Learning about the fantastic result of Blackpool’s recent Ofsted inspection was a real highlight of the year so far. It’s an achievement that every person involved in supporting babies, children, young people and families across the town should be proud of. The Outstanding judgements for leadership, children in care and care leavers reflect years of sustained hard work and have only been achievable through commitment, investment and partnership working across the whole system.
Having worked with families with young children throughout my career, across a number of local authorities, I have seen many different approaches to improving services and outcomes. With 11 years now spent working in Blackpool, I can confidently say that what feels different here is that improvement has never been treated as the responsibility of one organisation alone.
A key part of that has been the presence of an ‘engine room’ for change. Through Better Start, partners have had a dedicated space to bring people together, test new approaches, learn from families and keep a collective focus on improving outcomes for babies and young children.
Leaders have worked consistently to build a collective response to complex challenges, creating the conditions for services, communities and families to work together with a shared purpose. That collective approach is clear in the report’s recognition of strong leadership, effective multi-agency working and a culture that keeps children at the centre of decision making.
From the Request for Support Hub and Family Hubs through to safeguarding, education, health, policing, the voluntary sector and community-led support, these relationships have not emerged overnight. They have been built over many years through shared ambition, trust and a willingness to work beyond organisational boundaries.
A personal highlight for me was Ofsted’s recognition that children and families benefit from wraparound support, early help and coordinated services that work together to improve outcomes. This reflects a belief that has shaped much of Blackpool’s journey over the last decade: no single service can transform outcomes on its own. Sustainable change happens when systems are built around families, when leadership is shared, and when support is offered at the earliest opportunity.
This is where the learning from Better Start feels particularly important. Its contribution has never been only about individual programmes, but about helping to develop a way of working: listening to families, testing approaches, learning what works and strengthening the connections between services and communities.
In Blackpool, this has included Community Connectors, Family Hubs and the School Readiness programme, alongside work such as Born into Care, which brings lived experience, professional reflection and trauma-informed approaches together to improve how families are supported at some of the most sensitive and life-changing points in their lives.
Having worked alongside these projects, programmes and services for many years, I have seen first-hand how deeply those connections matter in the early years. The foundations for better outcomes are laid during pregnancy, infancy and childhood through attachment, parental wellbeing, communication, confidence and strong family relationships.
For more than a decade, partners across Blackpool’s early years system have developed a deeper shared understanding of what helps families thrive. At the heart of that journey, Better Start has championed a test-and-learn culture that has influenced the wider system and helped partners adapt, improve and respond to what families tell us they need.
That decade of learning has brought together residents, health services, voluntary organisations, education, children’s services, Family Hubs and community groups around a common purpose to give babies, young children and families the best possible start in life.
Outstanding judgements recognise excellence, but behind this inspection outcome are the relationships, culture and partnerships that will make sure the improvement are lasting, and that is the real gold. As someone who has had the privilege of being part of Blackpool’s journey for the last 11 years, I am proud not only of the judgement, but of the system that has been built together and the shared leadership that continues to shape what comes next.
For other places, the lesson is not that one programme or service creates change. Lasting improvement comes from sustained leadership, listening to the voices of parents, babies and communities, sharing learning, and investing in long-term partnerships. These are the foundations that create the conditions for better outcomes.
