Peep Learning Together Session Plan

peep learning together session plan

Don’t forget to refer to your Peep Learning Together Programme Manual when planning your sessions. You will find useful guidance and reminders from your training in the section: How to deliver the Peep Learning Together Programme. /

session title

age/developmental stage

Welcome and introduction to Peep / any /

aim

peep progression pathway | performance criteria

To welcome families and begin building relationships through getting to knoweach other.
To introduce Peep and share expectations for the sessions.
To establish a group agreement.
To have fun sharing activities, songs, stories and learning together.

/ Consider how you can effectively use the activities within the session to support initial assessment requirements in a non-threatening and supportive way. (Note: Be particularly sensitive to levels of literacy, confidence and self-esteem.) /
orim in action you can help parents and carers by:

sharing ideas ofopportunitiesfortheir baby/child to get to know their surroundings and others within the group.
identifying how they can recogniseand value their baby’s/child’s interests and involvement in the group activities.
encouraging them to interactwith their baby/child by supporting their efforts to engage and reassuring them where necessary.
helping them to modelways of interacting and building relationships with others.

/
talk time (use an appropriate facilitation method for your audience)
Thetalktime should enable you to discuss and explore the important things that families will benefit from knowing about when starting a new group. Consider the suggestions below and adjust the order and content to reflect the needs of your families and the age/developmental stage of the babies/children attending:
Welcome:

Ensure you are wearing a clearly displayed name label and provide these for adults and children as they arrive.
Welcome and introduce yourself to each family on arrival. When all families have arrived, introduce yourself again, along with your job title/role. Include a little something more about yourself too, e.g. that you are a twin or that you love to do cross-stitch in your spare time.
Briefly tell families what you hope to achieve today by using appropriate wording to share the aims of the session with the group.

Housekeeping:

Explain the fire evacuation procedure and point out the fire exits and meeting point.
Share the location of the toilets and nappy changing facilities.
If you are using an outreach venue, check for any additional requirements and share these with your families as necessary.

What is a Peep group?

Introduce Peep/Peeple and explain that Peep sessions offer opportunities for families to:

-find out more about how children learn and develop, and how parents/carers can help by doing simple things at home.
-understand that having fun doing everyday things with babies and young children (such as playing, talking and listening, singing, sharing books and stories), will help them to get the most out of school – and even help them to do well later on.
-share ideas and experiences (Note: it is important to recognise and value what families already know and are doing – keeping the ORIM framework in mind will help you to do so.)

Share the format (routine) of each session. Facilitate a short discussion to encourage parents/carers to consider how having a routine can be helpful. Draw out the fact that it is useful to both adults and children to know what is coming next in the session, and how this leads to feeling comfortable, safe and secure.
If relevant - sensitively include information about the Peep Progression Pathway (PPP).
Depending on confidence levels, consider asking parents/carer what they hope to gain from attending the group. Capture feedback to use during planning.

Getting to know each other (some ideas for you to try):

Reporters Game – This is a good way to get families talking and beginning to get to know each other. Ask adults to pair up with someone and find out two or three things about their partner. (Note: Encourage them to choose someone that they don’t know, but be sensitive to confidence levels. It can be helpful to include yourself in this activity – particularly if there are vulnerable families or odd numbers.)

Offer suggestions of things to talk about and write these up for reference, e.g.:their names (parent/carer and child – good for valuing names and pronunciation), how many children they have, what area they are from, pets, hobbiesetc.
Give them a few minutes to discuss this and provide post-its and pens if appropriate, then ask them to feed back what they have found out about their partner. Comment on and support the discussion as appropriate and ensure that everyone feels their contributions are valued.

Snack and Chat – This can be useful for creating a friendly atmosphere where families can talk and eat together, as well as get to know each other a little better. You will need a variety of snacks, e.g. grapes (halved), sliced apple, carrot sticks, sliced banana. (Note: Be sure to check food preferences/allergies/ intolerances etc. with families. We would suggest you use vegetables or fruit with a lower potential to trigger allergies/intolerances and alsoto promote healthy eating.)

Encourage families to ‘tuck in’ and facilitate a discussion by using two or three general questions to get things started, e.g.:
-Who has the most children?
-How far did people have to travel to get to the session?
-Which of the foods do they/their children like/dislike?
Use these and other relevant questions to open up discussions and find commonalities. Try to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
Agreeing expectations – Group agreement:

Making a group agreement can encourage group ownership and facilitate the smooth running of the sessions. Your organisation may already have statements that you are required to share with families – these may relate to safeguarding, the use of phones, hot drinks etc. Refer to your Peep Learning Together Programme Manual for ideas of what to include when agreeing expectations.
Creating a group agreement can be done in different ways depending on the needs of your families. However it is important that the families are involved in its creation – this will help them to understand the reasons for any setting requirements and allow them to feel ownership of ‘their’ group. You could start with a blank sheet of paper or perhaps use simple statements/imagesto facilitate a discussion from which you can create a group agreement, e.g.:

-A clock (To share that the group will start/end on time, to encourage them to arrive on time and to reassure them they are still welcome if they are late.)
-A mobile phone(To discuss their use/non-use and share setting policies/procedures.)
-A pair of muddy shoes (To agree not to wear shoes on the duvet/rug – useful for baby groups.)
-A book (To encourage parents/carer to model listening during story time - doing this can be very effective in helping to avoid adult ‘chit chat’ during story time.)
-A parent/carer and child smiling/playing together (To remind parents/carers that their babies/ children are their responsibility and that the session is about interaction and having fun together.)
Sharing the content of future Peep sessions
Consider using Topic cards (download from the Members Area Strand web-pages)to engage your families in constructing their own course, by choosing the order oftopics which are of interest them and perhaps discussing if there was anything else they were hoping to cover. This will encourage them to take ownership of their learning and their membership of the group. /
activity (for parent/carer and child, or for children during talk time)
Choose a suitable age/developmentally appropriate easy, yet effective activity – perhaps something simple that families can make but maybe hadn’t thought of, e.g.:

Babies – a visi-bottle
Toddlers – a simple puppet
Pre-schoolers – home-made playdough along with the recipe and a lump to take home.

Have a look on the Peeple log-in website for Activity sheets (and/or topics) relating to the above suggestions, pluslots more activity ideas. /

songs and rhymes 

sharing books/stories 

Hellosong (and Goodbyesong at the end)
Use this opportunity to introduce the Peep Singing Together books. Choose a selection of age/developmentally appropriate songs from these books and if possible, choose ones that families are likely to be familiar with.
Alternatively, invite families to suggest their favourite songs to share with the group.
Encourage everyone to join in but be sensitive to less confident individuals. Share with them that no one will be judging their singing (it’s not X-factor!) and that their baby/child will really appreciate their efforts and the attention. / Consider using this opportunity to introduce Peep the Parrot to families by sharing one of the books:
-Peep’s baby sisteror Peep paints his room
by Lisse Honeyman
Alternatively, choose an age/developmentally appropriate story to share with your group.
Encourage parents/carers to listen to the story too and share that by doing this they are showing their baby/child (modelling)how to listen. /

things to try at home

Consider the following suggestions:

Try singing songs and sharing stories with their baby/child over the coming week – if possible, offer parents/carers books and songbooks to borrow.
Encourage parents/carers to watch their baby/child over the coming week to find out what their interests or favourite things are.
Consider suggesting something that would be useful for the topic you are covering next week.

resources (remember to look in the online toolbox for further information, resources, ideas and examples to support your delivery)

Consider using display signs where appropriate and create a warm and friendly environment within which to meet and greet your families at their first session. If you are using an outreach venue, make sure that reception staff are aware of your group and location.
You may also need:

Name labels, pens, register, post-its, statements/images for group agreement activity.