A MALVERN teacher has praised the Princess of Wales' Shaping Us campaign after setting up her own free toddler group.
The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has launched the Shaping Us campaign to raise awareness of the impact a supportive and nurturing world around children and those who care for them can have.
Louise Hannis, head of Early Years at The Downs Malvern, set up Hoot in April 2022 after spotting a need for extra support for lockdown babies.
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She said: “Hoot is as much for the parents as it is for the children and I think the Shaping Us campaign recognises that support for those people who are a child’s closest support is important too.
“In the limited time we had to spend outside our own homes, I was seeing more and more new parents who clearly had very little external support.
“The parents I was seeing even on our limited trips out to the supermarket or the park were overwhelmed, emotional and completely isolated. I knew I had to do something as soon as I was able to.”
Mrs Hannis said the Shaping Us campaign was a great boost in terms of raising the profile of the work that goes on to not only nurture young children but to support their key carers in early years.
She said: “The Shaping Us campaign is shining a light on an area greatly in need and one which has the potential to make such a huge difference.
“I am proud of the work that goes on in this area but we know so much more can be done.”
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Hoot is primarily aimed at pre-nursery children and is open to parents of children at The Downs Malvern as well as the wider community.
The free weekly term-time sessions offer a range of activities from messy play to songs, storytelling, sports and games.
Mrs Hannis said: "Lots of our work is research through play and I use a huge variety of physical resources around a key topic.
Hoot runs from 9.30am to 11am every Friday during term time, with places bookable through www.thedownsmalvern.org.uk.
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