HEY! Fund Initiatives

Thanks to the Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund, mum Shipra can run a 6-week free baby massage session, which will provide a multi-sensory experience for baby and parents/carers.

Massage encourages lots of eye contact and touch that is soothing and promotes positive wellbeing. It can make the baby and parent feel close learning each other’s verbal cues.

Massaging and talking to the baby can express their growing bond and respond to the recognition of the sound of their parents voices by moving their hands and legs and smiling.

Before babies are able to understand language, we often communicate and comfort them through touch. If a baby cries, for example, parents will hold, cuddle or stroke them. Baby massage is part of this natural impulse.

Mum of three, Nadia, 36 appreciates what feel like to be lonely in pregnancy as she felt scared to go out in her third pregnancy, however having young children she went to Parents in the Lead funded Crystal Tots stay and play group and felt the benefits of social interaction with other expectant parents and parents of young children.

This social interaction and positive impact on her own mental well-being made her think of new expectant mums, who don’t have English as their first language and how lonely that must be. Nadia was inspired to apply to the Happy Early Years Fund to develop the Happy Mama group.

She said: “I feel so excited and amazed to have been awarded this money to be able to set up the Happy Mama group. It will be lovely to reach out to expectant mums who are feeling anxious and isolated through lack of social interaction and barriers to language and know that they are not on their own!”

The group will have a welcoming holistic environment and will provide antenatal education, hypnobirthing sessions, pregnancy yoga, healthy eating advice in pregnancy, mental health and stability and hand massages.

It will culminate with a celebration event.

Babies and toddlers will now have be able to enjoy animal themed play sessions at Canterbury Nursery School thanks to local mum Maryam.

Each week, the focus will be on animals from different habitats including farm, arctic, sea and jungle. There will also be trips to a swimming pool and Tropical World in Leeds.

Maryam Kausar, who received £1,258 for her Animal Explorers play group said: “I am really excited to start this group in Canterbury because nothing like this is going on here, I want children to experience hands on messy play without parents worrying about them making a mess. During the sessions children will learn about different types of animals and their habitats through play.”

Mum, Valeria Florea has been inspired by Eric Carle’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to set up a stay and play group for families with 0-3s all themed around the book. Activities include open-ended craft and messy play and food themed songs for the rhyme time.

Valeria said: “Thank you for Better Start Bradford’s support. Without the support of the Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund, all these ideas could not have been realised.”

West Bowling Neighbourhood Worker, Ludmila attended the first session and said: “Let us congratulate you on your first HEY! funded session of ‘Hungry caterpillars’. We are so proud and excited to see your group in action! Everything, from the planning, themed activities, healthy snacks, a trip to the library to collect themed books and a huge amount of preparation hours, worked – it was amazing!

A huge “thank you’ from all the children and parents, who attended, they left super positive feedback.”

Sessions run on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a total of six sessions.

The play sessions at Bowling Park Allotments, were set up by a local grandmother who wanted grandparents and their 0-3s to get planting and have fun while growing their own produce. Funding paid for raised beds for the children, a potting shed and gardening and play equipment for 0-3s to be able to garden and enjoy messy play.

One mum said: “I attended a play group event at Bowling Park Allotments and I was really happy for making the decision to attend as it was my first outdoor session and especially with Covid-19 and not being at one for ages, surprisingly made it go even more well.

“The kids had so much fun and my little boy who never really got to attend play groups just got on with it and there was lots to do such as planting spuds, sand pit play, story time, snack time and a water and paint activity.

My son was very happy and got to explore stuff outdoors he usually didn’t doing like planting etc. My children were actually sad when they had to leave and we will definitely bring them back as it was a very warm, well organised and great session.”

Little Treasures was set up by a local BD5 mum. It is a community Stay and Play session based at the Mayfield centre – a community venue always was very popular with the local families.

Sessions focus on:

• Speech and language sessions with rhyme time and story time.
• Themed art and craft sessions.
• Sensory and messy play sessions.
• Teddy bear picnics.
• Treasure hunt sessions.
• Gardening sessions.
• Outdoor messy play with the mud kitchen.
• Partnership sessions with Better Place, Early Years Alliance, Perinatal Support Service, etc.

Mum of three, Esther Osakwe, was awarded £1,330 to run Dance Motivation, a series of dance sessions where families with young children can move and groove together freely through the medium of dance.

Esther said: “I was very passionate about bringing motivation through dance into other parent’s lives as I found the transition from pregnancy into parenthood a struggle. Thanks to the funding I can bring mum’s together, but in a fun, accessible way – people learn better and share more when they are having fun!”

Esther’s project received the funding just before the COVID-19, however she didn’t let the pandemic stop her delivering the sessions. She ran them every Saturday morning on Zoom through lockdown and beyond while restrictions were in place.

Babies and toddlers will now have be able to enjoy the fun of soft play at their Tiny Toes Stay and Play session at Horton Primary School.

Through the Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund, grandmother, Shaheena is able to hire mobile soft play equipment including a ball pool, slides, soft play equipment, sensory toys for toddlers and babies to access. The benefits of soft play include:

• Develop motor skills
• Enhance decision making
• Learning the value of co-operation and teamwork
• Puzzle solving
• Growing spatial awareness
• Experiencing sensory stimulation
• Exploring and discovering

Shaheena, 65, said: ”

“I’m extremely proud to be awarded the HEY! funding and I’m excited about connecting with the families and community through this amazing opportunity!”

Read Shaheena’s blog here: Local grandmother of nine leads the way in stay and play

Dad of three young children, Mohammad Abbas, 33, wanted to do something to keep children fit and healthy, while giving young children something fun to do with their mums and dads every week. Thanks to successfully being awarded £1,000, he set up the Footy Funsters group at the Karmand Community Centre.

Mohammad said: “Having three young children, it is very important to me that they stay active and healthy. I felt that there wasn’t anything sports-based in our area for young children in the community that was free so I came up with the idea for Footy Funsters.

“Humera from Better Start Bradford’s Family and Community Engagement Team told me all about the Fund and said that I could apply for up to £2,500 in a year to run parent-led activities in the area. With the support of Humera and the Karmand Community Centre I completed Better Start Bradford’s simple application form.

“I was really pleased when I was told that I had been awarded the £1,000 that we had applied for. I felt that I had really accomplished something for the community, while giving them something fun and free to look forward to.

“With the award we were able to pay a sessional sports youth worker to help run the sessions. We were also able to buy sports equipment for the sessions and provide healthy snacks each week.

“The children and parents just loved it – we had 12-15 children and they all have so much fun running around with their dads and playing all sorts of sporty games with the footballs. Not only does it allow children to use up lots of their energy, develop teamwork and listening skills, it also gives parents a chance to bond with their children and socialise with other parents and all for free in a safe and friendly environment.”