The government has set a target for 75 percent of children completing reception year to be 'school ready' by 2028.
Starting Reception – ‘Proptastic Tales’
The government has set a target for 75 percent of children completing reception year to be 'school ready' by 2028. This is one of a series of case studies we are developing to support starting reception. Often school readiness is planned for the children in their last year before school, however it needs to start much earlier. Bury Children’s Centres ‘Proptastic Tales’ sessions are supporting school readiness from birth and upskilling parents to improve the home learning environment.
Bury does not receive funding from the Government for Family Hubs, however they deliver a range of universal and targeted services through their network of children’s centres.
Bury Council’s overall Early Years foundation Stage Good Level of Development results are -2.7% behind the national average. Their Profile (EYFSP) results for 2024 show that children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) are a key area of concern, consistently underperforming compared to their peers nationally.
Bury’s ‘proptastic tales’ sessions are delivered 49 weeks a year in a number of centres across Bury. They are two groups, non walkers and walkers and each session lasts 45 minutes. They are universal and offered as a drop in, so no requirement to book.
Each session includes:
- Welcome song (helps the children learn others names)
- Story reading using props
- Crafts or sensory activities
- Goodbye song
The group leaders plan for each session, however they are very flexible in their delivery as they do not know in advance the children who will attend and their abilities. They also use the outdoor space if weather permits. Some weeks the story and songs are linked to a centre wide theme, for example on tooth brushing week the story was about smiling and for Infant Mental Health Awareness week the book chosen was on feelings.
Parents often share with the team that their child is too young to attend, or will not be able to sit still. The leaders explain that from birth the babies will benefit from hearing language and it will help with stimulating their brain connections. The sensory activities will also support their development. Children are able to move around and there is no expectation for them to sit for 45 minutes. However children are interested in the group activity and do engage.
The sessions are as much for the children as for the parents. The leaders share research and information on brain development and encourage parents to learn new songs and actions. Families are also able to pick up free books and there is a lending library available to access too. This is to help increase the books available in children’s homes.
Feedback
Feedback from parents has been very positive, they have noticed that their child:
- Has improved language skills
- Greater engagement with activities and able to sit and listen to a story
- Better prepared for school
Please see below some feedback from parent’s who attend:
- My 2-year-old daughter and I have been coming to the Proptastic Tales sessions for a while now and we absolutely love them. She’s really into stories and has great language skills already, but these sessions have helped build on that even more. She often recites parts of familiar stories during the sessions and loves joining in with the songs also relating to the books it’s so lovely to watch.
- I understand the importance for children to listen stories read by different people and to be part of a group, and these sessions give exactly that. Jennie really brings the stories to life, and the activities afterwards help make the stories more meaningful and fun.
- There’s always a great mix of stories, and they often tie in with things like Christmas, Mother’s Day and other celebrations. It makes the sessions feel relevant and keeps her engaged
- For us, the sessions have definitely supported her learning, not just with speech and language, but with confidence, making relationships, listening & attention and imagination too which helps prepare for school.
- I’m really glad the sessions are being recognised because they are fab!
Ivy
These sessions have been lots of fun for all of us and Ivy in particular has enjoyed going every week. When she was younger it was just listening and then joining in the activities. Now she's older she sits and listens and enjoys what's going on along with the activities that go with the story.
These session have definitely helped with Ivy's attention, she can very easily get distracted at times. Even when running around she is always included and stops at points during the stories.
She has always enjoyed books at home but this has opened her up to more stories of varying content and ability.
Ivy enjoys going each week and is always ready to take part in the story in whatever way she feels that particular week.
She also has developed with the songs and the singing, now joining in and very keen to do the actions and the words she knows.
Heli
I think that Heli and I both benefit from the sessions. She really enjoys getting to experience books that we might not have at home and your reading style is much more enthusiastic than mine and she seems to enjoy that. We do read alot and she has a ridiculous amount of books but I think it's always nice to have something different and I don't tend to do songs unless it's in the books that were reading. That you tie different songs into it to match the books means that she gets to learn new songs also. She enjoys socialising with the other children and as an only child she's not exactly getting that at home so it's important for her to get that.
I also enjoy the sessions, it's a chance to talk to other parents and I also get ideas for new books she might like and new songs we could sing together at home. I do also sometimes recreate the activities related to the books at home and she enjoys it when we do. I think it also helps to get out the house and since we come every week it helps as part of her weekly routine as she knows what to expect.
Harper
Me and Harper (10 months) have been attending Proptastic Tales at Radcliffe children's hub for around 4-5 months now. Jennie and Proptastic Tales have been so beneficial to both myself and Harper and the difference in Harper is huge! When we first started she was very quiet and would stay by my side, now she crawls over to Jennie and sits right in front of her whilst Jennie is reading! She also loves the activities and has a huge smile when she sees we have arrived at Proptastic Tales! Harper was such a quiet baby but now babbles and is trying to form words and I believe that is down to being read too, Jennie showed us how important it is to read to even newborn babies! Jennie is so lovely and welcoming, even I enjoy coming to the group every week and feel very welcome and I normally struggle with social settings due to my autism but Jennie makes you feel so comfortable and really interacts and engages with the children and parents!