The Peep Learning Together Programme stands as a beacon for parents, caregivers, and practitioners, illuminating the everyday learning opportunities that surround babies and young children. Through play-based engagement, Peep empowers adults to become confident partners in their children’s learning journey.
To truly understand the essence of Peep groups, we invite you to watch our insightful video, “What is Peep?”. Hear firsthand from Peep practitioners and families as they share their experiences and the transformative impact of this program.
Decades of research underscore a fundamental truth: the quality of relationships with parents and caregivers, coupled with enriching family activities from the earliest moments of life, profoundly shapes a young child’s future. This crucial period, often referred to as the Home Learning Environment, is where the seeds of lifelong learning are sown. Early intervention during these formative years is not just beneficial – it’s transformative. The Peep Learning Together Programme, grounded in solid evidence, actively contributes to this positive change by:
- Empowering Parents and Caregivers:
- Cultivating sensitive and responsive relationships with their babies and children, fostering secure attachment and emotional well-being.
- Transforming everyday moments – listening, talking, playing, singing, and sharing stories – into powerful learning experiences.
- Recognizing and nurturing their own inherent learning capabilities and celebrating their achievements as parents and educators.
- Nurturing Confident Young Learners: Enabling babies and children to blossom into confident communicators and enthusiastic learners through the magic of play and exploration.
- Enhancing Practitioner Effectiveness: Equipping practitioners with the tools and strategies to deepen their engagement with parents, caregivers, and young children, creating a collaborative learning ecosystem.
- Bridging the Attainment Gap: Working within communities to address and narrow the attainment gap that can emerge even before children begin formal schooling, ensuring equitable opportunities for all.
Diving Deeper: The Peep Learning Together Programme Explained
The Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) is built on a profound respect for the innate abilities of parents and caregivers. It recognizes and expands upon the valuable role they already play in nurturing their child’s learning within the context of daily life. Peep’s approach is strength-based, emphasizing collaboration and partnership. It’s about working with families, not simply instructing them, aligning with Peep’s core principles of respect, empowerment, and shared learning.
Gain further insight by watching Fife’s 5-minute video showcasing how Peep-trained nursery staff effectively integrate Peep principles with families and their older toddlers and preschoolers. Discover practical applications and real-world impact.
For practitioners already trained in Peep-LTP, the Members Area provides comprehensive access to the full program and a wealth of resources.
Practitioners from diverse sectors can harness the structured yet adaptable Programme after completing the essential two-day Peep LTP Training. This training unlocks downloadable resources encompassing 74 child development topics, complete with session plans and parent-friendly handouts. The Programme is thoughtfully structured around five key strands of child development, all aimed at fostering holistic growth through parent engagement:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Building the foundations for emotional intelligence, social skills, and self-awareness.
- Communication and Language Development: Nurturing effective communication, language comprehension, and expressive abilities.
- Early Literacy Development: Fostering a love for reading and writing, developing pre-literacy skills crucial for future academic success.
- Early Maths Development: Introducing foundational mathematical concepts through play and exploration, building numeracy skills from an early age.
- Health and Physical Development: Promoting physical activity, healthy habits, and an understanding of well-being.
Explore an overview and examples of LTP topics, and discover the wealth of downloadable resources available to support practitioners and families.
What to Expect in a Peep Session: A Journey of Discovery
Peep-trained practitioners facilitate the Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) by engaging families in meaningful conversations and collaborative activities. These sessions are carefully designed to focus on specific aspects of children’s learning and development, all underpinned by the ORIM (Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, Modelling) learning framework. Peep sessions are intentionally designed for parents/caregivers and children to participate together, fostering a shared learning experience. Each session is structured around a specific child development topic and typically includes:
- Talk Time: Dedicated time for practitioners to discuss key ideas and concepts related to the session’s topic with parents and caregivers, fostering understanding and open dialogue.
- Songs and Rhymes: Incorporating the joy of music and rhythm through songs and rhymes, which are powerful tools for language development and engagement.
- Books and Stories: Sharing captivating books and stories to ignite imagination, expand vocabulary, and cultivate a love for reading.
- ORIM in Action: Practical strategies and ideas to put the ORIM framework into practice, showing parents how to create enriching learning environments at home by focusing on Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, and Modelling.
- Play Activities: Engaging and age-appropriate play activities designed for the session and providing inspiration for activities to continue learning and fun at home.
Peep sessions are designed to raise awareness and model how everyday interactions like singing, talking, playing, and sharing stories can profoundly strengthen relationships and cultivate essential skills in children, including listening, communication, and early literacy. Families consistently share that Peep sessions are not only enjoyable but also significantly boost their confidence – both for adults and children. They also appreciate Peep as a valuable source of new ideas, practical support, and a sense of community fostered by practitioners and fellow families.
Practitioners have the flexibility to tailor the length and format of their Peep sessions and courses to best meet the needs of their community. Sessions typically last around an hour, with adjustments for online or one-to-one settings. Peep courses often span 6 to 10 weekly sessions, while some practitioners offer shorter taster sessions or focused sessions addressing specific needs, such as “Transition into the setting.” Others provide ongoing sessions throughout the year or term, ensuring continuous support and learning opportunities.
Who Benefits from Peep? Universal Reach and Targeted Impact
The Peep Learning Together Programme is designed to be relevant and beneficial for all parents/caregivers and young children. It is versatile enough to be used for both universal programs reaching a broad audience and targeted interventions addressing specific family needs. The Programme’s inherent flexibility empowers Peep-trained practitioners to adapt its implementation, ensuring it effectively meets the unique needs and interests of their local families and communities. Practitioners have the autonomy to focus on any or all of the five child development strands and to tailor the program to various developmental stages and ages – from babies to toddlers and preschoolers.
Peep’s adaptability extends to delivery locations. It can be effectively implemented wherever families gather – indoors, outdoors, or even in online environments, ensuring accessibility and convenience. Explore the links below to delve deeper into the diverse ways the Learning Together Programme can be utilized.
The program’s collaborative nature makes it an ideal component of a multi-agency approach to family support. Peep practitioners are integral members of diverse teams within Health, Education, Childcare, Family Support, Early Help, Children’s Centres/Family Hubs, Portage/Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services, Adult and Community Learning, Social Care, Prisons, Youth work, Psychology, Libraries, and Volunteering organizations. Discover compelling case studies showcasing the breadth of delivery contexts and the positive impact of Peep across various settings.
The Peep Progression Pathway offers formal recognition for parents’/caregivers’ learning journey in supporting their child’s development through Peep. This pathway provides nationally recognized units at three qualification levels, empowering parents as learners and building their “learner identity.” Research consistently demonstrates that this recognition significantly increases the likelihood of parents progressing into volunteering, further education, or employment.
The Peep Antenatal Programme, a sister program to LTP, focuses on fostering strong parent-baby bonding and secure attachment relationships during the crucial perinatal period, starting from pregnancy.
> Download our comprehensive Peep Learning Together Programme Overview leaflet for a concise summary. Stay connected with the Peep community by joining us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram – all @peeplecentre.
Explore further details about Peep Learning Together Programme Training to become a certified practitioner or learn about hosting a training course for your local staff and colleagues, bringing the transformative power of Peep to your community.
