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Family Corner, the family arm of leading early years organisation the Early Years Alliance, has revealed the line-up for its first free, online family-led festival, with virtual sessions running from Thursday 16 to Saturday 18 March.  

Home is Where the Start is celebrates the role of parents and carers as their child’s first and most enduring educator, with a range of talks, activities and information for the whole family.  

The three-day event will include opening sessions taking place on the evening of Thursday 16 March, led by BBC’s Tiny Happy People and children’s television presenter and performer Nigel Clarke. 

Other free activities across the event include communication and language sessions, easy money-saving cookery ideas that parents and children can join in with and baby massage taster sessions. Families have the option to sign up to as many, or as few, events as they wish, and all attendees also have the chance to be entered into a prize draw to win one of five free Tonieboxes worth £79.99 each. 

The event is supported by the Department for Education’s Voluntary and Community Sector Fund and families can sign up to the event here: bit.ly/familyfestFC  

Commenting, Julie Pearson, early years development manager at the Early Years Alliance, said: “At the Alliance, we know just how vital the early years is and how important it is to celebrate the role of parents and carers as their child’s first and most important educator. As such, we hope that this festival will provide a fun and engaging way to support families with activities, ideas and advice on how they can support their children’s learning at home.  

“From baby massage to snack-making and learning about Makaton, the three-day event will provide families with a range of ideas for simple, and engaging activities that parents can enjoy together at home with their children. We hope you can join us for this exciting family event!” 

BBC’s Tiny Happy People said: “BBC Tiny Happy People is delighted to be involved with the Early Years Alliance’s Family Festival “Home is where the start is”. The festival is a great way for families to meet people, interact and hear from experts. 

“Parents and care givers will hear from the Tiny Happy People team as they showcase the resources on offer and explain how they can support children’s language development within the home. Families can also join in the fun with a speech & language expert who will be running an interactive session to help boost little one's language skills.”