A South Derbyshire businesswoman will be resuming in-person parent and child classes from Monday (April 12) with the latest lockdown easing coming into force.

Felicity Haslewood runs TinyTalk in the Swadlincote area and says the latest step on the roadmap towards summer cannot have come soon enough for parents with very young children.

She says it has been tough to be housebound with their babies for the last year, without the usual support of family and friends.

As the Government now rolls out the latest easing of restrictions, in-person parent and child classes are allowed again and Felicity says places are filling up fast.

She adds that the multi award-winning TinyTalk Baby Signing Classes are more than ready, keen to see their class families and also celebrate their 19th birthday.

Felicity said: "I am so excited to be taking our classes back to venues next term.

"Parents, in particular those who had their maternity leave and baby's arrival planned out in terms of meeting other new parents and joining baby classes, have suffered so much with lockdown and whilst I've done my best to offer support, companionship and shared experience through our online sessions, nothing beats seeing a friendly and sympathetic face in person.

"I'm looking forward to helping my class families learn to communicate with their little ones through signs,

and also giving them a chance to chat and make friends.

"It's so vital that they have others around who are dealing with similar challenges, sharing top tips and just having a laugh with each other."

Founded in 2002 by Katie Mayne, an experienced Primary School Teacher and Teacher of the Deaf,

TinyTalk Baby Signing has helped thousands of young families understand each other better.

Kartie says: "Baby signing allows pre-verbal children to communicate – and they have a lot to say!

"Signing helps babies express what they're thinking, looking at or wanting, whether it's a 'bird' in the tree, their 'milk' or a favourite 'book'. It's fascinating getting to know your baby and how they think at such an early age - and their speech comes through just as well later on. Baby signing allows you to really understand and get to know your pre-verbal baby on a much deeper level, without the guesswork and frustration!"

At TinyTalk Classes, families enjoy learning themes of signs, taught through lively songs, fun games, reading books together and multi-sensory activities. Then it's playtime, refreshments and getting to know other parents and carers, connecting over shared experiences.

Having a baby can be hard at the best of times: exhausting, with limited sleep, overwhelming, not really

knowing what you're doing, and lonely, away from others. Then add on a lockdown… for an entire year!

A TinyTalk parent, Suzi Scott, says: "TinyTalk has everything I want from a baby class – and is so much fun. I have made friends for life through TinyTalk classes. I have also been able to understand my little one so much better, through signs.

"It's quite emotional when they make their first sign and realise you understand them. I love being able to

communicate with him, understanding what he wants and how he thinks. Thank you TinyTalk!"

To find your nearest TinyTalk teacher, click HERE.