Kerstin Nott is a Save the Children Project Officer for the Bettws Early Learning Community based in Newport. This is a partnership scheme with local providers to improve early learning outcomes for children in the area. In this blog Kerstin talks about being able to give something back to a community close to her heart and what she is hearing from parents we work with as part of the project.
Growing up in Bettws
Bettws is an estate on the edge of Newport where I grew up during the seventies and eighties. It’s a place with a real community feel which exists to this day.
Dads played rounders or baseball in a nearby field with all the children who lived in the street, and we used to go in and out of each other’s houses with a plate in hand to be served hot dogs and cakes during street parties or on Bonfire Night.
As a family we didn’t have a lot of money, even though both my parents worked. But we never went without. Although I do remember occasions when my mum went without food, and she told my dad that she had eaten earlier, so that food stretched further. My parents and their friends, who we called aunties and uncles, rallied around to help each other.
Giving something back
That is why my job allows me to give a little something back to a community that is close to my heart.
I like to listen to people and help in any which way I can. This probably stems from spending years working as a purser - the person who handles all the money on cruise ships - before I got married. Then when my own children were very young I got involved with the Sure Start early years programme and other childcare work.
Today Bettws it a community still sadly struggling with the same challenges that I experienced during my own childhood. This has been exacerbated by the soaring cost of living crisis which is damaging every artery of society and preventing children from reaching their potential.
The estate has one of the highest rates of poverty in Wales. I hear constantly how families face difficulties accessing services and employment, as well as how there’s a lack of community centres and safe playing spaces. More children are on free school meals compared to the Welsh national average. Many also have additional learning needs, including speech and language, social development, literacy and numeracy.
But the powerful sense of community still prevails. Families look out for each other and they are willing to engage in projects that offer a helping hand during challenging times.
The Bettws Early Learning Communities Project
As part of the Bettws Early Learning Community project, we work with and listen to families as well as partners such as schools and practitioners. We try to bring about local systems change that will help children growing up in the community and provide models that could work on a national level.
Together with our partners, we’re focusing on improving children’s speech and language outcomes as well as their social and emotional development. This includes involving children in their community, making sure they have safe spaces to play, helping them transition into school, and building resilience and wellbeing.
We hold weekly coffee mornings where parents can meet, socialise and discuss any issues that they may have. During the sessions we share fun tips on how they can play with their children, as well as signposting them to support from other community-led projects such as local food banks and family information services about childcare and benefits. We also facilitate courses on helping families develop digital skills, write CVs and how to make healthy food go further on a budget.
Save the Children were also able to provide emergency grants during the pandemic and recovery period. These helped families in Bettws to buy food and essential goods such as children’s beds and educational toys.
The cost of living crisis and what we are hearing from parents
It's a pleasure to get to know the parents but it can sometimes be hard to hear some of the stories that they are willing to share and know deep down that things are probably not going to get better for them anytime soon. Rising food and energy costs means that some of these families could be £1,000 worse-off a year, which is very worrying.
It struck a chord when one mum told me how her monthly food shop had increased by £150 – from £200 to £350 – for a family of four. Another mum is having to reconsider buying some of her children’s favourite food, like yogurts. I also hear how families are getting into debt to pay bills, how the current situation is affecting their mental health and self-esteem and how hard it is to juggle childcare costs around working hours. I often see parents fighting back the tears, some of them crying, and all one can do in moments like these is to give them a big ‘cwtsh’ and assure them we are here to listen.
Communities are resilient, especially when families come together. With the support of our partners, we can make sure their voices can bring about change.
To quote one of the parents after a session with our team: “Now we feel heard.”
For further information on the Bettws Early Learning Communities project, visit https://bettwselc.org.uk/
