Claire Dunne, Senior Research and Development Manager at the National Children’s Bureau, looks back at Blackpool Better Start’s recent annual conference, and how it inspired the early years sector to be guided by humility, curiosity, and a commitment to co-production.
In March, Blackpool Better Start hosted their annual conference. The event brought together parents, practitioners, leaders, and researchers to explore how we can build early years systems that work for all babies and families. Across a full day of panels and symposiums set in Blackpool, a powerful and consistent message emerged: we must design early years systems with humility, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to the voices of families.
Building systems with, not for, families
Speakers highlighted that the most effective services are those co‑created with communities. As Alison Morton, CEO of the Institute of Health Visiting, noted, “the best services are built with people”, this helps them ensure that babies’ needs remain central and that support is grounded in lived experience.
A local parent stressed the urgency of getting early years provision right, stating “children only get one chance at early years.” For her, timely health visiting and language support didn’t just meet practical needs, they helped build a long-lasting peer network for her and her children.
Access and engagement
Panellists discussed the sustained issue of unequal access to services. Attendees described a “postcode and professional lottery,” urging for simpler, more equitable pathways to support. A standout message across sessions was the need for professionals to “reach in” rather than expecting families, especially dads, to seek help independently. Kieran Anders from Dad Matters shared how engagement can be transformed when practitioners meet fathers where they already are, such as antenatal clinics, and start with specific, affirming questions like “How was the birth?” and “How’s the baby?” This idea of proactive, relational outreach reappeared throughout the conference, culminating in a call for practitioners to: “stop waiting for people to reach out: reach in”.
Collaboration and building trust with families
While collaboration is widely valued, speakers acknowledged that siloed and competitive funding continues to hold systems back. Emily Sun, CEO of Place Matters, argued for pooled resources and improved data‑sharing, describing the need for “data democracy”, putting information in the hands of communities and practitioners who can use it to improve lives. This theme of coordination echoed across panel discussions. One argument presented was that “the problem isn’t a lack of resources, but a lack of coordination”.
One discussion highlighted the persistent power imbalances between practitioners and families. When people share personal experiences but never hear back about how their input is used, trust erodes.
This inequity is even sharper for marginalised families. Panel members stressed that not all babies are heard equally, and that systems must be designed to actively counter this imbalance. Trusted relationships which are consistent and respectful, remain one of the strongest enablers for effective services and parent engagement.
Beyond school readiness: measuring what really matters
A key topic of discussion at the conference was the limitations of current metrics, especially the GLD (Good Level of Development) measure. Speakers warned that GLD risks creating perverse incentives, encouraging settings to concentrate on children on the cusp of meeting targets rather than those with the greatest need. One speaker asserted that DfE is aligned with this message, as representatives have acknowledged that “the metric is not the mission.” Attendees and panel members called for a richer, more holistic picture of child development.
Funding priorities
Funders were encouraged to rethink what counts as “good evidence.” Short term, rigidly defined projects - especially those relying solely on gold‑standard RCTs - may overlook what works for the most marginalised families. Speakers urged funders to take risks, invest for the long term, and support the evaluation needed to understand who benefits and who is left out.
When asked what one thing they would change in the system, contributors said:
- more money,
- devolved decision‑making, and
- stronger senior‑level vision.
The conference closed on a note of optimism echoing Margaret Mead’s quote that a small group of committed people can change the world. In Blackpool, that group spans families, practitioners, researchers, and leaders united by a belief that babies deserve equitable, relational, coordinated systems that meet them where they are. And as Leanne, a parent of young children, reiterated, babies only get one chance at early years, underlining the urgency of this work.
About A Better Start
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A Better Start is a ten-year project set-up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.
Five A Better Start partnerships based in Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend supported families to give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life. Working with local parents, the A Better Start partnerships have developed and tested ways to improve children’s diet and nutrition, social and emotional development, and speech, language and communication.
The National Children’s Bureau is coordinating an ambitious programme of shared learning for A Better Start, disseminating the partnerships’ experiences in creating innovative services far and wide, so that others working in early childhood development or place-based systems change can benefit.