The ESOL Stepping Stones project was designed to produce materials that would empower and enable community settings to deliver basic ESOL to mums with little or no English, along with their babies using existing staff and/or volunteers. The five key aims of the project were to:
- Increase the English Language skills of low income non-English speaking mothers
- Increase levels of confidence and assertiveness in the target group
- Provide examples of language rich activities which will be of benefit to the child (e.g. book reading, storytelling, singing and rhyme)
- Increase the uptake of key services by the target group due to improved linguistic skills and confidence
- Add to the skill set and resources of community venues’ staff by providing full training, materials and on-going support