The Pre-school Learning Alliance has set up a new club for parents of children under five in partnership with Bounty. Gill Rudkin tells you more about this exciting new club, which will give parents completely free advice and information, and lots of goodies too.

The Pre-school Learning Alliance recently joined forces with Bounty (see below) to launch footsteps, a membership club for parents of children under five. Through the club, the Alliance aims to provide parents with extra support and information on learning and development in under-fives. The club will keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in the early years from how to choose childcare to learning through play activities and guidelines on nutrition for children under five.  

Working in partnership with Bounty

Bounty has been working with healthcare professionals to support mums and dads since 1959. The company is an important source of information for young families, reaching over 90 per cent of new and expectant mothers. In fact, a unique relationship with the NHS has enabled Bounty to provide resources for nearly all new families. You are probably already familiar with their products and services, like the New Mum pack given out in the maternity ward. Now, Bounty and the Pre-school Learning Alliance have developed footsteps, a unique new package of support for parents with children under the age of five.

Involving early years professionals

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has a long history of parental involvement and support. Indeed, the Alliance developed from parents setting up community childcare groups in response to the needs of their children. footsteps will give the Alliance an exciting opportunity to build on this previous work and help encourage even closer links between early years professionals and parents. The club will support parents to become actively involved in their child’s development, and will complement and further develop the work that is already being carried out in early years settings. footsteps will also increase awareness about the positive effects and uniqueness of early years education, building an even closer relationship between parents and early years professionals who are delivering childcare services.

Steve Alexander, Chief Executive of the Alliance, explains why the footsteps club is an exciting new step for the charity: “The Pre-school Learning Alliance was founded over 40 years ago by parents seeking childcare for their young children. footsteps builds on the charity’s  strong  relationships with parents and its ethos of parental involvement in their children’s early c years. As a source of advice and support, the club will empower and engage parents, enabling them to make the best choices for their children. This is an exciting opportunity to involve parents and to build understanding between parents and the early years professionals responsible for delivering childcare services.”

Benefits for parents

By becoming a member of footsteps, you will benefit in many ways. Regular mailings will provide you with masses of information, including ideas for play activities to help your children learn at home, nutritional advice to support you in providing a balanced diet for under-fives, and updates on the latest developments in early years education. You will also receive free magazines with informative and entertaining features, articles and interviews. In addition, you will have access to an easy-to-use interactive website from which you will be able to download guides and recipe cards, plus regular polls and lively community forums to discuss a wide range of issues with other parents. footsteps members will also be given offers, savings and samples for a huge variety of family-friendly products and services such as educational toys, holidays and leisure activities. As a member of footsteps, you will also have the opportunity to put your concerns and opinions to government and to influence future policy developments in the early years sector.

How to join

Any parent with a child or children under five can join the footsteps club, not just those who use childcare provided by Pre-school Learning Alliance members. It’s free, simple and quick to register to join the club. Once you have registered, you will begin to receive information and offers on a regular basis. Just visit www.bounty.com/footsteps and complete the short registration form.

By joining footsteps, you will receive:

• Free regular and informative advice on all aspects of parenting, from healthy eating to learning through play ideas and activities.
• Exclusive magazines filled with interesting articles and information relevant to you.
• Offers, savings, samples and discounts on a wide variety of family-friendly products and services, including educational toys and leisure activities.
• Regular mailings to keep you up-to-date with the latest developments in the early years sector, including details about how they will affect your child’s care and education.