%(36) NA NA NA

ChildrensLibraryMembership 24%(10) 55%(25) 76%(55) 46%(17) NA 57/79%Familylibraryuse 27%

(11) 50%(23) 72%(53)

60%(22) 49%(22)* 26/55%

EventAttendance NA NA 45%(33) 65%(24) 65%(31)* 11/43%

Relatingchildrensexperiencetoreading NA 74%(34) 88%(64) 97%(36) 94%(49) NARelatingreadingtochildrensexperience NA 61%(28) 72%(53) 81%(30) 96%(50) NAUptakeofBookCrawlProgramme NA NA NA 24%(9) 38%(18)* NATable 1: Comparison of Uptake of Resources and Events with Previous Survey Data and National

Bookstart Evaluation

In this section questions were also asked that sound out parents about the benefits of theresources and activities in order to gauge how the projects efforts work to affect desiredoutcomes, as detailed in Table 2.

Table 2: Parents Assessment of Degree of Project Contribution to Outcomes for Children

Not all parents responded to each question, and in part this is due to limited uptake of

activities leading to some parents declining to comment on the value of the activities of

which their children had had only limited experience. What can be seen is that the most

prevalent answer chosen indicated that the project has contributed a great deal to the

A little Some A lotConfidence Speaking

Pre-Nursery 0 3 3Nursery 7 7 17

Looking at BooksPre-Nursery 0 2 4

Nursery 4 4 25Making Friends

Pre-Nursery 1 1 3Nursery 5 8 10

Getting Ready for NurseryPre-Nursery 0 1 3

Nursery 2 5 19


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outcomes identified. This was more so for childrens confidence in looking at books and

preparing for nursery than for speaking and making friends.

In addition to this assessment of the projects benefit to families, parents also took

advantage of a final invitation to share any further views at the close of the survey interview

to make several positive comments about the project:

Weve been here a year, Health Visitor suggested Books For Babies. We came here

before other groups.

Book bag is fun bag. Sessions give both mum and child a chance to make friends.

The events get us out. The introduction to nursery great for 1st time mums.

It helps kids to get out and meet their friends.

It makes them eager to share books at nursery.

I think it's good for them to build up confidence with other kids and discover books

are enjoyable.

Encouraging your kids to read does help them. Having extra books makes adifference.

Definitely these things help

Books for Babies helps a lot because they interact and encourage them to join in.

Because he has his own imagination and can make things up.

Books for Babies is an excellent resource and rhyme time is a useful event for

mastering English language. We also enjoyed the story pockets.

Books for Babies definitely it shows you what she should be reading at what age.

His vocabulary is brilliant through books. Loads of animals like armadillo. Nursery

commented how wide ranging his language and vocabulary is.

As these comments reflect, parents appreciate both the social and educational aspects of

the projects activities.

Parents across survey groups also raised concerns about sessions that are too busy or

crowded. Some parents point out it is difficult to come with two or more children. These

remarks indicate that coming to events does require some social navigation for parents and

the support the project provides for this could usefully be reviewed.

Primary One Parent SurveyThe survey of parents with children in primary one was developed and piloted in conjunction

with the Community Learning Development (CLD) Family Learning Worker for the area

Fourteen families gave their views about Books for Babies from the perspective of further

interaction with nursery, primary school and community learning and development input.

Participation: All parents attending events reported that they had participated in some

aspect of Books for Babies, for two this was primarily the book resources, a third ethnic

minority parent had benefited from the Books for Babies home visits and reportedsubsequent uptake of other library programmes, such as the summer reading programme.


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All parents had also attended previous CLD Family Learning events. These two findings

together suggest that early involvement does pave the way for continued uptake of

opportunities with CLDs Family Learning programme.

Benefit: When asked how beneficial these events had been, 79% reported they had been

very helpful, with a further 14% indicating they were somewhat helpful.

Further insight into how the events and resources had been helpful is provided by the

additional comments parents made in response to this question:

Parents appreciate the enjoyment and interaction with resources:

It gets the bairns a wee bit more interested. It helps with reading especially if they enjoy a book they'll get more out of it. Kids just get excited about getting a book. The way the stories were told made them want to read. J ust makes them understand the meaning, introduces them to different

words. He loves books, he loves reading. Hes doing great, just picks up a book and

reads.

The dimension of learning in all this both for themselves and their children is also valued:

You get to see how they've taught them and be part of it. It sort of gave you insight into how to interact with your kids with books.

The importance of meeting others in the community is also emphasised: It got your kids mixing with other kids.

She likes getting involved, talking away to me too.

Interacting with kiddies develops their self respect.

Its confidence building, letting her know what's going on in area, meeting new

people.

Parents were also asked how events had influenced their approach to reading and sharing

books with their children. Here again the mixture of views is interesting to reflect upon. Some

related how the events had given their children a very different introduction to books than

they had had themselves and that they very much appreciated this:

I used to hate reading. My kids love it and I love that. Their rooms are full ofbooks.Nearly half the parents reported that they would have read to their children anyway. Some

of these parents went on to comment that their participation had spurred them to take a

more creative approach and include reading and language play more extensively through

the day:

I'm sure we would have been reading but the rhymes. I 'm much more awarehow valuable they are. You can make up your own to distract them Ive nowgot one for every situation.

It made me sort of realise you can have them reading anywhere at any time

not just at bedtime.


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Picture 2: Craigmillar Books for Babies

1 year book bag books are chosen by

local parents

I also make a point of switching TV off. That was something I learned fromBooks for Babies. Switch it off and let them know you're interested in readingwith them.

This last comment is of particular interest, given prevalent concerns about the influence of

media on childrens reading habits.

Comments also reveal a growing congruity between what parents value within the reading

experience and the positive messages both initiatives strive to instil, principally that literacy

can be a creative enabling activity:

The picture books are good. You can use the pictures to talk about otherthings or use the words, its up to you to use the book the way you want to.

It will help him. When I read I relate the story to everyday life see that, yes,so he sort of picks it up.

These comments are similar to those shared by parents of younger children.

Childrens Interest and Confidence: When asked about their childs interest in reading all

parents responded that their child was either very interested or interested, and that they

were very confident or confident. Parents also reported they were confident to seek help if

needed. Most parents indicated they would speak to the class teacher if they had concerns

about helping their children with homework, however they also indicated that they would also

turn to family and community support. One respondent indicated that they would use the

internet for support.

Resources: When asked what resourced their

childrens reading all parents indicated they

bought books for them as well as the reading

opportunities and resources they received

through school. Four parents also mentioned

magazines they bought for their children. Six

parents indicated that their children accessed

some kind of digital media through computers or

hand held devices such as phones or games

consoles and that this was a site of reading.

Parents also mentioned their childrens engagement with environmental print. Their

awareness of environmental print may reflect their uptake of early literacy messages from

nursery as well as the literacy projects.


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In terms of the outcomes that Books for Babies have set for themselves in the coming years,

responses indicate that a mixture of parents who had varying levels of confidence and

differing cultural perspectives about the place of reading in the home have attended events,

which suggests they have been a successful forum for parents to meet and build common

assets together. Further remarks emphasise the importance of events for both parents and

children to meet and develop friendships, making their transition to nursery and school a

friendlier experience:

(The project) lets them know they are going to be meeting nursery mates before they

get there. When you first leave them at nursery it can feel like your child is being

ripped away. With my first child, it was just horrendous, so it doesn't have to be so

scary. Also good for adults to get a chance to know each other.

I used to feel I was the only one breastfeeding. That's changed I see some people at

the library, its treated as normal.

Widening Access: When asked what would make it more likely for more parents to come to

events, some parents expressed support for the advertising and outreach approach taken.

As well a wide range of suggestions were made to do with other locations of outreach:

You don't see posters in shops or the community notice boards.

If teachers reinforced announcements, it would help a bit.

Let people know in other ways beside health visitor, such as at schools, weighing

clinics.

Parents also expressed a desire for events to be more coordinated, and beneficialapproaches sustained across early years engagement:

Used to get leaflets from Books from Babies about things but they don't do that

anymore.

Still give leaflets like when they were young. Hard to find things for them.

Leaflets through the door, like Barbara did with flowers colourful and not too big.

If there were more themed or set activities, more things on a set day.

A coordinated place or maybe internet site that brings all projects events and ideas

together would be good.

Some parents, as well, reflected on the dynamic of the events themselves and the

importance of relationships between participants.

It's hard to take that first step if you dont know anybody.

If you are a new mum you dont want to walk to an already established group. If there

was a group for just first time Mums.

It doesn't matter how welcoming the facilitator is, it's how everyone else treats you. If

a person starts talking to you, you feel welcome.

One of us has to have the courage of two people sitting next to each other.

I've often thought about it. For a long time it was just two of us and then it grew. It got

to a point that it was word of mouth.


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Ownership: The above comments reflect tensions that parents talked about in the more

general discussion. Both discussions in different ways underscored the importance of

acknowledging the assets, traditions and interests, within the community and providing a

platform for these to be acknowledged, shared and built upon. In one group, parents

expressed concern that Books for Babies was no longer for families that had always lived in

the area. However those parents who have settled in the area recently also expressed a

sense of isolation:

I used to feel the opposite I was the only non-local. We have to encourage eachother.

Within these discussions mothers also talked about the importance of traditions, such as

sewing costumes for the local festival parade that have now died away. Acknowledging

these traditions and even providing new resources for skills to be used may go some way tohelping parents feel recognised and valued.

It is also important to highlight the perspectives that parents from other countries shared as

they reflect both different strengths, such as the ways they draw on a rich oral culture:

If you make a story of your own, then they understand very quickly, when youmake them their own character they want to listen to the end then they will learn.

As well as the challenges they face and the resources they may need to meet these:

I'm learning from him as well as him learning from me phonics for example.

Interview with Area ProfessionalsFive professionals covering a range of services across health, social work and education

took part in the interviews. Professionals were given the interview questions in advance to

have time to prepare the responses they wanted to give.

The strongest message that came across from all professionals interviewed is that the

project has a very good reputation in the community amongst professionals and those who

use services. The descriptors used by many of the professionals were: flexible, dependable,

collaborative. The staff team was felt to be a real asset both in the approach to working with

area professionals and also in the approach to working with families. The following quote is

illustrative of many of the responses:

Even the clients that are not too group friendly are very positive about the resources

and one to one chat they have with workers. Theyve been very adaptable, like when

we have travellers, theyve been really good to go round to the road side. With

Traveller sites, people move quickly, you have to be quick and Michelle and Kara just

go along with the book bags. Theyre so responsive. Its an indication of their ability

to grab things and move with them. You cant have a committee meeting and take


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months you know. Theres not much the girls wont take on. Its very empowering for

the parents. Their enthusiasm rubs off on the parents. Parents watch their childrens

positive reaction and get quite sold on the whole project. They do involve the

community really well in picking resources for the bags. And making people feel part

of it. (Health visitor)

Professionals felt there were a number of areas where the project did particularly good work,

similar to the approach described above with families new to the area, ethnic minority

families and work with dads.

The project has set for itself three priority outcomes for work over the next few years.

To establish a baseline indication of how well the project does in addressing these issues

already, professionals were asked to comment on these areas:

Childrens Confidence: In terms of help that the project gives children to gain confidence incommunicating and boost their ability to build positive relationships, professionals thought

many aspects of the project provide good modelling of this and opportunities for families to

try out that model and become familiar with it:

Possibly the group nature of Books for Babies helps with that as well, children are

interacting together. They see others enjoying the rhymes and makes it easier to pick

them up themselves. The range of age helps with this too. (Nursery Teacher)

Parents Confidence to support Child Development: Professionals again felt the project

plays a key role in encouraging parents confidence to play an active part in helping their

children develop. The positive play and positive interaction that the project stimulates was

seen as key in this regard.

Projects Success in Helping Families Take Further Opportunities in the Community

and Build on Skills: The picture that emerged from speaking to different professionals is

that the project plays an important bridging role by being a follow on from early health based

support:

Picture 3: Families at a Books for Babies Rhymetime in Craigmillar Library


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I did a baby massage group and as a way of moving them off I recommended Books

for Babies. (Health Visitor)

And, in turn, providing bridges to further education resources as the child develops. One

event in particular was singled out as being of particular benefit:

The Off to Nursery Event brings parents to the forefront of the community to find out.

It benefits both parents and nursery in a way that wouldnt happen otherwise.

(Childrens Centre Support Professional)

The role of developing confidence and offering well rounded support is again noted as being

key:

What Kara and Michelle do for me is nurturing quite young, quite vulnerable mumsstuck in quite isolating high rise flats. If youre depressed and isolated havingsomewhere fun to go is quite key. Once youve made a few friends in that nurturingenvironment its easier to try other things. (Speech Therapist)

Project Strengths: As noted above, qualities of staff and how these are imbued in the day

to day practice of the project were cited as important strengths: flexible, dependable,

collaborative. In addition, one professional felt that the projects status outside statutory

provision makes them more approachable:

Theyre not health; theyre not education. Theyre an agency that people feel theycan approach without any uncertainty about hidden agendas. They are a very neutralservice with a friendly face that people welcome and want to see again because of

the warmth. (Speech Therapist)

Project Challenges:The community has gone through much change in the past few years

and will continue to do so. Adapting to this change was seen as a challenge; however

professionals felt that the project had a proactive approach to addressing changing needs.

Their work with Polish families was cited as a particular example. One specific change

highlighted was changing programming for young families, particularly the Circle and PEEP

approaches. Work needs to be done so that projects keep speaking each others language

and provide consistency in how they speak about things with parents.

Professionals also cited the worsening economic climate which poses challenges for the

project in several ways. Families will increasingly be dealing with pressures and constraints.

Area partners will be limited in the kinds of resources they can offer to complement the work

of the project, and the project itself faces a more competitive funding arena. These

challenges are alluded to in one professionals observation:

Everything is back to the bone and Books for Babies in a way makes up for that.

(Nursery Teacher)


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Picture 4: Depicting a fish together. Using eye stickers to

place the fish.

Project Development Opportunities: There are two particular aspects of work that

professionals suggested the project might consider developing. More integrated working with

professional partners to support isolated and hard to reach parents was suggested. Although

there are issues around confidentiality, ways to keep professionals in the area abreast of

conditions for isolated or hard to reach parents could be incorporated into feedback to

professionals making referrals for home visits. More work with teenagers who are either

providing sibling support to younger brothers and sisters or becoming parents themselves

was also raised as a possible area to explore.

Family Story Pocket ProjectThree families were interviewed about their use of the story pocket activity. Their use of the

story pocket varied. One family had used it as a scrap book might conventionally be used,

taking care to use the panels to depict important stepping stones and events in their childs

early experience of learning. Materials kept included photographs of children at events, such

as when their birthday was celebrated at a rhyme time event, rhyme cards distributed at

events, and pictures of them enjoying every day activities which they associate with rhymes

sung at project events such as jumping in a puddle. A more common use of the story pocket

was as a space to explore with their

children their creative response to the

sessions. This use may have evolved

over the course of the making sessions

provided as it enabled parents to

observe what others were doing and

learn from each other. What is

evidenced by the story pockets toured

in the taped interviews, is a scaffolded

support for childrens creative

responses to stories. Scaffolding is a

term used in learning theory to describe

partial support that someone gives to a

learner which leaves enough of the

task to the learner so that they can take steps towards learning how to do the activity for

themselves. For example a child wanted to draw fish in response to a song sung in the

preceding session. The child placed an eye sticker on a panel of the story pocket. The

mother then drew a simple fish figure around the eye. The child then drew wavy lines to give

the feel of the water around the fish, placing it in a meaningful context. This co-construction


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Picture 5: Poppy Cat stickers used to represent a class

of mice.

Picture 6: Trying further materials to depict astory of fish.

of the fish holds many important

lessons in cooperation, creativity as

well as symbolic representation.

Other families made use of other

stickers provided at the making

sessions to help their children respond

to a story. Although the stickers depict

Poppy Cat, the child wanted to use

them to represent a story about mice.

She clustered them together to

represent a class of mice in the tale. In

this way, although her fine motor skills may not have been developed enough to draw mice,the stickers provided a short hand that were sufficient to let her represent the togetherness

of a class of mice. So well did the experience of placing the stickers together bring to life the

story, that when her mother began explaining the picture to the evaluation coordinator and

identified the drawn mouse she had added to the picture as the mother of the sticker mice,

the child corrected her mother and identified it as a teacher.

This was the first panel of the story pocket created almost a year ago.

That the child remembered making this depiction is quite significant and testifies to the

power of making for reinforcing the learning that books can spark. Laying down these earlyexperiences of creative rather than passive

responses to books set a very different course

for further learning encounters. This early

success, using stickers to translate from her

imagination elements from the story that she

found important, positions the child as a

composer of her own version of it. Later panels

evidence that a wider range of art materials are

used as she grows in confidence of

expression, such as a later depiction of fish in

a very swirly net juxtaposed against layers of

blue felt waves. The tactile dimension of the activity is also important to note. Throughout the

interview the child touched and felt important components of her collage stories as a way of

reconnecting to the sense they made.

Through these conversations a much richer sense of what children enjoyed about the stories

and songs they were experiencing was possible. The discussions also demonstrated how


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21Picture 7: Parents who put together the shortlist for

the Myra Robertson Baby Book of the Year

parents were coming alongside their children to support their sense making over the months

they developed the story pockets. Conversations about the particular depictions on the

panels opened out into detailed recollections of other stories their children liked and the

ways their interaction around books developed over the year they developed the story

pockets.

The uptake of the story pocket activity has borne out the hypothesis that led to its

development, that being that if control over how and what they share about the place of

books in the childs life was handed over to the family then a fuller depiction of early family

literacy practices would be forthcoming. Families, particularly children, have shared more as

the constraints of communicating solely through verbal means have been opened up to

include visual and tactile means as well. In the interviews at the making session families

used the scrap book to orientate what they had to say. This contributed to conversations that

were a joint sense-making rather than relying on questions from the evaluation coordinator

to lead the direction of the conversation. The activity has also proven to create a product that

families would value and want to keep for themselves, however it should be noted some

families were reluctant to take the story pockets home. Some expressed it was too much to

try to do at home but appreciated the opportunity to extend the rhyme time session at the

library.

Review of Project Consultation DocumentationThe consultation among parents elicited very positive comments from the parents consulted

as well as support for new initiatives that the project is planning. Parents who were involved

in the Myra Robertson Book of the Year through the process of short listing a selection of

books emphasised that they enjoyed learning from each other and observing the children.

Parents also emphasised that the short listing activity gave them an opportunity to give back,

to contribute and get involved. This was something they very much valued:

I was very proud to help choose the books for the next group of babies.

The tenor of parents evaluation indicates

that the opportunity tapped into parents

desire to contribute to the wider

community. In this way the project helps

build community by giving parents early

experience of working together that later

educators and projects in the community


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Picture 8: Polish Volunteer

phoning Polish families in the

area

could build upon. The project has been particularly supportive of Polish families and as a

result a Polish mother has stepped forward to do volunteer work with other Polish families.

She speaks about how important the project was to her when she first settled in Craigmillar:

It is very important for Polish families it was important for me at the

beginning when (my son) was 5 months and I remember bringing him into thewider community. The woman sang welcome babies and said my sonsname and it gave me goose-bumps It made me recognise that I belongedhere. Same with the other mums not strangers we miss our home and itsnice to come to group with families with similar problems Its an open doorto all.

In going on to reflect on her work as a volunteer it is very

clear that through providing a positive space to share Polish

culture, parents have also tapped into a network that can help

them with problems, sometimes quite severe ones. It is thisdimension of the projects work that provides a clear example

of providing the conditions for resilience to flourish enabling

parents to address problems at an early stage and problem

solve together, bearing in mind a key aspiration of the

GIRFEC agenda is to move resources and intervention

upstream to prevent crisis and the toll they take on young

lives.

Summary of Key FindingsSeveral messages about the wider community building function of the project resonate

across the methods of collecting views and perspectives on the project. The picture that

emerges as a whole is a positive one.

The project has maintained a high level of engagement and has continued to improve upon

this in a number of significant areas. This is reflected in a few of the most significant findings:

Parents report nearly universal uptake of resources, the few exceptions being

families that moved into the area after their children were born.

Gains have been made in reported event and programme participation, up from

baseline figures reported in the 2005 survey. These are significantly higher than

those reported within the Bookstart National Impact Evaluation.

Comments volunteered within responses to the survey indicate many parents engage

in a broad range of learning opportunities across the day supported by the projects

resources and opportunities to learn rhymes and songs.


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Most parents report reading with their children at least once a day, however, the time

this fits into their routine varies with bed time being one of a range of times.

Parents reported that reading is often a family wide activity with older siblings, mums

and dads and grandparents reading or being read to.

Parents of children now in Primary One report that Books for Babies resources and

programmes have helped their children come to school with confidence to learn and

helped them build relationships with peers, though the degree to which they felt this

to be the case varied.

The arts based activity evidenced that children have engaged with books in creative

ways. Within their engagement in the activity they are exploring many ofthe skills

within Blooms Taxonomy, with older children (aged 3) able to articulate this in

interviews where they talked the evaluator through their story pockets.

Professionals working in a range of agencies that provide childrens services voiced

strong appreciation for the role the project plays in supporting parents and creating

pathways to increased uptake of other services for families.

A review of the projects consultation documentation provides detailed evidence of

the support parents appreciate from the project. Parents also appreciate the

opportunity to give back - which they have been able to do through the volunteer

opportunities the project has developed.

Discussion

Reflections on the Evaluation Process: In reviewing the findings of the survey the team of

volunteers that conducted it reported that changes to the wording of the survey had

facilitated more empowering conversations with parents. They were struck by the range of

experiences parents recounted and the extent of learning engagement with their children

that was depicted.

The study as a whole samples the views of a substantial proportion of parents in Craigmillar.

There are many factors which mean it is difficult to verify that a representative sample of all

parents has been accessed. There may be views of other parents it would have been

beneficial to hear. There are also issues about how parents responses are to be interpreted.

Parents who indicate that they read to their children when the child asks them to, could be

expressing that they are attentive to their child and have a consultative parenting style that

fosters respect. However these responses could also indicate that parents do not perceive

reading as a high priority and require the additional incentive of their childs request to

engage in this activity. These are widely variant interpretations to draw from the data, and

without further information neither conclusion is warranted. This interpretive dilemma


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however does underscore that further insight would be valuable to gain. Where there was

ambiguity about how a response could be categorised no categorisation was attempted. For

this reason response rates to differing questions vary. Where response rates are lower, the

number value for responses has not been converted into a percentage as this could be

misleading.

Social Return on Investment: Taking into account these qualifications the import of the

study findings is significant. In assessing the projects impact as a whole it is worth bearing

in mind that a recent Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis commissioned by

Bookstart in England found that:

Bookstart creates significant social value for parents, children and the state.For every 1 the state invests Bookstart returns a total 25 of value to society.

The report of this analysis argues that this is a conservative estimate of benefit to the

general population across all socio-economic categories. Craigmillar Books for Babies works

more intensively within a community with several disadvantaging factors. It is therefore quite

likely, given the survey findings, that the Social Return on Investment for every 1 invested

in Craigmillar Books for Babies is considerably higher than 25.

Focus on GETTING IT RIGHT FOR EVERY CHILD: In terms of what the project contributes

to the stated outcomes that GIRFEC seeks to deliver, further analysis of parents commentsshows how the projects impact maps on to these very well. From one mum who said

reading has always been a part of her life and that she would have read to her child any

way: "that was something I learned from Books for Babies, switch the TV off and let them

know you're interested in reading with them". What is emphasised here is the relational

aspect of reading. This could be seen as contributing to a child's sense of being nurtured but

it also powerfully contributes to a child's sense of being respected, where it matters most, at

home. Both of these provide the platform for achieving.

Mums have also talked about what their children have got out of being part of groups. This

more directly could be seen to contribute to children feeling respected and responsible, in

that they are reciprocal aspects within nurturing group experiences. This reciprocity in the

shared activities provides an important foundation for later development and achievement.

Because the groups are open to many different Craigmillar families, this addresses the

outcome of inclusion at the same time.

Arguably, in a broad way all of this does underpin the GIRFEC core concern for safety, in

that it helps children grow in confidence-- a key protective factor whilst at the same time


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25

providing a community meeting place that makes the community as a whole stronger and

more resilient - one of the preconditions for a safe childhood.

Key Recommendations

Given the favourable evaluation presented above we highlight in conclusion areas forpossible future growth and development that flow directly from comments of parents and

professional partners in the community. That parents are forthcoming with suggestions in

itself is indicative of their desire to work with the project in continued partnership.

The project has an excellent record of anticipating changing needs and creating

initiatives that meet these. Areas for further development identified in this evaluation

are working with young mothers, first time mothers and families resettling back into

the area. Balancing continuity of provision and fresh ideas will continue to be

important in the projects strategic development.

In the past the project has developed projects that celebrate the Scots language that

tapped into the skills and interests of the local community. Continuing to listen to and

developing with parents activities that provide this kind of platform is important.

Further consultation work is also needed with parents to address concerns about

library events being too busy or too large. Staff are currently considering possibilities

to address this need in conjunction with the library as it prepares to move into new

premises.

Parents would appreciate a more cohesive service across early years and nursery

age, with newsletters, activities and resources offered up until and including their

childs transition to primary school. They also recommend working more closely with

schools to advertise opportunities and resources as well as other community meeting

points such as shops and the community notice boards in parks.

Professionals recommended working more closely to communicate about the

circumstances and developments with vulnerable families.


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References

Bookstart (2009) Bookstart National Impact Evaluation, on-line at:

http://www.goethe.de/ins/pt/lis/pro/bib/les/marden.pdf.

Bookstart (2010)BOOKSTART: Investing in the future of all our children: Social Return on

Investment 2009/10, on-line at:http://www.bookstart.org.uk/usr/library/documents/main/bookstart_sroi_executive_summary-

1-.pdf.

Clarke, K. (2006) Childhood, parenting and early intervention: A critical examination of the

Sure Start national programme. Critical Social Policy 26, no. 4: 699-721.

Cross, B. (2010) Link or Breach? The Role of Trust in Developing Social Capital within a

Family Literacy Project, Policy Futures in Education 8 (5):556-566.

Craigmillar Partnership (2005) Craigmillar Regeneration Outcome Agreement APRIL 2005

MARCH 2008, Craigmillar Partnership, Edinburgh.

The Scottish Government (2010) A Guide to Implementing Getting it right for every child:

Messages from pathfinders and learning partners.

Scottish Literacy Commission (2009) A Vision for Scotland: The Report and Final

Recommendations of the Literacy Commission December 2009.


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AppendicesAppendice 1: Survey for Parents of 2 and 3 year oldsDear Parent

We would like to know how books are part of your childs life before they cometo school. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for us? All your

responses will be kept confidential.

Does your child have books of their own? yes no

(encourage as much as they would like to say)

Are they:

bath books board bookscloth books interactive books

hard back Catalogues

comic books Magazines

puzzle books Other

(refer to sample)

What are some of your childs favourite books?

Do they have a favourite place to look at their books?

How do reading and looking at books usually fit in to your daily routine?

(this information may come in a narrative take notes about where, how often

with whom if you can)

When you are looking at a book with your child, does your child point things out

to talk about (to understand what this interaction is like and the parents role in

it ask to hear more about it, and the parents own thought about the value of

this)

Do you talk about what youve read with your child at other times? (i.e. like

Fireman Sam if you see a fire engine)


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Are there other things you do together, like songs, rhymes or games that build

your childs confidence with words?

Have B4Bs events or resources helped you with any of these things? (For the

following questions encourage as much talk around the topic, explore the

reasons for negative answers as possible)

Have you received B4Bs resources? yes no

Have you been to B4Bs events? yes no

Has your child taken part in the Book Bug Library

Challenge? Yes no

Do you come to the Library at other times Yes No

than B4Bs events:

Is there more than one language spoken at home? Yes no

(show an interest) ___________________

If so, have you received B4Bs resources to help your child develop both

languages? yes no

Have these events and resources helped your child gain confidence

Speaking a little some a lot

Looking at Books a little some a lot

Making Friends a little some a lot

Getting ready to

attend nursery a little some a lot

Additional Comments from this section:

Has you and your child attended other groups or events?

THANK YOU!


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Appendice 2: Books for Babies and CLD Family Learning ProjectSurvey

HOW ARE WE DOING AND HOW CAN WE HELP FAMILIES IN CRAIGMILLAR MORE?

HIWe would like to know how books are part of your childs life as they are getting

settled at school. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for us?

All your responses will be kept confidential. Your answers will help us provide

better support for you child.1. Didyourchildtakepartin:

CraigmillarBooksforBabies(RhymeTimes,BabyBookoftheYear,BookBagResources,

CLDFamilyLearningActivitiesProgramme(BookBugPiratePacks,BookbugExplorersProject,SummerRumbleintheJungle,BooksBookBooksstoriesand

puppets

project,

Peep

4s,

All

About

Books)

CraigmillarBookFestivalEvents SummerReadingProgramme(CircusStars) Otheroutofschoolactivitythatboostedtheirinterestinreading

2. Doyoufeeltheseactivitieshelpedyourchildbecomeinterestedinbooksandreading?alot, some alittle, notsure, notreally

3. Whatwashelpfulabouttheseactivities?

4. Havetheseactivitieschangedhowyouthinkaboutreadingandbooks?

5. WhatwouldmakeitmorelikelythatfamiliesinCraigmillartakepartintheseactivitiesandusetheseresources?

6. Howinterestedinreadingisyourchild?very interested,interested,somewhat interested,

Occasionally interested,not very interested


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7. Howconfidentaboutreadingisyourchild?very confidentconfidentsomewhat confident

struggles with some thingscould do with more support

8. Ifyouhadaconcernaboutyourchildsreading,doyoufeelyoucouldapproachtheschool?Yes No

9. Ifyouhadconcernsabouthelpingyourchildwithhomework,whowouldyougoto?

10.Wheredoesyourchildread(tickasmanyasyouwant):Library School

Books you buy for them Magazines

Internet/Phone

11.Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketotellusthatcouldimprovetheprojectswerun?


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ReportwrittenbyDr.BethCrossInstituteforYouthandCommunityResearchUniversityofWestScotlandReportpublishedbyCraigmillarBooksforBabiesJune2013

CraigmillarBooksforBabiesisaprojectoftheCraigmillarLiteracyTrust,acompanylimitedbyguaranteewithcharitablestatus.CompanyNo18226SCO27495

building bridges forming friendships.pdf

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