EasyPeasy Home Learning content task-force: Supporting families with young children
Lead Participant:
CHARACTER COUNTS LTD
Abstract
EasyPeasy requests £46,867 in matched funding (£23k already secured) to support a 3-month content task-force to become the go-to early years app for parents and teachers during the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond.
The home environment has a greater influence on children's early development than full time centre-based childcare. Despite this, home learning is an under-developed market and support is lacking for the 2.5 million parents with children aged 0-5 across the UK. Already existing developmental gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged children will widen as a result of lockdown with inequalities in home learning environment no longer mitigated by centre-based care. There is a significant need to provide support, guidance and encouragement to families to ensure they stay happy, healthy, and well, and to support children's ongoing learning and development throughout social distancing. At the same time, widespread school and nursery closures threaten the survival of the early years sector, and the need to support the ecosystem to innovate and adapt to distance learning is paramount.
EasyPeasy is a child development platform that offers parents activities and guidance to turn everyday parenting stresses into opportunities for playful learning. It is the only digital platform of its kind with proven impact on both children's cognitive development and parents' wellbeing through Randomised Control Trial evaluation, with observable benefits to families across culture and socio-economic background in 10-18 weeks of use. EasyPeasy is a partner of the Department of Education, delivering proven impact through the government's Early Years Social Mobility Programme.
As well as offering free access to EasyPeasy for parents and teachers across Q2 2020, through this project we will accelerate development of new functionality on our platform to support user-generated content, and work with nurseries, schools, and children's charities to adapt and digitise their programmes and curriculum so they can continue supporting their local communities, and work towards new and sustainable delivery models.
Further support through the 'Extension for Impact' scheme will allow EasyPeasy to accelerate delivery of key product developments on Android, responding to user needs and allowing us to reach many more parents through increasing our offer on Google Play.
The home environment has a greater influence on children's early development than full time centre-based childcare. Despite this, home learning is an under-developed market and support is lacking for the 2.5 million parents with children aged 0-5 across the UK. Already existing developmental gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged children will widen as a result of lockdown with inequalities in home learning environment no longer mitigated by centre-based care. There is a significant need to provide support, guidance and encouragement to families to ensure they stay happy, healthy, and well, and to support children's ongoing learning and development throughout social distancing. At the same time, widespread school and nursery closures threaten the survival of the early years sector, and the need to support the ecosystem to innovate and adapt to distance learning is paramount.
EasyPeasy is a child development platform that offers parents activities and guidance to turn everyday parenting stresses into opportunities for playful learning. It is the only digital platform of its kind with proven impact on both children's cognitive development and parents' wellbeing through Randomised Control Trial evaluation, with observable benefits to families across culture and socio-economic background in 10-18 weeks of use. EasyPeasy is a partner of the Department of Education, delivering proven impact through the government's Early Years Social Mobility Programme.
As well as offering free access to EasyPeasy for parents and teachers across Q2 2020, through this project we will accelerate development of new functionality on our platform to support user-generated content, and work with nurseries, schools, and children's charities to adapt and digitise their programmes and curriculum so they can continue supporting their local communities, and work towards new and sustainable delivery models.
Further support through the 'Extension for Impact' scheme will allow EasyPeasy to accelerate delivery of key product developments on Android, responding to user needs and allowing us to reach many more parents through increasing our offer on Google Play.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| CHARACTER COUNTS LTD | £71,607 | £ 71,607 |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jen Lexmond (Project Manager) |