Jump start
Jump start | Looking at learning together | Shadow puppets | Family Learning Information Pack
What is Jump Start?
Jump Start is the Pre-school Learning Alliance's awareness raising programme for family learning.
What does it offer?
Jump Start offers pre-schools, parents and children the opportunity to engage in one-off workshops which:
- raise awareness of how literacy development is supported in the early years setting
- give parents strategies for supporting their children in the setting and at home
- give parents information about progression routes for their own learning
How does it happen?
Jump Start is offered through a framework for activity:
- Time for parents to discuss what is being carried out in the workshop
- Time for parents and children to work together
- Time for parents to reflect on what has taken place and what they have learned
- Practical activities which can underpin literacy development
- Affirmation of the many skills which parents bring to the learning event
- Information for parents about other courses and workshops
Jump Start also offers a framework for learning:
- 2 play based models with which to deliver the programme
- Suggested ways to plan your workshops
- Guidance on how literacy learning can be ensured in each activity
- Ensuring that both parents and children have fun at the workshop
The benefits to the setting
The pre-school can offer one or more of the workshops to parents and children.
The Jump Start Programme is accessible to parents who are reticent about taking up learning opportunities as it offers them in small, secure steps.
Often parents will come to family learning because of they understand it will help their child, but more often than not, they stay because of what they are gaining from it
Parents often find that:
- family learning is not like school
- it reinforces the skills and abilities of both parents and children
- it helps reflect on their own needs and can offer solutions in addressing them
Why should a setting become involved in the Jump Start Programme?
The Jump Start Programme is beneficial as a stand-alone programme. It raises awareness of how children learn, ensures that parents and children have fun together, and strengthens the relationship between home and setting. However, it can be the first stepping stone for parents who themselves have literacy needs.
In England, it is estimated that about 23% of adults have literacy needs. Some of those adults may be parents in settings. They may want support, or may not know where to go for help. This programme can help parents to find the right kind of support for them.
There is a lot of research to show that where parents improve their own levels of education, there is a benefit to the child, who is also likely to improve his or her won levels of attainment.