Why we exist
Conception to starting school is the most crucial time of a child’s life. During these first years, brains are being built and foundations are laid for future development.
Early relationships between children and their caregivers play a vital role. When adults face adversity or widening health inequalities, it can be more difficult to be the parents they want to be.
But there are so many things we can do to support parents and lessen the impact of stress or trauma. By taking a systems building approach, we can change things for the better. This is why Better Start exists: to work together with leaders, professionals and parents to give all children the best possible start to life, from conception to Reception.
Working Together
At Better Start, we believe that all childhoods are vitally important. Our unique, evidence-based approach – developed in Blackpool – means we can make real and lasting change for childhoods.
We galvanise senior leaders and local workforces and set them on the same course: to improve outcomes for all children. In our work, we bring together people including:
• Local Authorities
• Public Health
• Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)
• Maternity and Community 0-19 Health Providers
• Voluntary, Community and Faith Organisations
• Parents in the Community
This last point is vital: we must meaningfully include parents in everything we do.
By creating a shared understanding, we collectively prioritise the wellbeing of babies, young children, and families. Simultaneously, we take action to ensure services are fit for purpose, removing barriers that prevent people from accessing them.
Local Relevance, National Influence
The UK Government’s reprioritisation of reforming early years means place-based and evidence-based approaches like Better Start’s are now of critical significance.
Revolution – not evolution – will help local areas improve the proportion of children at the end of Reception that reach their expected level of development through educational measures, such as the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile.
5-year-old children in Blackpool, assessed through the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, have shown year-on-year improvements since the relaunch of the measure in 2021/2022. There has been a 12.5% increase in children reaching the expected level of development. This is not only the greatest level of improvement among the 10 most deprived authorities but also compares favourably to the 11.5% England increase.
Understanding the issue
There are myriad organisations attempting to improve the lives of children and young people in our communities. However, much of their work is siloed and isolated, without enough consultation with the people they are designed for.
Outdated systems and services can also be hard to access for many who mistrust social workers, healthcare professionals, and other members of the local workforce. Unfortunately, this results in many services failing families and communities and the cycle of poorer outcomes remains unbroken.
Only by working together can we hope to bring about real, tangible change that improves outcomes for real people. Better Start in Blackpool has demonstrated that through collective and committed action from across the partnership real change can be achieved.
Early Years Expertise
Better Start’s team of early years experts collaborate with local communities and workforces to help support local people when and where they really need it.
The Better Start approach means that the people with the power to make lasting change have a place at the table and work together, held collectively accountable for getting the early years right – because they are simply too important to get wrong.
