AIM is supporting the first phase of Anna Freud’s First Day Project, which aims to help parents and carers better understand and support the social and emotional foundations children need as they prepare to start school.

School readiness is often talked about in terms of practical skills, but being ready for school is also about confidence, relationships, emotional regulation, independence and being able to cope with new experiences. The First Day Project will draw on Anna Freud’s expertise in child development and mental health to explore how parents and carers can be given practical, accessible support in these areas, with a particular focus on families who may face the greatest barriers to accessing help.

Our grant is deliberately supporting an initial development and scoping phase. Anna Freud will review the existing evidence and resources, work with parents and carers through an Expert by Experience group, consult practitioners and organisations already working in school readiness, and carry out research with parents and the early years workforce. This will help identify where there are genuine gaps and how Anna Freud can add most value without duplicating good work already underway.

An important part of the work will be understanding how support can reach families in practice, particularly those who may be less likely to find or use universal online information. Anna Freud is therefore exploring how future resources could be developed with and shared through trusted practitioners and settings including health visitors, Family Hubs, nurseries, schools and community organisations.

If the development phase demonstrates a clear need and a strong route to delivery, the longer-term ambition is to create practical, evidence-based resources for parents and practitioners that help families build children’s social, emotional and relational readiness for school. This fits closely with AIM’s Early Childhood programme and our interest in supporting children early, strengthening the environments around them and helping families build strong foundations before difficulties become more entrenched.