The Mum’s the Word project. A pilot community programme.

Q. How do you inspire young mums with basic skills needs to take action?

A. The brief was to connect with young mothers with children starting at school. Our research revealed that many mothers wanted to improve their reading and numeracy skills to enable them to help their children.

We conceived a multi-faceted campaign, involving coverage on the BBC, local radio stations, press, competitions and texting. We also secured the backing of Tesco and 80% of Devon and Cornwall’s primary schools to help spread the word.

Result?

The campaign was a huge success: we made contact with more than 2,000 young mothers, 600 of whom enrolled on skills programmes. The first 50 mums to sign-up each received a bunch of flowers. Change happened.