Press Releases
CFS™ Exhibition launch in Wales [May '08] Click to download PDF
CWDC Funding Award [May '08] Click to download PDF
CFS™ Exhibition launch in Wales [May '08]
Jenny Randerson AM will launch a bilingual multimedia exhibition on 16 June entitled Communication Friendly Spaces™ in the Home Context, a project sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The exhibition at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, available to view between the 16 and 17 June, will celebrate the achievement of registered childminders who took part in an innovative project developed between the National Childminding Association (NCMA) and specialists in effective learning environments, Elizabeth Jarman Ltd.
The Communication Friendly Spaces™ Home Context project, developed by Elizabeth Jarman Ltd provided specialised training for childminders within NCMA Children Come First networks in Wales to support the development of children’s communication skills. Childminders learnt how children's physical environments impact on the development of children’s speaking and listening skills.
Liz Bayram, NCMA’s Director, NCMA said: "NCMA in Wales is very happy with the results of the partnership with Elizabeth Jarman Ltd with funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.
“NCMA knows that communication is a crucial area of child development, and a recent survey by the charity I CAN suggested that too many children across the UK are starting school without the vital communication and linguistic skills they need to be effective learners.
“We are keen to ensure that registered childminders in Wales continue to be involved in improving outcomes for children and are provided with continuous opportunities to develop their practice. Registered childminders provide a unique childcare setting within their own home, and the programme will be a useful tool in supporting the development of communication and language skills.”
Elizabeth Jarman, developing the project, said: “The award from the Welsh Assembly Government recognised the significant impact that the physical environment can have on children’s language development. It’s essential to continue raising awareness of this so that practitioners can develop spaces that effectively nurture and support children’s language skills. “The CFS™ Home Context training and development programme has been really effective and childminders are reporting a significant impact on children’s speaking and listening skills.
CWDC Funding Award [May '08]
Funding announced for training to improve children’s communication skills
Occupational Group Funding has been awarded by the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to develop a creative partnership between Elizabeth Jarman Ltd, specialists in developing effective learning environments and the National Childminding Association (NCMA).
The project “Communication Friendly Spaces™: Improving children’s speaking and listening skills in the home context” will be a customised training and development programme for registered childminders and nannies. Improving speaking and listening skills is high on everyone’s agenda. A recent I CAN report suggests that over 50% of children in England are starting school with some form of language difficulty or disability.
Elizabeth Jarman, lead partner in developing the project said: “This award from the CWDC gives us a great opportunity to raise awareness of the significant impact that the physical environment can have on children’s speaking and listening skills. A review of the way that we have traditionally created learning spaces for children is long overdue. Potentially, this programme will make a huge difference to children’s speaking and listening skills. It’s really exciting!”
Marian Pearson, Director of Operations for NCMA said: “NCMA is delighted to be working in partnership with Elizabeth Jarman Ltd with funding from the CWDC. We are keen to ensure that our members across England and Wales, are provided with opportunities to develop their practice. This will provide an opportunity for registered childminders and nannies to find ways of using a home-based environment to develop opportunities to improve children’s communication and language skills. This will be a useful tool in influencing children’s learning.”
The project will raise awareness of the importance of the learning environment for registered childminders and other home-based childcarers, through:
• A training and development programme, designed to deepen understanding of the impact that the physical environment can have on children’s speaking and listening skills and demonstrate what this means specifically for the home context
• Establishing a pool of regionally based trainers, to help deliver the Communication Friendly Spaces™ training and development programme at a local level.
The intended future roll out of the training and development programme will help local authorities to achieve their ambitious Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets on improving speaking and listening skills. It will also complement the Early Years Foundation Stage focus on Enabling Environments.