Buzzing for the new school year

“It’s easy to learn at school because of Families Connect.” – Adam (below), 6, from Edinburgh

We can’t wait for the school doors to open, the first bell to ring, and to get back in the classroom with families like Adam’s.

In the UK, children from low-income families are 50% less likely to do as well at school as their classmates. We want to change that at the earliest stage possible; which is why we support children at school during their early years.

Building parents’ skills and confidence

The programmes that we run in schools, including Families Connect, help parents to build stronger relationships, and boost their skills and confidence to support their child’s learning when they’re at home.

86% of a child’s time is spent outside school, so the more they learn at home, the better they can do in the classroom. As Adam’s Mum, Amanda, says, “It teaches you to teach your children in ways you never thought would have worked.”

Adam is just one of thousands of children that we supported through our programmes in schools last year. That’s something we’re very proud of.

Working together for children

The summer break provided a great opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months, and to make our programmes even better.

We love to work with other people to improve our programmes. For example, Families Connect has been co-produced from the beginning with education experts, and most importantly with the families we support.

Earlier this year we worked closely with analysts at Morgan Stanley to remodel our schools programmes. We took full advantage of their expertise to design a new operating model that will allow us to reach thousands more children in schools across the country.

Helping Adam with counting

Looking to the year ahead, we want to take their recommendations and create a blueprint for early learning in the UK. And we want to harness the power of the UK’s 20,000 schools as advocates, campaigners, fundraisers, and supporters.

It’s a big ambition, but we know that ambition is what it takes to close the gap for thousands more children like Adam. “Families Connect has helped me with counting,” says Adam. “I just think of it in my head, and it’s getting easier and easier and easier.”

We don’t know about you, but that’s why we can’t wait to get back to school.

What is Families Connect?

Families Connect focuses on supporting parents and children to learn together. Read more about it here.