Thank you for your continued interest in the government’s Hungry Little Minds campaign, designed to make it easier for parents to support their child’s early development at home by chatting, playing and reading with them.
Political developments have meant that we have had to make a few changes to our timescales throughout the year, but we have been working hard behind the scenes to develop our advertising and working with our local partners to implement the campaign.
Second burst of advertising
We have now launched the second wave of our Hungry Little Minds advertising campaign which will run until the end of March. We need your help to ensure that this second advertising burst is a success. We are live with advertising through several different channels, mainly digital and social media advertising, catch up TV and on bus advertising across England.
This is a great time to be using the Hungry Little Minds branding as parents will likely be hearing this information from a number of different sources.
The following dates are great hooks to share social media content or share the messaging directly with parents. It would be great if you are able to promote the Hungry Little Minds campaign during this time by supporting on social media and sharing our messages with organisations and parents you work with.
- 24 Feb – Advertising go-live
- 28 Feb – Celebrity Rhyme Time in Middlesbrough
- 3 March – Celebrity Rhyme Time in Luton
- 9 March – Celebrity Rhyme Time in Hull
This includes having a special guest in a library reading a story, playing an instrument or leading a singing session and answering questions from other parents on how they create a positive learning environment at home.
- 5 March – World Book Day. This is a great opportunity to share Hungry Little Minds on social media or through activities in your local community.
We have asked renowned child psychologist Dr Elizabeth Kilbey to develop some consumer-friendly top tips and everyday examples of what parents can do to create a positive home learning environment
- w/c 9 March – Micro-influencers will be sharing the campaign messaging and Hungry Little Minds approved apps by posting on social media.
If you would like to see the areas that the bus advertising will be in, please let us know and we can send you a list.
You can continue to use our toolkit and promotional materials to promote the campaign and the new material will be available to download shortly. You can follow the link below to view our full campaign toolkit, including an introduction to the campaign, information on the Hungry Little Minds key messages, guidance on how to use the promotional assets and tips for evaluation. On this page you will also find a list of downloadable resources, such as poster and leaflet templates, social media assets, along with Hungry Little Minds logos.
You can access these materials here.
Local campaigns
You may have seen that the Wirral recently launched their local campaign with Minister Michelle Donelan in attendance. Foundation Years Trust have partnered with Arriva North West and Wales bus services to decorate two bus ceilings with pictures and games for families to play and talk about as they travel.
This is part of a Department for Education funded partnership with the National Literacy Trust to work with local partners in six areas (The Wirral, North Yorkshire Coast, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Croydon and Cornwall) to implement the Hungry Little Minds campaign. These areas will work to bring the campaign to life in local communities and test what works to reach parents on the ground. The work in the Wirral is one example of the excellent local activity that has been taking place.
App Competition
In addition, on Friday 21 February we announced eight early years apps, with a focus on literacy, language and communication, have been awarded a quality mark by the Department for Education. This comes after new data reveals three quarters of children aged five and under have used smartphone or tablet apps at least once in the last six months to learn.
A panel of experts recommended that the apps should be accredited to help parents make informed decisions about the use of technology in creating a positive learning environment at home.
The full list of apps can be found on the Hungry Little Minds website.
I hope this information is useful. Again, we really appreciate your support in promoting and sharing our message that there are simple, everyday things that parents can do more of to help their children’s language and literacy. We look forward to continuing to work with you.
If you need any further information, please contact hle.coalition@education.gov.uk
Best wishes,
Department for Education