Theory of Change
Theory of Change Narrative
The Theory of Change is an approach that defines all building blocks required to achieve long term outcomes and reflects current understanding of how change takes place. Our theory of change explains how 50 Things To Do activities are intended to produce a series of results that contribute to achieving the final intended impacts.
The intention is to re-visit this narrative periodically as 50 Things to Do continues to grow and evolve and update it as necessary. Our partnership with The Centre for Applied Educational Research (CAER) presents an ongoing opportunity for us to learn more about 50 Things’ impact on early learning, child development and health.
50 Things to Do has identified the changes at various levels that need to occur to improve children’s health, learning, and wellbeing milestones, leading to improved social mobility. The initiatives are based on the simple notion that access to life-changing, fun, low or no-cost experiences with family, indoors and outdoors, is a great way to support children’s development. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project reported that “All parents who regularly involve their children in early home learning activities that ‘stretch a child’s mind’ can enhance their children’s learning and development”. Sylva etal (2004) DfES and Institute of Education, University of London.
We passionately believe that the importance of low-cost ways for families to maximise opportunities for their children to learn, grow, be healthy and have fun, should not be underestimated. Research consistently demonstrates that what parents do with their children at home positively influences their health and wellbeing, as well as being far more impactful to their future achievements than their social class or level of education.
“Early interactions directly affect the way the brain is wired, and early relationships set the ‘thermostat’ for later control of the stress response. This underlines the significance of pregnancy and the first years of life, and the need for mothers and fathers to be supported during this time” Healthy Child Programme: Pregnancy and the first five years of life (HCP) 2009
Desforges, C and Abouchaar, A (2003) “Home influence is powerful because it is enduring, pervasive and direct. Children absorb enthusiasm and a positive attitude towards learning from their relationships with adults at home. A parent who feels it is his or her role and believes they can make a difference, models positive interest in learning.” The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievements and Adjustment, DfES.
According to the Education Endowment foundation (2021), “on average, parental engagement programmes evaluated to date have led to a positive impact of approximately four additional months’ progress over the course of a year.”
In addition to our understanding and recognition of the importance of parental engagement, Bronfenbrenner’s development of the ecological systems theory, which explains the influence of social environments on human development, has significantly influenced our approach.
His theory argues that the environment you grow up in affects every aspect of your life. Therefore, we recognise that children’s development is not exclusively dependent on the input of parents, any early years settings or school that they may attend. Children grow up in a locality and are part of a community. Therefore, we encourage the engagement of local services, health services, early years settings, cultural locations, to work together and create a sense of community involvement , and enabling a space for partnership and the participation of parents.
Furthermore, our placed-based approach encourages children and families to explore their own local landscapes, communities and cultural venues alongside the local history that defines the places they live. Thus giving children a greater connection to communities around them. A report published by The Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative stated that “place-based education fosters students' connection to place and creates vibrant partnerships between schools and communities. It boosts student achievement and improves environmental, social, and economic vitality” The Benefits of Place-based Education (2010).
Designed to give children exciting life experiences, developing confidence and a passion for learning new things, our 50 activities have a playful learning approach. Through play children build relationships with each other and the adults who play alongside them. Play offers choice, control and freedom within reasonable boundaries. Play has many meanings and definitions, often depending on the sector you work in, it has been stated that “to define play is virtually impossible” Sutton-Smith (2006) Here at 50 Things we are drawn to the definition from the DCMS (2004) “Play is what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons.”
Whichever way we look at it, scientific and pedagogical research consistently demonstrates that play and playfulness has a positive impact on holistic development. Pellis, S, University of Lethbridge, argues play is essential to healthy brain development. Stating that "The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain, and without play experience, those neurons aren't changed,"
In his analysis, Fisher (1992) found that “playing could enhance a child’s cognitive, linguistic, and social development” The impact of play on development: A meta-analysis. Play & Culture
Galyer & Evans observed that “Children who engaged in pretend play frequently, and who did so with caregivers, had higher ratings of emotion regulation.” Pretend Play and the Development of Emotion Regulation in Preschool Children (2000)
Importantly, we recognise that this does not only relate to early childhood. “At any age, play acts to retain and enhance meaningful context, and optimizes the learning process.” The National Institute for Play (2006)
Playfulness is often associated with being happy, imaginative, light-hearted and free and there is a consensus among childhood experts that playfulness is a positive trait that leads to a sense of happiness and joy. In a context where, even before the Covid19 pandemic, the media reported that children are more stressed today than they have ever been, we believe by having playful learning at the core of our program development we are positively impacting children’s wellbeing. Research published by The LEGO Foundation underpins this when it states “We have seen that the inherent joy and affective nature of play, as well as the stimulation of multiple brain networks during play, make it a particularly effective in maintaining and developing the emotional skills needed to deal with challenging circumstance, as well as the resilience and creativity to adapt.” Play to Cope with Change (2020)
As mentioned, we are a team of education and early years specialists, using theories of learning, child development and play to underpin our activities, however, we believe one of the unique elements of our app is that the focus is on parents engaging in “fun stuff” with their children. This deliberate approach is to ensure our offer is an inclusive, non-judgemental way to engage parents in their child’s development. Whilst our offer is designed to engage all families with young children, Local Authorities are able develop a targeted universalism approach within their own communities, utilising the data to support targeted interventions where needed. Powel J (2019) states that...
“Within a targeted universalism framework, universal goals are established for all groups concerned. The strategies developed to achieve those goals are targeted, based upon how different groups are situated within structures, culture, and across geographies to obtain the universal goal.”
We believe our Theory of Change, based on theory and research evidence enables us to delivery our initiative which responds to the needs of children and families.
Examples of Academic Evidence Base
Theoretical Foundations
“We learn in our interactions with others and within the context of our environment and culture”
Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (1978)
Urie Bronfenbrenner
“Child development does not take place universally, but rather occurs as a complex interaction with the influences of family, neighbourhood, school, community, culture and society”
Making Human Beings Human (2005)
Fox, Levitt, & Nelson
“Beginning immediately after birth, children’s interactions with supportive and responsive adults (also called serve-and return interactions) help to build a strong neural foundation in brain regions responsible for the development of basic functional systems such as vision and language”
How the Timing & Quality of Early Experiences Influence the Development of Brain Architecture (2010)
EPPE
“The quality of the home learning environment is more important for intellectual and social development than parental occupation, education or income”
Institute of Education (2003)
DfE, Education Endowment Foundation, Public Health England
“Parents who confidently support the development of language, literacy and communication skills with their under-fives has a profound impact on achievement in primary and secondary age phases.”
Department for Education
The Social Mobility Commission
“Research in national contexts has found strong evidence of a link between extra-curricular activities and educational outcomes as well as other positive outcomes, such as soft (especially social) skills)”
An Unequal Playing Field (2019)
Cebulla & Tomaszewki
“Young people who engaged in self-development activities, including sport activities, but not attending youth clubs, achieved, on average, 10 to 20 percent higher GCSE point scores than young people who did not participate in these activities.”
Risky Behaviour & Social Activities: DCSF (2009)
Garry Landreth
“Play relieves feelings of stress and boredom, connects us to people in a positive way, stimulates creative thinking and exploration, regulates our emotions, and boosts our ego”
Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (2002)
The LEGO Foundation
“The inherent joy and affective nature of play, as well as the stimulation of multiple brain networks during play, make it a particularly effective in maintaining and developing the emotional skills needed to deal with challenging circumstance, as well as the resilience and creativity to adapt.”
Play to Cope with Change (2020)
The Sutton Trust
“In order to improve social mobility prospects for future generations the evidence suggests we need a more systematic, longer-term perspective. We should seek not only better targeted education policies but also consider how we might improve the home learning environment and the transition between education and work”
Social Mobility: Past, Present and Future (2022)
Madison E. Kerr & Jon Franklin
“Doing simple activities at home such as singing, painting or enjoying a bedtime story with pre-school children at risk of language difficulties could help to boost the economy by up to £1.2billion over the course of their lifetimes.”
The economic cost of early vulnerable language skills (2021)
Michael Marmot
“Evidence on the most important factors influencing educational attainment suggests that it is families, rather than schools, that have the most influence. Closer links between schools, the family, and the local community are needed.”
Fair Society, Healthy Lives (2010)