How you can improve the HLE in your local area: what is covered in EasyPeasy Practitioner Training?

Read time: 6 mins
Early Years practitioners play a crucial role in improving the Home Learning Environment (HLE). We provide training for practitioners as part of our
package of support for local authorities that highlights the significance of the HLE and how promoting positive behaviour change in parents can help close developmental gaps and reduce challenges in the classroom.

Our training includes demos and use cases of EasyPeasy as a tool to achieve HLE outcomes. We are thrilled that 100% of participants report that they would recommend EasyPeasy to parents for building an understanding of school readiness. Our two hour introductory training is delivered virtually to early years practitioners, and includes content tailored to the practitioner group including health visitors, midwifery and early years teaching staff.

Understand the importance of early intervention in the early years
Early intervention is crucial for children’s development as their brains develop faster in the early years than any other time in their lives. Our trainer will go over the importance of ensuring a child is developmentally ready for reception and the impact the early years of a child’s life has on their future. 

Learn about the crucial role of the home learning environment and positive parent-child interactions in early childhood development
We know from evidence that the Home Learning Environment (HLE) is key to supporting child development. In our EasyPeasy Practitioner training, we walk through some strategies for practitioners to support the Home Learning Environment. Improvements to the home learning environment can be made by changing the perspective of the responsibility of parents, and the variety of activities and interactions occurring at home increasing. Engaging in activities with parents can cause children to see increased ability with word structure, following directions, and self regulation.

A lady in a yellow top and black jean is drinking a cup of tea and looking at her mobile phone while sitting on her sofa.

Understand the benefits of digital support services for parents and practitioners and how they can support relational practices
There are many benefits of digital support services for parents and practitioners. One of the biggest impacts that digital services such as EasyPeasy cause for practitioners is that with an improved HLE, children become school ready and improve their Good Level of Development (GLD). 

EasyPeasy helps parents understand the link between HLE and school readiness. Parent’s are showing that they understand the impact of what they’re doing and how it’s connected to being school ready. For example, in our parent impact survey, 86% of parents agree that they know more about what they can do to help their child develop their language and communication skills since using the app. The app is proving this through the reviews we get. For example: 

Having more ideas to try has given me and my partner more confidence, and has led to us making more time and having more energy for playtimes.” - Parent 

Get familiar with the evidence base for EasyPeasy and its impact on improving outcomes for children
In the session, we review EasyPeasy's evaluation findings that are included in the Early Intervention Guidebook and published by the Education Endowment Foundation.

Learn effective strategies to drive uptake of EasyPeasy in the local community and incorporate into relational practices and referral pathways
We share digital and physical resources with Local Authorities and each asset has a QR code on it. If you scan the QR code, it’ll take you to a portal to download the EasyPeasy app. This is one of the most efficient ways to get parents onto the app quickly and seamlessly. In the training session, we will cover plenty of ways that practitioners can share the app within their settings. 

An early years practitioner with two children wearing EasyPeasy t shirts

Understand how EasyPeasy interacts with parents and carers, and the data it capturesEasyPeasy is an efficient way to signpost parents to information and support for HLE and child development.
The app brings together a wide range of information, support, guidance, and ideas from the early years community including partners that parents trust and children love like The Scouts, LEGO, National Childbirth Trust. Practitioners also have easy access to the app to discover and integrate activities in their settings too. Practice makes perfect! 

Get an overview of the EasyPeasy app and its unique features and content
Our trainer will walk practitioners through a hands-on demo of the EasyPeasy app, going into detail about the features and showcasing content from our community of parents and experts. 

Understand how engagement and retention are crucial to the success of the programme
Once practitioners have supported a parent by helping them discover and register to the app, EasyPeasy gets to work. We have a range of systems running in the background designed to ensure parents’ ongoing engagement with the programme. We generate on average 50 ‘contact points’ per parent across a six month period of using EasyPeasy. 

In the training session, we’ll go through exactly how we do this and how we can reach lots of parents at scale. 

Learn how to monitor and measure the impact of EasyPeasy in the local area
Our trainer will go through the impact survey that we send out to everyone that uses the EasyPeasy app. This survey helps us understand a range of impact areas and means that we’re able to monitor and analyse the impact that EasyPeasy is having at home. We will also be able to share the reach and uptake numbers as well as sharing the most searched for topics in your local area. 

A phone is displaying the content Reading in Real Life with a cartoon of a girl with glasses reading a book

EasyPeasy training equips early years practitioners with the knowledge and tools to make a significant difference in the Home Learning Environment (HLE) and, consequently, in the development of children. By emphasising the importance of the HLE and positive parent-child interactions, we empower practitioners to bridge developmental gaps and reduce classroom challenges.

Please speak with our team to find out how your early years practitioners can join our EasyPeasy Practitioner training sessions to help navigate the EasyPeasy app, and improve the development of children and families in your local area.