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One of the five ‘A Better Start’ partnerships established by the National Lottery Community Fund, the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) delivered a better childhood for local families and provided insight to shape wider changes in policy and practice.
In addition to developing and designing a programme of shared learning across all partnerships, NCB was the accountable body for the LEAP programme and hosted it within the NCB family from its inception in 2015 until its planned closure in March 2025.
LEAP's primary aims were to:
- Give thousands of children aged 0-3 years a better start in Coldharbour, Stockwell, Tulse Hill, and Vassall.
- Use LEAP’s learning and evidence to positively influence early years services across Lambeth and beyond.
LEAP demonstrated how children’s life chances could be improved through a combination of enhanced early years investment and knitting local services together through a multi-agency partnership.
LEAP services supported families at every step through pregnancy and the early stages of a child’s life, focusing on many different related aspects of children’s development across three key strands:
- diet and nutrition
- social and emotional well-being
- communication and language.
These strands are important because services focused on just one of these strands could be undermined by challenges from one of the other strands (for instance, a child’s poor emotional well-being could impact on their language and communication).
In its second Annual Learning Report, published in June 2024, LEAP revealed that it had reached a total of 15,374 families, including 14,028 children and 15,254 adults.
Overall, LEAP engaged an estimated two thirds of the children under 5-years-old living in the areas of Lambeth where it operated.
Laura McFarlane at the LEAP and Me exhibition, 2024
A lasting legacy: Laura McFarlane 1960-2025
Throughout the ten years it provided support for the children, families and communities of Lambeth, LEAP was led by its much-loved Director, Laura McFarlane, who sadly died shortly after her retirement.
Laura’s ability to unite teams, build trust, and champion early intervention made LEAP a model not just for Lambeth, but for communities across the country.
One example of her lasting impact is how the ethos that LEAP championed, of early years services being embedded in the local communities they serve, has been echoed in the roll-out of Best Start Family Hubs across the country, targeting support at the most disadvantaged.