Our Work in Feltham

In May 2024, five years after Feltham Early Learning Community was established, a whole host of people came together to celebrate and reflect on what has been achieved.

With many of us being involved from the start of the project, it was a special moment to explore how far we have come, where we are going next and importantly what we have learnt along the way. It was a wonderful opportunity to look back over the partnership between Reach Foundation and Save the Children, and the wider community in Feltham (West London). Alongside the Feltham ELC team we had representatives from local authority and health services, parents, as well as Early Years teaching professionals from across Feltham. We also brought together those involved in the wider impact of this project, from other Early Learning Communities and organisations like Teach First.

The celebration event sat alongside the Impact and Findings report and a series of Learning Network webinars to mark the end of the formal partnership between Reach Foundation and Save the Children. While this particular phase of the project is coming to an end, it is wonderful to see Reach Foundation continuing the work in Feltham in conjunction with the Local Authority. And we know that Save the Children and Reach Foundation will continue to learn from each other and be connected in our ambition to improve outcomes for children across the UK.

We explored the key learnings outlined in the report, and the impact that we had over the last five years. Some crucial insights we shared included:

Strong relationships are central: This is both the relationships between professionals and families, but also the importance of professional connections and networks to maximise services and provision.
The value of listening: Truly listening to the community requires energy, skills and time. We cannot underestimate this and this has been a real strength of Feltham ELC. Meaningful listening means being open and without an agenda: this can lead to ideas and solutions that are valued and sustained by the community.
Peer support makes it sustainable: Recognising parents as their own peer support network and enabling that meant it can grow organically. In workforce development workstream, the local cohorts means students are able to easily access peer support which has been acknowledged as a huge benefit.

We also heard from Ellie, an Early Years practitioner, who shared her own experiences of the Feltham ELC. It was a special moment to hear how, through the Workforce Development workstream, she was able develop professionally and make a positive impact on the lives of children and families.

The celebration ended with everyone making an individual pledge on how they are going to take this work forward: whether in Feltham or beyond, we continue to be committed to every child having the best start in life.