Free support available for premature children on their school journey

Child development experts at the University are reminding parents and education professionals of free resources aimed at supporting prematurely born children through their school journey. 

With the summer holidays coming to an end, many youngsters will be starting school for the first time or returning to a new class and teachers. 

Samantha Johnson, developmental psychologist and Professor of Child Development at the University of Leicester hopes to raise awareness and support parents, carers and schools to recognise and meet the needs of children born prematurely whose development and learning may have been impacted by their early birth. 

The Preterm Birth Information for Educational Professionals – is a free online training resource developed by Professor Johnson and her colleagues in the PRISM (Premature Infants’ Skills in Mathematics) Study Team.

It outlines the impact premature birth can have on a child’s development and learning and offers practical ways that schools and early years settings can support premature children if they need it.

Professor Johnson said: “It’s that time of the year when schools are gearing up to welcome new cohorts and therefore it’s vitally important they recognise that some children may have additional needs due to their premature birth.

“We know through our research that children born prematurely are more likely to have difficulties with their development and learning than children born at term. This might be through lower attention and concentration levels, memory and processing difficulties, or difficulty with social and emotional development. 

“Early identification and support can make a huge difference to a child’s wellbeing. Therefore it is vital that teachers and early years practitioners are ready to support prematurely born children and their families. Our resource is there to support teachers and parents throughout the school journey, starting from the early years.”

Children born before 37 weeks of gestation are known as preterm, while those born before 28 weeks are known as extremely preterm. Although extremely preterm births make up only a small percentage of all births, these children are more likely than term-born children to need some degree of extra support as they grow older. 

Professor Johnson said: “We also strongly encourage schools and early years settings to work towards the Prem Aware Award run by The Smallest Things charity - a scheme which raises awareness of the impact of prematurity and helps school and early years setting to be better prepared to support premature children and their families.”

The Prem Aware Award scheme was launched in 2020 by The Smallest Things Charity. It aims to raise awareness and support parents, carers and schools to recognise and meet the needs of children born prematurely whose development and learning may have been impacted by their early birth. 

The scheme was developed using research from the University’s Department of Population Health Sciences.