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All the Peep case studies involve families, but the ones on this page are individual parent/ carer stories - thanks for sharing them. 

> Parent to classroom assistant in Dumfries & Galloway - "I absolutely love my job and wish that I had made the move sooner but without going to the Peep group I would never have been confident enough to do it!" 

> Parent and baby in Birkenhead - the benefits both for her baby's development and the supportive relationships within the group, in mum's own words

> From Peep parent to Peep Progression Pathway (parent accreditation) to Peep leader or Childcare and Development worker - three examples fom Midlothian:

Kim: "I know that Peep made a positive difference to our lives. I’m a mum to three and have always enjoyed playing with them but at the group I learned so much about how important I am as my child's first educator and the importance of play at home. I am more in tune with my little boy and what helps him learn. Since going to Peep everyone at home takes it in turn to read a bedtime story to our youngest child."

Claire: "The Peep Progression Pathway course and the Learning Together Programme helped me become a better parent by supporting my learning and understanding of what a child needs. I realised that I loved the learning and wanted to do more. Being a Peep leader is a fantastic experience and I am so happy to be able to share the joy of Peep with other parents and children.”

Sarah:  "I see a big difference in how I am as a parent, from the Peep Progression Pathway. I recognise my child’s playing is an important part of learning. I didn’t realise when my little one was making a mess on their high chair with food that she was discovering new things and this is one of the first forms of mark making. I'm more relaxed and aware of simple ways to help my child develop well. My child loved the Peep group too."

Peep parents often comment on how much confidence they have gained in supporting their child's learning. Attending Peep acts as a stepping stone into other learning and employment opportunities for some parents/carers. This might be a Peep Progression Pathway course and accreditation, a guaranteed interview for a college place via one of our college agreements, or the kickstart and self-belief to get the kind of job they wanted.  Some secondary or high schools are also collaborating with Peep practitioners, to provide opportunities for pupils interested in a career in childcare or early education to get some first hand experience. Find out more below:

> Parent to classroom assistant in Dumfries & Galloway - "I absolutely love my job and wish that I had made the move sooner but without going to the Peep group I would never have been confident enough to do it!" 

>  Family Learning & employability in Derby - using the Peep Progression Pathway: certificate in 'Supporting early learning at home'

>  Peep Progression Pathway parent accreditation with Home-Start Edinburgh West and South West - building confidence and opening doors

>  Peep in high schools in Moray - developing the young workforce, health and home school link workers, families and pupils 

>  Childcare students - one-off secondary school session in Lancashire

>  Peep parent to Peep leader Midlothian

Peeple is a charity, whose main purpose is to support parents/carers, babies and children to learn together and improve children's outcomes, by valuing and building on what families already do. Peep practitioners and families share information and ideas from our evidence-based Peep Learning Together Programme about how to make the most of the learning and play opportunities that surround us in everyday life. Research shows that this - known as the home learning environment - makes the biggest contribution to narrowing the gap in children's outcomes. We want to share these messages as widely as possible. So, as well as working directly with families in Oxfordshire, we train practitioners around the UK, Ireland and Australia. All our work is underpinned by the Peep principles and the ORIM framework.

>  Click here to watch our 4-minute 'What is Peep?' video, and hear the views of Peep practitioners and parents

training practitioners

We train and support about 1000 practitioners every year. The Peep Learning Together Programme and the Peep Antenatal Programme are used by early years and family support professionals to help parents create the best start for their children by listening, talking, playing, singing and sharing books and stories together. Practitioners come from a range of backgrounds including family work, education and childcare, and health. You can read more about the variety of ways that people are using Peep Programmes.

programme delivery with families

We are also a delivery organisation, based in Oxford, where we work directly with local families. Some of this work is commissioned by our partners in the area, and some is funded to develop innovative ways of supporting parents and children to learn together. In 2018 we opened our Little Peeple Nursery, next to the Peeple Centre in south Oxford, incorporating our Peep Pre-school which opened in 2015. We have a Peeple base in Edinburgh, where we are supported by the Scottish Government to grow our work in Scotland and to develop parent qualifications and progression.

We are involved in research through the evaluation of our programmes and projects, and we work to influence policy both locally and nationally.

>  Download our Peep Learning Together Overview leaflet.

Read more about Peep delivery around the country in our case studies.

The Peep Learning Together Programme helps parents, carers and practitioners make the most of the learning opportunities in everyday life, supporting their babies' and young children's learning through play.

Watch our 'What is Peep?' video to find out more about Peep groups, and to hear from Peep practitioners and families:

Research has found that the main influences on young children’s outcomes are the quality of the relationship with their parents and carers, and what they do with their family, from birth (known as the Home Learning Environment). Early intervention makes a real difference. Our evidence-based Peep Learning Together Programme contributes to this, by helping:

• parents and carers to improve their children’s life chances, by:
  • developing sensitive and responsive relationships with their babies and children, 
  • making the most of day-to-day learning opportunities – listening, talking, playing, singing, and sharing books and stories together,
  • recognising and building on their own learning potential and achievements,
• babies and children to become confident communicators and learners through play
• practitioners to develop their work with parents/carers and young children
• communities to narrow the attainment gap, which appears even before children reach school.

what is the peep learning together programme?

The Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) values and extends what parents/carers already do to support their child's learning in everyday life. Peep is a strengths-based approach to working with families, focusing on doing with  rather than doing to  parents, in line with our principles.

>  Click here to watch Fife's 5-minute video about how their Peep-trained nursery staff use Peep with families and their older toddlers and pre-schoolers

If you are already a Peep-LTP-trained practitioner, you can access the whole programme by logging in to the Members Area.

Practitioners from any sector can use the structured but flexible Programme once they have completed the two-day Peep LTP Training.  This includes downloadable access to information, ideas and activities within 74 child development topics, each with session plans and parent handouts. The Programme covers five strands of child development, which it aims to improve by working with parents: 

• personal, social and emotional development
• communication and language
• early literacy 
• early maths 
• health and physical development.

>  Look at an overview and examples of LTP topics and their downloadable resources.

what happens in a Peep session

Peep-trained practitioners share the Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) with families through conversations and joint activities focusing on aspects of children's learning and development, underpinned by the ORIM learning framework. Peep sessions are for parents/carers and children together. Each session is based on a child development topic, which contains:

• talk time, to discuss key ideas with parents and carers relating to the topic focus
• songs and rhymes
• books and stories
• ways to put ORIM into action (Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, Modelling)
• play activities (during the session and/or ideas to try at home).

Peep sessions raise awareness and model how singing, talking, playing and sharing books and stories together help strengthen relationships and develop children's listening, talking and later literacy.  Families also consistently report that Peep sessions are fun, increase their confidence (both adults and children) and provide an important source of ideas and support from the practitioners and other families.

Practitioners can decide the length and format of their Peep sessions and courses. On average, sessions last about an hour (generally shorter if online or 1-to-1). Practitioners often run Peep courses of between 6 and 10 weekly sessions, though some offer one or two taster or focused sessions (e.g. focusing on ‘Transition into the setting’), while others offer sessions on a rolling basis throughout the year or term.

who the Peep Learning Together Programme is for and how it can be delivered:

Peep is relevant to all parents/carers and young children, and can be used for both targeted and universal work with families. The Programme was designed to be used flexibly by Peep-trained practitioners, to meet the needs and interests of their local families.  Practitioners can decide whether to focus on any or all of the five child development strands, and with any or all developmental stages/ages: babies, toddlers and pre-school.

Peep can be used wherever families spend time - indoors, outside or online. Click the links below to find out more about some of the ways of using the Learning Together Programme: 

• in universal or targeted groups (usually for about six to twelve families)
• one-to-one
• in drop-in sessions (such as Stay and Play or child health clinics) 
• in a school or nursery.  

The programme can be used as part of a multi-agency approach to working with families – Peep practitioners work within Health, Education, Childcare, Family Support, Early Help, Children's Centres/ Family Hubs, Portage/ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Adult and Community Learning, Social Care, Prisons, Youth work, Psychology, Libraries, Volunteering...  You can read case studies about a wide range of delivery contexts.

> The Peep Progression Pathway offers formal recognition of parents'/ carers' learning based on supporting their child's learning and development through Peep, with nationally recognised units to cover three qualification levels for parents and carers as learners. This builds parental capacity and ‘learner identity’ which research shows makes further progression into volunteering, further learning or work more likely.

> The Peep Antenatal Programme is the LTP's sister programme, and supports strong parent-baby bonding and attachment relationships during the perinatal period, beginning in pregnancy.

>  Download our Peep Learning Together Programme Overview leaflet and join us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram - all @peeplecentre. 

> Find out more about Peep Learning Together Programme Training or about holding a training course for your local staff and colleagues.