Salford-based BBC Children’s and Education is taking its early years child development resources directly to young families through a partnership with Asda Community.
BBC Tiny Happy People will support parents and careers to develop speech, language and communication skills of 0-4 year old children. These educational ideas and activities will be available in every Asda outlet.
The project is backed by ongoing research by The University of Sheffield into its long-lasting impact on childhood development. It’s been created to “equip parents with the ability to strengthen the building blocks of communication and language development in their pre-school child, to help give them the best start in life.”
“BBC Tiny Happy People is a revolutionary project to help young children develop communication and language skills they need to start school and flourish,” explained Patricia Hidalgo, BBC Children’s and Education Director.
“But it’s not enough to just create these resources, we have to go further to support young families and that is why this partnership with Asda Community is so important, bringing people together to make impact right in the heart of communities where it matters most.
“Together, we can support parents and carers, so their little ones are ready for school with the very best start and the research with The University of Sheffield shows it is working.”
David Hills, Chief Customer Officer at Asda added:
“Our stores have a huge role to play in their local communities, with people of all ages. That’s why we’re so proud to be in partnership with BBC Tiny Happy People, ensuring that our customers and colleagues have access to the wealth of incredible, completely free parenting and early years resources they offer. Whether it’s accessing online content at home or attending one of our stay & play sessions held in a store, using our in-store activity packs to keep the little ones entertained as they shop, this partnership helps us with our goal of brighter living within everyone’s reach.”
BBC Tiny Happy People was launched in 2020 and this rollout with Asda follows research conducted by The University of Sheffield showing that infants were better able to communicate at 12 months if parents were sent BBC Tiny Happy People material.
The University of Sheffield is now working in collaboration with Manchester, Liverpool, Melbourne and Newcastle Universities to build on the research results as they implement their findings with an expanded cohort of parents.
BBC Children’s and Education and The University of Sheffield are also working with Nesta to explore how the BBC Tiny Happy People resources can be shared with more families via a text messaging programme.
