Bank volunteers teach children about money

Children are more likely to stay in education for longer if they have good numeracy skills, and parents are the ones who make the biggest difference to their child’s mathematical development.

Charity spokesman Fiona Godfrey said: “With a staggering four out of 10 children not ‘school ready’ at the age of five, we know the importance of developing key skills at an early age. So, as part of our Big Hopes Big Future school readiness programme, we wanted to provide an event that would make counting and learning about money fun and engage both parents and children.

“We know how hard the summer holidays can be for parents in terms of cost of activities so we wanted to provide a free community event that everyone could attend.”

Home-Start provides practical and emotional support for families with young children.

For many children, barriers exist that mean they start school already behind their peers, and that gap widens throughout primary and secondary school.

The Big Hopes Big Futures programme prepares families for school, working with parents and children to build the skills they need to be ready for the first day of school. See www.home-startherts.org.uk