Better Start Conference Blackpool

Celebrating Conference ’26

We were proud to bring together leading voices in the early years sector, to tackle some big questions on what will drive meaningful change for babies and children. Our panels and symposiums included specialists in policy, child development and science as well as experts by experience bringing lived perspectives to the conversation.

Panel Session 1

Grounded Locally, Guided by Evidence: What Makes Place‑Based Collaboration Effective?

Chris Sherwood

Chaired by

Chris Sherwood

CEO
NSPCC

Kieran Anders

Kieran Anders

Dad Matters Lead
Home-Start UK

Emily Sun

Emily Sun

CEO
Place Matters

Alison Morton

Alison Morton

CEO
Institute of Health Visiting

Leanne

Leanne

Local parent
Expert by Experience

Panel Session 2

Building a Shared Story: Creating Collective Understanding of Why the Early Years Matter

Chaired by

Tom King

Founder
Outside In & Member of Better Start’s Growth Advisory Board 

Matt Price

Dr Matt Price

Director of Research & Grants
1001 Critical Days Foundation

Sally Hogg

Executive Director
Start Strong

Hannah Clark

Hannah Clark

Parent Carer Panel Coordinator
Blackpool Council

Lisa Harrison

Co-production Engagement Facilitator
Blackpool Council

Panel Session 3

Beyond School Readiness: Measuring What Really Matters for Children and Families

Chaired by

Chris Cuthbert

Thomas Coram Research Unit
University College London

Elaine Fulton

Elaine Fulton

Director
Common Outcomes for Children and Young People Collaborative

Ben Lewing

Ben Lewing

Director
Making Evidence Work

Debbie Smith

Debbie Smith

Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology and Health
Psychologist
The University of Manchester

Pauline Wigglesworth

Pauline Wigglesworth

Director, Health
Determinants Research Collaboration
 Blackpool Council

Panel Session 4

Changing the System: What Real Early Years Transformation Looks Like – and How We Know It’s Happening

Clare Law

Chaired by

Clare Law

Director
Better Start

Neil Jack

Neil Jack

Chief Executive
Blackpool Council

Tim HobbS PhD

Tim Hobbs

CEO
Dartington Service Design Lab

Dr Beverley Barnett Jones MBE

Dr Beverley Barnett Jones MBE

Former Associate Director, (Practice and Impact),
Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

Louise Bazalgette

Louise Bazalgette

Deputy Director
 Nesta

Symposium 1

Session 1:

Early Beginnings: Strengthening Parental Support in Pregnancy and the First Months

NSPCC

“There was nobody around me…”- Understanding parents’ experiences of early pregnancy support in Glasgow (Govan)

Embedding Father-Inclusive Practice perinatally: The Impact of Dad Matters, Powered by Home-Start

Lancaster University

Prenatal Environmental Effects on Postnatal Outcomes (PEEPO)

Cardiff Council Early Help

Baby’s Best Beginning: A Psychology-Informed, Joint Formulation Model Supporting Babies on the Edge of Care

Session 2:

Local Voices, Local Change: Co‑Production as a Driver of Early Years Integration

Anglia Ruskin University

Nourishing Our Future: Exploring food and nutrition provision and education in Essex early years settings.

An Early Years and Place-Based Common Practice Framework: integrating practice-based experience and research evidence

NHS Bridgewater Community Healthcare

Developing Integrated Pathways to Support Children’s Development in Halton: A Partnership Approach

Blackpool Council

Born into Care to Waves

Session 3:

Tackling Inequalities from the Start: Insights from Communities, Families and Practice

University of Exeter

Working with Communities to Tackle Early Years Inequalities: Learning What Works and Why

Bremner & Co

Too young to count? Why most disadvantaged under-5s miss out on free meals

Blackpool Council

Embedding Lived Experience in Co-Production: Building Inclusive Systems and Communities in Blackpool

Chorus

Early Intervention: improving social and emotional development outcomes for adopted children in a parent-toddler group

Session 4:

Growing Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Strengthening Early Relationships and Attuned Practice

NHS Blackpool Teaching Hospitals

Building Early Relationships: Developing a Regional Hub-and-Spoke Parent–Infant Relationship Model Across Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen

Ready Generations Logo

Living Lives Together – The impact on children’s development when learning alongside grandfriends within an intergenerational nursery.

Cardiff Council

Cardiff Parenting & Play: Embedding Mentalisation to improve outcomes for families

Building Early Attuned Relationships (BEARs) – co-produced awareness raising for the early years’ workforce.

Symposium 2

Session 5:

Foundations for Learning: Speech, Language and Communication Approaches for School Readiness

Talk with Me

Talk With Me – Wales’ Speech, Language and Communication Strategy

Edge Hill University

Enhancing Student’s Confidence and Competence in Supporting the Early Home Learning Environment

Developing a toolbox for early years practitioners who assess toddlers’ speech, language and communication needs

Edge Hill University

Research Circle: Exploring outdoor nature-based literacy learning with families of under-fives

Session 6:

Transforming Early Years Systems: Scaling What Works Through Community and Evidence

Nottingham Trent University

Scaling Systems Change for School Readiness: A Community-Led Approach

Triple P

Start for Life: Lessons learned from scaling Triple P for Baby across England

National Children's Bureau

Exploring School Readiness – Learning from A Better Start

Action for Children

Community Champions as Trusted Messengers: Sharing Early Brain Science Development with Carers in Everyday Settings. An Action for Children approach.

Session 7:

Voices From the Start: Using Infant Experience to Shape Better Care and Family Support

Better Together: A relational approach to building a National Framework to Strengthen Parent–Infant Relationships

NHS North West Neonatal ODN

‘Hold our story with us’: helping parents and professionals understand the impact of neonatal care

For baby's sake

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: Embedding the Infant Voice in Whole-Family Domestic Abuse Intervention

the-smallest-things

How to be ‘Prem Aware’ – Ensuring a Best Start in Life for Children Born Prematurely

Session 8:

Growing Great Practice: Workforce Development for Stronger Early Childhood Outcomes

University of Lancashire

Feed: supporting public breastfeeding through art, design and culture.

GMCA

GM REFLECT: A single competency framework designed to recognise and strengthen the skills and knowledge of the Greater Manchester workforce

University of Lancashire

How health professionals could provide more equitable infant feeding care: findings from a narrative inquiry.

University of York

Supporting Parent-Infant Relationships Equitably (SPIRE): A mixed-methods evaluation of the Start for Life prompts for holding relationships in mind.