This online guide offers practical examples and resources for early years settings and practitioners.
This good practice guide draws on evidence from the five A Better Start (ABS) partnerships Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend and builds on the learning in our Insight Report on Supporting Parental Mental Health and Wellbeing. It is designed for anyone working with families in community settings, rather than clinical staff in healthcare settings.
Drawing on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of mental health and wellbeing, the good practice guide shows that the two are inseparable. It explains why supporting parental mental health and wellbeing matters for ABS child outcomes, sets out a holistic, community-based approach, and shares key learning from ABS partnerships.
Successive UK governments have recognised the impact of poor parental mental health and wellbeing on children’s development, including in the recently published Best Start in Life Strategy (Department for Education, 2025). This is supported by evidence from the Office for National Statistics and Loughborough University showing links with poorer child mental health, lower attainment and higher school absence (ONS, 2026). The scale of the issue is significant: poor parental mental health is reported to be the leading cause of social care referrals for children, and perinatal mental illness is estimated to cost £8.1 billion annually, with most costs relating to long-term impacts on children.
The early years are widely seen as the best time to intervene to prevent harmful coping behaviours, support social and emotional development, and improve children’s wellbeing (Dept of Health and Social Care, 2025; Parsons et al., 2021; Dept of Health, 2011; Scottish Government, 2008; Dept for Education, 2025)
For this reason, early years practitioners and family support staff are well placed to support parents’ mental health and wellbeing, helping to improve outcomes for children. This guide offers resources and practical support to strengthen their practice.
Format of the good practice guide
This good practice guide:
- Defines our understanding of mental health and wellbeing in the context of ABS and parenting in the early years.
- Explores why supporting parental mental health and wellbeing matters for babies’ and young children’s development across child development outcomes as measured by ABS.
- Shares learning from the ABS partnerships on what worked to support parental mental health and wellbeing, and how this approach was effective.
- Includes reflective questions to aid practitioners to improve their practice.
- Signposts to further resources and reading for practitioners and parents.
Click below to find out about learning from the ABS partnerships on supporting parental mental health and wellbeing in three main areas.
Insights Report: Parents as Partners
More resources from A Better Start
School readiness
The A Better Start school readiness best practice guide draws on evidence from the five A Better Start (ABS) partnerships Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend and an Insights Report on school readiness. It also uses the UNICEF model of school readiness to explain the concept and to explore how each of its three dimensions can be used to achieve school readiness.
