A NEW project helping pregnant women improve their English will involve about 90 mums-to-be in its first year.

The language lessons are being offered to refugee mums and other non-English speakers living in the Better Start Bradford (BSB) area which covers Little Horton, Bowling & Barkerend and Bradford Moor.

It is one of more than 20 projects so far commissioned by BSB to support parents-to-be and families with children under four to give them the best possible start in life.

Michaela Howell, BSB programme director, said the ESOL+ for pregnancy course will involve about 90 women each year through carefully-developed five-week courses.

The sessions will be led by an experienced ESOL tutor at Shipley College working alongside a midwife, encouraging the women to use their new language skills to take control of their own pregnancy and labour.

Research in the area has suggested nearly a third of women in the BSB area cannot speak or read English which might have a knock-on effect on how well they can access midwifery and other important health services.

The lessons, covering health pregnancy, check-ups, signs of labour and delivery, will also urge the use of Mother’s Tongue, an app developed by Shipley College tutors specially to support the course.

And there are plans to expand the course next year for parents with toddlers so they can develop their English together.

It is expected nearly 200 families will benefit altogether each year when both projects are up and running.

Ms Howell said: “ESOL+ is one of a number of projects we will be commissioning, overseeing and evaluating to support families with language and communication skills.

"This is such an important part of our work. Language and communication development are critical for families laying a solid foundation for their child’s education, so they are all set to get off to a good start at school.

“It’s also essential to families engaging with health and support services and the community around them.

"Altogether this project aims to provide vital English language skills to nearly 200 families each year, but more than that it’s part of striving towards a wider goal of all our children being ready to start school, and our communities being stronger as a result.”

Diana Bird, the head of sector for essential skills at Shipley College, said: “This course is all about empowering women to be able to ask questions, get the information they need, and feel confident and comfortable about becoming a mum.”

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