Case studies

North East Lincolnshire developed a volunteer programme to strengthen Best Start Family Hubs through peer support and community capacity. Building on Sure Start learning, the aim was to increase engagement, support early intervention, and create pathways into employment for local residents.

Lincolnshire has implemented a co-located speech and language drop-in model across Family Hubs to support prevention, early identification and intervention for children’s communication needs.

Families Thriving Together is a charity founded in Southeast England in 2022 by CEO Michelle Tucker, which brings parenting support to hundreds of families each year – most of them through referrals from the local authority. Michelle has years of experience delivering local authority settings and has a unique understanding of how local authorities and local charities can work well together.

This case study demonstrates how a single, dedicated role can act as a catalyst for system-wide change—ensuring Service children are not only supported, but recognised, connected and able to thrive.

Nottingham City Council developed its first Best Start Strategy (2025–2035) through co production with partners, parents, caregivers and children to tackle inequalities and improve outcomes from pre conception to age five, using data and lived experience to shape a child centred, preventative approach.

This case study describes how Parent champions were recruited by the LA through a range of services working with families. These parents worked alongside Dingley's and the LA and led their own activities to drive training engagement and develop parent on parent support locally.

This case study describes how the charity Dingley’s Promise worked in partnership with parents carers to ensure a successful inclusion project reached as many families and early years practitioners as possible. It describes the strategic approach taken and practical tips gained from working closely with local authorities (LAs) as well as the parent carers involved.

Liverpool is committed to reducing rates of violence within the city and caring for prisoners and their families. Their Prison Parenting and Engagement Lead has successfully integrated a number of programmes within HMP Altcourse that support not only fathers serving sentences, but their children at all stages of development, from antenatal to school age.

Lancashire County Council identified improving school readiness and the proportion of children achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) as a key strategic priority. System intelligence showed that too many children were reaching school age without the core developmental foundations needed to thrive

Leicester Mammas is a long running, community based breastfeeding and infant feeding support programme operating across Leicester. Established in 2008, the service has evolved into a comprehensive model of wraparound support for families experiencing vulnerability, food insecurity, or barriers to accessing statutory services