Foundations' response on Government’s new ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ strategy

The government’s new ‘Best start in life’ strategy, and the roll out of Family Hubs across the country gives welcome priority to improving children’s outcomes by focussing on the early years and making family services more widely available and easier to access.

We are particularly pleased to see the new strategy put evidence-based parenting support at the heart of services for families. We know that parenting support is one of the best available levers to ensure that children develop and thrive. Recent evidence produced by Foundations shows that parenting support is effective in addressing parental stress, mental health and the risk of harm to children, as well as the challenges faced by parents of children with Special Educational Needs.

The plan for Family Hubs to provide a single ‘front door’ for early help for families at risk should mean that family workers can provide targeted or specialist support quickly, before problems escalate, and protect vulnerable children. It is also encouraging to see Best Start Family Hubs prioritise services to reduce family risks such as domestic abuse, parental conflict, substance abuse and mental health, which we know can contribute to poor outcomes for children.

Jo Casebourne, Chief Executive, commented:

“’Giving every child the best start in life’ underlines the priority that the Government gives to intervening early to improve children’s outcomes and to tackling developmental inequalities that emerge quickly.   It is a welcome acknowledgement that evidence-based support for families is integral to ensuring that children get the start they need to thrive.’

“The strategy puts parenting support front and centre, and it’s crucial that we follow the evidence here on what improves children’s outcomes. For this reason, we particularly welcome the plan for a ‘new evidence-informed core offer’ for parents through Best Start Family Hubs. Foundations Toolkit has information on interventions shown to make a difference and we will be supporting local authorities to use this resource as they develop their offer to families. 

“We also back the vision for Family Hubs to be a ‘front door’ for vulnerable families to access Family Help, so that we can tackle family risks such as domestic abuse, poor mental health and parental conflict, which increase children’s vulnerability, and reduce their chances of thriving.”

Contact: Lucy Burns, Head of Communications and Public Affairs: 0777 925 0888

Cost ratings:

Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.

Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.

Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.

Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.

Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.

Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.

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Child Outcomes:

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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Evidence ratings:

Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.

Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.

Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.

Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.

Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.

Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.

Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.

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