Prestigious Churchill Fellowships awarded to people working in Early Years Prevention and Intervention

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust has just awarded 10 Travelling Fellowships to people working in Early Years prevention and intervention.

Around 30-40% of abused children go on to abuse their own children when they grow up.¹

This is the third year of a partnership with Wave Trust and The Dulverton Trust, during which time 30 Fellowships have been awarded – an investment of over £195,000. Past projects have included research into support for infants traumatised by family violence, empowering vulnerable pregnant women and speech and language development.

This year’s award winners are:

• Pamela Park, a charity Deputy Chief Executive from Cricklewood, who will be travelling to Ireland and the USA to investigate ways of improving school readiness for vulnerable children.
• Clare Law, from Lytham St Annes, and Development Manager at the Centre for Early Child Development, who will be travelling to Australia and the USA to investigate approaches to mitigating early childhood trauma.
• Elena Moore, an Early Years Speech and Language Therapist from New Malden, who will be travelling to the USA to investigate models in which speech and language therapy is delivered to children in their homes.
• Dr Nicola Doherty, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist from Slaghtmanus, Derry, who will be travelling to the Netherlands, Canada and the USA to research integrative working approaches to addressing infant mental health.
• Akvinder Bola-Emerson, a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist from Hounslow, who will be travelling to Australia and the USA to research models of perinatal mental health practice aimed at preventing relationship breakdown between parents.
• Jo Hillier, a Senior Children's Centre Worker from Bristol, who will be travelling to Canada to observe best practice in engaging parents to improve children's outcomes.
• Jeszemma Garratt, from Dudley, and Training and Development Manager at the Fatherhood Institute, who will be travelling to Canada, Trinidad & Tobago and Vietnam to investigate approaches to engaging fathers in supporting their partners to breastfeed.
• Sophie Gross, a Parent and Child Foster Carer from Leeds, who will be travelling to Australia and the USA to investigate best practice in supporting care leavers to form secure attachments with their babies.
• Lorraine George, a Childcare Development Worker from Torquay, who will be travelling to the USA to explore the benefits of interactions between young children and seniors.
• Lyndsay Fraser Robertson, A Family Support Worker from Edinburgh, who will be travelling to the USA to investigate approaches to supporting families affected by substance misuse.

Julia Weston, Chief Executive of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, said:

“Churchill Fellows travel globally and return with innovative ideas and a commitment to sharing their findings to help others in the UK. Through their projects, our Early Years Fellows will be helping to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of vulnerable children, their families and their communities.”

Watch George Hosking, Founder and CEO of the Wave Trust, speak about the Early Years Prevention & Intervention Fellowships:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etcmaneInhA&t=37s

Fellow’s case study Lucy Potter, a Family Outreach Worker from Leeds, travelled to the USA and Brazil in 2014 on her Churchill Travelling Fellowship to investigate parental engagement in socially deprived areas. During her travels, she was invited to be a guest speaker at the 'Semana do Bebe' (Baby Week) in Brazil. This annual event attracts families, professionals and students interested in the early stages of babies’ development. Over 17 years it has helped influence local policy, reduce infant mortality and mobilise communities in Brazil. Once she had returned to the UK, Lucy set about adapting Semano do Bebe for the UK, and in September 2016 the inaugural Baby Week Leeds took place. The event provided a platform on which mainstream and voluntary sector family support services could come together and promote their services, thereby helping to engage wider participation for isolated families seeking support. Leeds is the first English-speaking city to replicate the Semana do Bebe model, and plans are already underway to hold the event again in 2017.

1. The Wave Trust http://www.wavetrust.org/our-work/the-evidence/the-problem

Ends

Notes to Editors

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

In total 150 Fellowships have been awarded across the UK in 2017, an investment of over £1.4 million in UK citizens. The Fellows will be travelling to 49 countries between them, across six continents, where they will carry out a wide range of projects, designed to benefit their communities and professions in the UK. The average length of a Fellowship is six weeks.

Churchill Fellows come from all over the UK and from many different backgrounds. They must be UK citizens aged 18 or over, but no qualifications are required. What Fellows share is a passion to make a difference and a desire to share their passion to inspire others.

The categories for the 2018 Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowships will be announced on Tuesday 9^th May 2017. See www.wcmt.org.uk for more details.

We have many examples of Fellows’ stories of achievement from 1965 to the present day. If you would like one from a particular year or location, or would like to interview a Fellow, please contact The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Press Office on 020 7799 1660, or email press@wcmt.org.uk

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Wave Trust

Wave Trust works to break the damaging cycles of family dysfunction and child maltreatment through research, advocacy and implementation of a primary prevention approach – preventing harm before it happens. www.wavetrust.org

The Dulverton Trust

The Dulverton Trust is an independent grant-making charity that award grants to a wide range of national or multi-regional charities operating mainly in England, Scotland or Wales. It is particularly interested in supporting charities carrying out practical early years intervention. www.dulverton.org