Bristol
Children and Young People, Grants to charities
Deprived families in Bristol will receive support for children’s development
Over 100 families in North Bristol who live in an area of high deprivation will receive tailored support to help their children’s developmental needs, thanks to a grant from the Freemasons to the everyFAMILY charity.
The £60,000 grant will support everyFAMILY’s ‘Family Empowerment Project.’ This initiative aims to proactively ‘narrow the gap’ in children’s early education by providing additional interventions to enhance school readiness and raise attainment levels.
The funding will significantly impact the lives of children and their families by providing individualised support packages tailored to each specific child’s developmental needs. This includes targeted support for social and emotional development, as well as speech and language. Other examples of additional interventions include therapeutic play, early years exercise programmes, and one to one and small group sessions for those requiring extra support.
everyFAMILY adopts a holistic approach, working closely with the entire family to build strong relationships. The project will also enable everyFAMILY to engage with parents across the community through a series of workshops focused on child development topics such as learning through play, toilet training, feeding, immunisations, and sleep. Additionally, the project will involve training the staff team in specific areas to further support individual children.
Areas within the locality supported by everyFAMILY are among the top 5.2 per cent of deprived areas in the UK. Within their daycare provision, 45 per cent of children receive pupil premium funding. Additionally, ward data indicates that these areas have higher-than-average rates of children with social care involvement, Education and Health plans, and obesity, all of which can affect a child’s educational development. Research indicates a significant gap between the educational performance of disadvantaged children and their peers. This underscores the importance of the project in narrowing the educational attainment gap.
We’re deeply grateful to the Freemasons for their generous grant and the significant impact it will have on the families we support. As a charity, our mission is to ’empower families for life,’ and we believe this project will equip families with the skills and knowledge necessary to support their children’s development. This, in turn, will help children reach their full potential. We strongly believe in the importance of early intervention and the lasting impact it will have on children both now and in the future.
I’m very pleased we’ve been able to help everyFAMILY with their hugely important programme to help children from deprived families. All the evidence shows that by giving children the help they need when they are very young, they are much more likely to be able to take full advantage of their education, which in turn will have a major positive impact on their lives.
