Two nurseries in East London are the first to pilot a groundbreaking mental health pilot programme funded by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to support children’s social and emotional development.
More than 50 early education practitioners from Wetherell Nursery in Hackney and Bow Nursery in Tower Hamlets, both run by Barnardo’s, will receive bespoke training from mental health practitioners who will be ‘embedded’ in provision over the next 12 months.
The aim of the pilot is to ‘better understand’ how mental health experts in early education settings can support babies and young children’s social and emotional development.
The practitioners will provide guidance for parents and work directly with children and families, expecting to support over 150 babies, young children and their families.
The pilot programme, Happy Little Minds, is a collaboration between leading children’s charities Barnardo’s and Place2Be, which provides mental health services in over 500 primary and secondary schools.
With over 90 percent of three-and four-year-olds and a growing number of babies now in formal childcare, the pilot could unlock the ‘truly transformational’ potential for early intervention and prevention of future mental health conditions in those most at risk, explains Christian Guy, executive director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
He adds, ‘Early education and childcare settings can play such an important and influential role in supporting children and their families at such a vital time, in all sorts of ways.
‘If settings are well-supported to promote social and emotional development in babies and young children, there is huge potential to positively impact all children…which could be truly transformational both for individuals and society.’
Place2Be and Barnardo’s pilot will look at co-developing a model with families and practitioners to understand what is feasible and potentially delivering at scale in the future.
The announcement of this pilot comes during Infant Mental Health Awareness Week.