Research
Research, data collection and analysis are key aspects of our core work.
In addition to providing services, we are committed to evaluating the impact of our work and to using our findings to influence early years policy makers to integrate support to parents on the home learning environment as a standard part of early years education.
We also want to show our donors the impact that we are having, so that they continue to support this important work.
We aim to have an independent evaluation of our work in the Wirral, which can inform future programmes and can help us to build a replicable model which can be used in other areas of the country.
We are researching the following areas:
1. Children’s outcomes
We ask parents for consent to access progress data collected on children who participate in our Little Explorers groups. Participating settings provide us with data and we will be analysing EYFSP data in conjunction with Wirral Borough Council.
2. Parent Engagement techniques
We know that many parents are reluctant to engage with school or nursery based activities for a multitude of reasons. With our settings, we are exploring different ways to engage with parents and to encourage regular participation in our Little Explorer groups. Sharing and embedding this learning is a critical part of our project.
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3. Impact on parents
Parents who join our groups are asked to assess how they have altered or adapted what they do with their children as a result of the groups. On a termly basis, parents are asked to complete questionnaires. We also consult regularly with our parents to gauge whether we need to make improvements or changes to the way we operate.
4. Feedback from early years staff and management
Key to our learning is gathering feedback from setting staff. We ask for interviews with staff or for questionnaires to be completed. This allows us to incorporate feedback into our programme design to improve our approach and our services.