Big News for Curious Tots

Ignite! is pleased to annouce that it has secured funding from both Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF) and Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) to extend its ‘Curious Tots’ early years programme. 

Curious Tots is an innovative programme, where an artist, or ‘creative practitioner’, spends a full day every week delivering bespoke sessions for children in school nurseries. The arts-based activities are designed to support children’s development towards their Early Learning Goals through nurturing their creativity and curiosity. Curious Tots has had a demonstrable impact on supporting young children to develop key skills, especially creating with materials and expressive arts and design. 

For the last two years the programme has been funded through the Small Steps Big Changes’ Ideas Fund and hosted by Crabtree Farm Primary and Nursery School in Bulwell, Nottingham. Thanks to new funding, the programme will now be rolled out across four additional school-based nurseries in Nottingham: Bluebell Hill Primary (St Ann’s), Hempshill Hall Primary (Bulwell), Firbeck Academy (Bilborough) and Whitemoor Academy (Aspley). The funding means the project will continue for three more years.  

Data shows that in Nottingham City, the percentage of children with a good level of development by the age of 5 is consistently lower than the national average. Ignite! will be working closely with schools and Nottingham City Early Years throughout the programme to assess the project’s impact on increasing the percentages of children working at the expected level for different areas of development. 

Megan Shore, Programmes Manager at Ignite! said: “We know that by embedding creative practitioners in early years settings, we can help young children make progress in developing key skills that will help them to access learning and make huge impacts throughout their lives. We are so grateful to both SSBC and Paul Hamlyn Foundation to allow us to continue to build this programme’s impact across Nottingham, and to our partner schools for their collaboration to bring this work to their pupils.”

Karla Capstick, Programme Director from SSBC said: “It has been a privilege to fund the Curious Tots programme for the last two years as one of SSBC’s Ideas Fund projects, and have seen first-hand and through the wider independent evaluation the great impact charities such as Ignite! can have on improving early child development outcomes and widening access to innovative and creative approaches.  Ideas Funds such as Curious Tots have been a core part of the SSBC test and learn ethos, so it’s fantastic to hear that as SSBC comes to a natural close, further funding has been secured to extend and expand this valuable work to other school-based nurseries in the City.”

Catherine Sutton, Head of Programme - Education from Paul Hamlyn Foundation said: “Paul Hamlyn Foundation is delighted to support Ignite! to build on the strong practice it has already developed with Crabtree Farm Primary and Nursery School, working with more Nursery classes and teachers in Nottingham’s primary schools. PHF is excited by way that Ignite! is working in deep partnerships with the schools, and by the way that the programme aims to support very young learners to make progress and overcome barriers to learning, through creative, arts-based learning.”

Ignite! is currently recruiting for four creative practitioners to deliver the programme, and the deadline for applications is midnight, Sunday 3 November. You can find out all the details by visiting Ignite!’s website: www.ignitefutures.org.uk