New research on delivering for the youngest children
Under the Government’s ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ strategy, 75 per cent of five-year-olds in England are expected to have a ‘good level of development’ by 2028.
Children are defined as achieving this level if they are at the expected level in five of the seven early learning goal categories in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is assessed in the summer term after a child turns five.
The seven categories are: communication/language; physical; personal/social/emotional; literacy; maths; understanding the world; and expressive arts/design.
Last year, the Leaders’ Council – the body bringing together government ministers and local government leaders – agreed to an LGA proposal to co-convene and co-chair a joint, time-limited taskforce to address key policy and delivery issues for Best Start in Life. To support this, the LGA commissioned research aimed at identifying effective local authority and partner strategies, alongside solutions to key barriers impacting progress towards the national ‘good level of development’ (GLD) target.
Now published, the research included a rapid literature review, the development of eight case studies, 10 multi-agency workforce workshops, two parent workshops, and individual interviews. In total, 117 multi-agency workforce stakeholders and 20 parents were engaged in the research, from across 60 local areas.
The rapid literature review identified a range of structural and systemic barriers to achieving GLD, including: having English as an additional language; deprivation and poverty; adverse childhood experiences; accessibility and quality of early years education and childcare; challenges with early identification and access to information and support; workforce capacity and fragmented services.
Local areas are working to overcome the identified challenges through approaches focused on:
- Strategic leadership and alignment across health, education and family support, enabling a shared focus on early years outcomes.
- Early intervention, particularly focusing on system-wide use of the Healthy Child Programme (HCP) developmental checks and providing early attachment, speech, language and SEND support.
- Early years recruitment and retention particularly focused on ‘growing your own’ strategies for health visitors and early years entry level roles.
- Workforce development, where multi-sector partners come together formally and informally for training and peer support.
- Better use of data from health and education services, to identify where families are not accessing support and to target services effectively, including childcare places.
- Community and parent engagement, developed through partnerships with universal services, voluntary sector providers and parents.
At a local system level, stakeholders often cite that integration and collaboration are key to improving outcomes.
The research identified a range of associated enablers including strong and effective leadership focused on shared outcomes, a clear and shared long-term local vision, shared data, dedicated time for investing in building relationships, equitable sharing of power across sectors, multi-agency workforce development, and an on-going commitment to reflection and improvement in partnership with families.
Areas are developing solutions based on local context and assets to build on what works locally and meet local needs. They are drawing on evidence and expertise from national groups, and commissioning independent support and challenge to strengthen and innovate locally.
Parents in this research perceived that the biggest impact on their child’s development would come through: reliable, consistent information about parenting and how to support child development; informal, accessible support and peer connection; improved support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly those who are neurodivergent; and more play-based opportunities for their children – ideally ‘stay and play’ drop-in groups without cost or pressure to participate in more structured activities.
Parents also emphasised that being treated with respect, kindness and compassion enables them to work in partnership with professionals to support their child’s development.
Affordability of childcare, paternity pay and access to professionals were cited as key challenges. Parents want to be involved in design and improvement of services and suggest making it easier for them to participate in co-production and giving feedback, including engaging with families in places where they already are.
Parents and professionals shared a number of consistent messages, which are important to consider when prioritising local and national policy development to improve outcomes for families.
“Stakeholders often cite that integration and collaboration are key to improving outcomes”
These included focusing on the whole system for newborns to age five, not just three and four-year-olds, and building workforce capacity and capability to support the growing levels and complexity of SEND, particularly in relation to neurodiversity.
The early years profession needs to be valued and elevated to secure quality of provision and workforce retention; and long-term investment is needed to enable continuity and the embedding of practice needed to consistently improve GLD outcomes.
- You can read ‘Achieving the best start in life: research to support a plan for partners’ in full on our website.
A collective commitment to early years
February marked a significant milestone for the National Centre for Family Hubs, hosted by the LGA, as we delivered our first national conference, in London.
The centre focuses on supporting all councils to deliver the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs in England, and to help councils to achieve the Government’s target of 75 per cent of five-year-olds reaching a ‘good level of development’.
This was reflected in the opening address from Early Education Minister Olivia Bailey MP, whose remarks set a thoughtful and ambitious tone for the day ahead, focusing on the importance of connections in local communities.
A particularly powerful moment was shared among attendees with the first public screening of ‘Finding calm’, a short film exploring fathers’ mental health.
The film provides a poignant reminder of the importance of inclusivity in family hubs, and how to ensure they serve all parts of the community and the family.
The rest of the day offered a rich mix of learning and collaboration.
Delegates engaged in lightning talks showcasing innovative practice from across the country, from early communication initiatives to data-driven approaches to improving outcomes.
Workshops delved into core themes including Best Start in Life planning, the National Year of Reading, partnership with the voluntary and community sector, health integration within Family Hubs, and supporting parental relationships.
These sessions sparked lively discussion and demonstrated both the diversity and alignment of work happening nationally.
Throughout the day there was a strong sense of collective commitment to improving the early years system and ensuring families receive the right support at the right time.
What stood out above all was the energy in the room – a real appetite for connection, learning and change.
We look forward to continuing to deliver high-quality events and support to councils through the National Centre for Family Hubs, ensuring that connections are at the core of the work that we do together and ensuring that councils have the skills, resources and tools to deliver on positive outcomes for their communities.
There is much more coming from the centre in the future, with the production of a series of toolkits – including support for military families, inclusion, and families affected by imprisonment – plus direct support with councils and webinars.
If you would like to know more about the centre then please look at our website.