Give every child the best start in life

This priority focuses on:

Reducing inequalities in the early development of physical and emotional health, cognitive, linguistic, and social skills.
Working with families to support language development, including children with EAL (English as an Additional Language).
Maximising the take up of 2, 3, and 4-year-old funded places.
Ensuring high-quality maternity services, parenting programmes, childcare and early years' provision to meet need across the social gradient including support for families from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Building the resilience and well-being of young children across the social gradient.

Background

The Marmot Review summarised the importance of quality provision for under-5s as ‘crucial for securing health and reducing health inequalities across the life course. The foundations for virtually every aspect of human development – physical, intellectual, and emotional – are laid in early childhood. What happens during these early years, starting in the womb has life-long effects on many aspects of health and well-being.’

What we know

There are a number of programmes of work and interventions evidenced to positively support the aim to give every child the best start in life. These include:

Integrated universal, targeted and specialist support to families from the antenatal period up to adolescence across the social gradient.
Targeted high-quality family learning interventions to maximise children’s learning in the home environment for families across the social gradient.
Interventions at the earliest opportunity for the multiple and complex problems families face.
Early years provision to maximise children’s learning, development, and school readiness.
General information and advice to parents and carers to support positive parenting and nurturing home environments.
Programmes to help ensure that babies and toddlers stay safe in and around the home to reduce the number of unintentional injuries.

Legislation, Government guidance to support the give every child the best start in life recommendation:

Links to service developments and strategies that support this recommendation:

Coventry Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023-2026
The One Coventry Plan 2022-2030
Coventry Integrated Early Years Strategy September 2021
Coventry Early Help Strategy 2023-2025
Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems Equity and Equality Plan
Best Start in Life
Supporting Families Programme Outcome 2; Good early years development
Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Strategy
Coventry and Warwickshire Health Inequalities Strategy 2022-27

Indicators

School readiness
Parenting confidence
Children under the age of 5 who are in care

Programmes and activities

Adult Education Service programmes
Baby and Toddler Groups
Bookstart
Child Friendly Coventry
Early education and childcare places
Family Hubs
Family Nurse Partnership Programme
Healthy Start
Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
Integrated 2-year-old health and development checks
Infant feeding including support for women from ethnic minority backgrounds
'Love Your Bump’ campaign
Saplings Programme (SEN)
SEND Local Offer
Stop smoking in pregnancy
Start for Life Programme
Supporting Families
Skills Strategy – Raising Aspiration for parents.
The Healthy Child Programme
Speech language and communication programmes
Universal and targeted support parenting support and parenting programmes

How we will measure progress

% Of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception compared to national
% Of disadvantaged children achieving a Good Level of Development at the end of reception, compared to the national percentage gap between disadvantaged children and ALL other children
% Schools where early years is judged Good and Outstanding by Ofsted
% Early Years providers graded as Good or Outstanding
% Uptake of places for eligible 2 years olds
% Children accessing 3 & 4 year old funded places
% Of parents taking up provision to increase their skills

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