‘Brightly’, in conjunction with our partner charity ‘Enable’, have funded a 16 hour per week nursery placement for Adam (name changed to protect identity) over the past year. Adam has learning difficulties, so faces greater challenges than most of his peers, and without funding, would not have had the chance to attend nursery. His family and support worker have provided the following feedback.

Family - Since Adam started nursery, we have noticed a marked improvement in his independence, determination and confidence. He is a curious and engaged boy who has taken full advantage of the various activities on offer, especially the ‘messy ones’ that we are not able to provide easily at home. The nursery has told us that he is sitting for longer periods at meal times and is following the behaviours of the other children keenly; his speech is also developing well and all these things are due to his continual exposure to and interaction with other children. This time at nursery, which we could not have considered without your very generous support, has set Adam up to make the smooth transition from nursery to school nursery, a fact that we will be eternally grateful for. There are other unseen benefits to our family as a whole. As all parents will know, finding time to take a training course whilst looking after a young child is hard. Adam’s time at nursery has not only benefitted him hugely, but has allowed me to take classes to improve my future employment chances, which will have a beneficial impact on both our child and the wider community.

Support worker - From the Child development team point of view, attending nursery has allowed Adam to develop in a number of ways. He has gained in independence skills, which are a great preparation for him going into school nursery in September and for his general confidence. He has learnt to separate from his parents without any anxiety or stress, to the point where he will go into school nursery needing a minimum of support. He has also had the opportunity to socialise with his peer group; make friendships and learn from their model of play and language. Nursery are a very important part of the Team Around the Child as they can provide the more regular work on therapy targets as part of the daily routines and activities they offer. This also provides some support to parents who are otherwise the ones carrying out these programmes daily.