Project Curo

I’ve worked with families for over sixteen years and often the families who could most benefit from support and advice are the hardest to reach and in many cases there is an individual working in a community group or charities who has been able to develop a trusted professional relationship with the parent or carer and this individual may be the only way to reach that family.

Although this is a fantastic way to reach the parent the individual practitioner may not have a background in child development or early years education. 

My solution is to offer practitioners and professionals access to high quality support from accredited professionals through an online training and resource platform enabling them to be better prepared to build the capacity, confidence and knowledge of the parents and carers in their community.

ECD covers the pre natal period to eight years. During this time brain development is at its most rapid and children are the most sensitive to their environment.The child’s socio cultural context positive and negative directly influence childhood.

Parents may not be aware they make a contribution to their child’s learning and development everyday (Ivanillich, 1971). Family activities provide children with a chance to share communication, make decisions and it ‘gives a sense of wellbeing, security and belonging’ (Roberts, 2011).

The quality of the interactions between the child and the adult are crucial in shaping the infants developing brain as the early years are the foundation for future academic success, health and also in preparing them to be parents themselves.

Many parents and carers do not provide these quality interactions either through a lack of knowledge or because they face other issues such as mental health. Research shows that generally the poorest children are more likely to be left alone (McCoy, 2018).

Even where good parenting support exists within an area the families that would most benefit will often not access the support but they may have one practitioner within a community organisation they are prepared to trust.

The project offers practitioners and professionals access to high quality support from accredited professionals through an online training and resource platform enabling them to be better prepared to build the capacity, confidence and knowledge of the parents and carers in their community.

These practitioners and professionals will in turn provide support to parents and significant adults of young children who would like to improve their relationship with their infants through mutually interactive, meaningful and high quality interactions.

This project supports parents, carers and children through professionals and practitioners working within communities.

Between 2012 and 2018 pilot ‘support your child’ sessions have taken place as part of wider projects supporting children and young people, their wellbeing and the implications for education and development.

The sessions have taken place with parents of young children as part of preventative services. They have also taken place with parents of children or young people after identification of certain social, emotional or behavioral issues.While it is never to too late to support a child or young person prevention is better and it is preferable to ensure early help is in place in the early years.

To date the support service has been aimed at parents referred by professionals or self referred where either they would like some additional support OR an issue has been identified in the family such as a bereavement, separation, abuse, deprivation, parental mental health or special needs and/or disabilities of either parent or child. Many parents who no longer live near their extended family have self referred. Likewise in areas where professional services have been reduced due to funding cuts parents have self-referred.

A key finding was that parents were not aware of the impact on their children and their development and the potential long-term consequences.

Concurrently we also ran training sessions for practitioners and professionals to enable them to go back into their communities and offer support to families and often the hardest to reach families. Training professionals enables more families to be reached than through our direct face to face support to families.

These sessions have taken place either face to face, by telephone or by Skype or similar Resources and information have also been shared through emails and webinars.

Much has already been put in place to target parents and carers directly through funded and paid for services, classes, groups, books and online materials. However, this assumes that parents will access the support. In my sixteen years experience this is not the case with all parents and families. Often the families that make use of the services already have good levels of social and cultural capital and know how to find and access support. 

Often the families that most need the services do not access the provision and this could be as a result of lack of confidence, lack of knowledge of how to find the support, not having access to IT or wifi access, not being able to afford to travel to locations either through lack of finances or family circumstances that prevent travel.

However, they may be prepared to accept help from a local community support project of some kind, perhaps, such as a food bank and they may build a trusted relationship with one or a few individuals. I propose that those in these community groups are skilled up to offer wider ECD support to families in the first instance.

This solution requires an online learning and resource platform.

Since 2012 I have worked on earlier versions with parents and carers as part of other research projects or interventions. Between 2012 and 2015 I worked with approximately 80 parents and carers of children aged birth - 11 years old in the South of England either face to face, by telephone or email. Their issues and needs have been used to feed into this challenge.

Between 2016 and 2018 I worked with approximately 200 parents and carers of young people aged 14 - 19 years old in the South of England. 

In 2019 I have sampled seven parents (male and female) based in the UK of children from the age of sixteen months upwards to understand the best methods for delivery. 

Overwhelmingly parents and carers using these pilots preferred the face to face support and the trusted relationship that build up between them and us, however, this model would be hard to scale as there is a physical limit to how many families you can work with in a day, week, month etc. 

Concurrently, we ran a face to face training pilot between 2012 and 2015 and during this time we were able to train just over 1000 practitioners. This was successful because it allowed the practitioners to return to their communities fully equipped and ready to support families. 

Between 2012 and 2015 and during this time we were able to train just over 1000 practitioners. This was successful because it allowed the practitioners to return to their communities fully equipped and ready to support families. On average each professional had 30 children or families on their case load meaning that this reached approximately 30,000 individuals or families. 

In the next year I am to reach a target of 2000 practitioners which would reach approximately 60,000 individuals or families.

In five years I am to target 10,000 practitioners per year which would reach approximately 300,000 individuals or families.

Within the next year - 

To approach thirty practitioners and professionals from community groups and charities to be part of a research project to clarify the training and resource need.

To engage academic and professional experts to assist me in developing high quality and reliable content materials and technology professionals to develop a suitable platform.

To approach five small community groups to be part of a focus group project to test the platform and training and the implications for families in their area.

Within the next five years - 

To review and update the materials on a rolling 12 month cycle.

To systematically approach each county within the UK using networks to identify all community groups or charities working in that area.

To gain accreditation for some of the programmes.

To set up three overseas research and focus groups with a view to adapted the material to a global audience.

In the next year - Technology support to build the platform. Finances to develop the material and platform and offer free access to focus and research groups. legal support to check it meets all relevant GDPR and other requirement.

In the next five years - Cultural knowledge to research, write and test materials for other countries. Access to overseas professionals for target and focus groups. Finances to redevelop the platform. 

• I am currently in discussions with an organisation to investigate building a platform. 
• I have access to academics and professionals able to write the materials.
• I have access to practitioners and organisation for the research groups and focus groups.
• I have access to an organisations who specialise in legal advice including GDPR. 
• There are potential organisations I am investigating with a view to funding.
• I will need to use my current networks to find suitable cultural advice and participants for overseas focus and research groups.

Previous pilots have been not for profit, however, I am currently in the process of setting up a hybrid (for profit and not for profit) organisation.

Previously eleven people including myself but currently there is just myself working on this solution.

I am currently sourcing a potential contractor team.

I am qualified early years teacher with specialisms in english as an additional language and special educational needs and disabilities. Additionally, I am qualified to design and develop curriculums suitable for adults and to teach adults in higher and professional education. I have an MSc in Teaching and learning from The University of Oxford and I am currently reading for a part time Doctor of Education at The University of Buckingham. 

I have over fourteen years experience of leadership, management, and governance at a local, regional, national and international level. I have a strong knowledge of the education, children’s services, special educational needs and disabilities, child development, safeguarding and mental health landscape after sixteen years practical experience working, teaching and researching in the Charity, Schools, Universities and Local Authority and Central Government sectors.I have worked across the whole birth – 25 years age range as well as with families and vulnerable adults and I am a passionate advocate for wellbeing, vulnerable groups, and education. 

I have direct entrepreneurial experience after researching and setting up a number of pilot interventions since 2012 based on the concepts relating to this challenge.

I have extensive networks from the UK and overseas which will enable me to find key people to support this challenge project.

I have some loose working partnerships at present based on successful collaborations from previous work. As this challenge develops I will bring key individuals on board to support.

Unique Value Proposition - We offer bespoke and high quality training to provide the skills and knowledge to enable community organisations or practitioners to offer accurate and specific support to parents and carers. 

Unfair Advantage - We have existing knowledge in this area, previous trainers, previous training courses and research and focus group experience to build on. We offer bespoke and high quality.

Channels - Direct sales through either face to face or online platform access.

We will target organisations through direct contact and they can contact us through our website, Linkedin etc.

Customer Segments - practitioners and professionals working in communities and/or community organisations and charities.

Larger community organisations and charities working nationally.

Cost Structure - there will be initial variable costs such as developing the material, setting up the platform, running the research and focus groups. Additionally, there will be the first years fixed costs such as accountancy, banking charges, travel, expenses, platform maintenance, legal and IP costs, rent and going forwards salary and payroll and rent.

Revenue Streams - In year one grant funding could allow this to be developed but going forwards from year two onwards it will not be sustainable to rely on grant funding. We will develop free and paid material and a subscription model so that organisations can access as much or as little training as possible. We will also offer a paid face to face training program based on our previous programmes and consultancy and bid for local, regional and national tenders and contracts.

Solve could assist me in overcoming the barriers by offering mentoring and strategic advice to ensure that I am clear and focused on my vision and action plan. 

Additionally, it could offer funding to enable the idea to take shape and develop further based on the advice of experts, especially, those in technology, law, overseas development, media and marketing. 

Finally, I would benefit from being part of a community and the support of others to encourage me and how I could encourage and support other.

I have now spoken with a company in Cornwall called Made Open and they are keen to support and partner on the platform side.

Organisations that can assist with technology, funding, access to overseas organisations, media and marketing. 

I have now spoken with a company in Cornwall called Made Open and they are keen to support and partner on the platform side.

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