The Blackpool Better Start Timeline

Reflecting on what the programme has achieved and the learning it has provided so far.

It is important to recognise the contribution of the Blackpool partnership in getting to this stage. The willingness of professionals to look at their practice with new eyes and work with parents and the community to ensure the services are delivered in a way that achieves the greatest impact for our families. To the community who have taken this programme to its heart and given of their time to make their voices heard and understood. To the partners, professionals, volunteers and community members and team at the Centre for Early Child Development, who have the unenviable task of keeping the partnership on track, a massive thank you for all that you’ve done to make the future better for Blackpool children and families.

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Timeline Year 1

A few highlights:

Y1 Health Visiting Review

Parent-led, activity budget steering groups launched in Children’s Centres in June 2015.

Y1 Community Conference

The first annual conference ‘A Better Start for Blackpool’ was held in November 2015.

Y1 Video Interactive Guidance

The NSPCC’s Video Interaction Guidance programme was launched in Blackpool in March 2016.

Partnerships

The Blackpool Better Start went live in April 2015

In May 2015 The Frameworks Institute delivered training to the partnership around the metaphors of early child development and introduction of a common language between professionals and communities to understand brain science.

In October 2015, Canadian experts from Alberta Wellness Initiative visited Blackpool to share learning.

The inaugural Expert Advisory Group meeting took place in November 2015.

Launch of Services

The Baby Buddy App launched in April 2015 to all expectant parents in Blackpool as a pregnancy and parenting guide. 

Baby Steps antenatal course launched in September 2015 to expectant parents living in Better Start wards.

In September 2015, Better Start investment led to the expansion of the FNP service in the town. 

The NSPCC’s Video Interaction Guidance programme was launched in Blackpool in March 2016 to encourage positive communication and reflection with parents by using video clips of family interaction.

In January 2016 Better Start Dads start working with Lightworks illuminations team to create installations for libraries in Blackpool.

Baby Rover, a clothing recycling scheme, was launched in March 2016 to provide affordable children’s clothing for Blackpool families. 

Events

Brain Game activity week took place in November 2015 to introduce families to brain science and the impact of early adversity. 

The first annual conference ‘A Better Start for Blackpool’ was held in November 2015.

In December 2015 the first Winter Wonderland advocacy event took place for Blackpool families.

The first early literacy week launched in March 2016 with ‘Stick Man’ activities and events held throughout the town.

Community Consultations

The first community consultation took place in August 2015 into the redesign of Revoe Park. 

In February 2016, members of the community took part in a consultation to help understand parents’ views of early child development. 

In October 2015 focus groups were held with the community on communicating messages around oral health.

A review of health visiting contacts took place in April 2016 through consultations with parents and professionals.

In March 2016, consultation with the community about Mereside at Play investment began. 

Timeline Year 2

A few highlights:

Breastfeeding Consultation

A review of health visiting contacts took place in April 2016 through consultations with parents and professionals.

Y2 Safe Care

In July 2016 Safe Care was launched to Blackpool parents to prevent cases of neglect before they escalate into child protection services.

Y2 Volunteer Academy

The Volunteer Academy was launched in March 2017 to encourage volunteering amongst early years parents and care-givers.

Launch of Services

Parents Under Pressure launched in July 2016 to provide a supportive parenting programme that helps parents with the pressure and stress of looking after a young child whilst managing their drug and alcohol treatment.

A pilot of the Survivor Mums’ Companion programme also launched in July 2016 to support pregnant women who have a history of childhood trauma and are at risk of, or have experienced, PTSD symptoms during pregnancy.

In July 2016 Safe Care was launched to Blackpool parents to prevent cases of neglect before they escalate into child protection services.

Fathers Reading Every Day (FRED), is a programme to encourage dads to read to their children daily, was delivered to the first group of Blackpool in February 2017.

Baby Steps, a perinatal educational programme  designed to support expectant parents, was made  available to all Blackpool parents-to-be in November 2016.

Community Consultations

In October 2016, members of the community took part in a consultation on breastfeeding.

Members of the community contributed to a consultation about views on alcohol exposed pregnancy campaigns and messages in January 2017.

A review of health visiting contacts took place in April 2016 through consultations with parents and professionals.

Events

The second annual conference, ‘Implementing Evidence based Interventions in Blackpool’ was held in November 2016.

Two early literacy weeks took place during 2016, with activities offered to families in libraries and children’s centres. These were themed around ‘Under the Sea’ and ‘Light and Dark’.

Winter Wonderland advocacy event was held in December to offer advice and support to Blackpool families.

In March 2017, Palatine Library launched the new early years reading area that contained installations made by Blackpool Better Start dads.

‘Focus on Communities, a Better Start five-site event was held in Blackpool in March 2017.

Launches

The Volunteer Academy was launched in March 2017 to encourage volunteering amongst early years parents and care-givers.

July 2016 saw the opening of re-developed George Bancroft Park, and in January 2017 the new outdoor early years play area at Grange Park Children’s Centre was officially launched.

Timeline Year 3

A few highlights:

Y3 Toothbrushing Scheme

In April 2017 a Supervised Tooth Brushing Scheme was introduced to improve oral hygiene in pre-school age children.

Y3 Mellow Dads

Mellow Dads, a targeted programme to support dads to implement parenting strategies, was launched in August 2017.

Y3 Mereside Play Area

Mereside Children’s Play Area was opened in May 2017 by NSPCC Trustee, Dame Esther Rantzen.

Launch of Services

The Quality Mark accreditation was launched in April 2017 to Blackpool childcare settings. In February 2018, the first nurseries completed the accreditation.

In April 2017 a Supervised Tooth Brushing Scheme was introduced in nurseries and childcare settings to improve oral hygiene in pre-school age children. All children were given a toothbrush, and settings were supplied with toothpaste and toothbrush holders.

Registering births became easier for Blackpool parents in April 2017, when the service was offered at two local Children’s Centres.

May 2017 saw the first Being a Parent course take place across Children’s Centres in Blackpool. The course helps support parent with communicating with their child and offers strategies for dealing with challenging behaviour.

Mellow Dads, a targeted programme to support dads to implement parenting strategies, was launched in August 2017.

In October 2017, Whipper Snapper photography workshops launched to families in Blackpool.

Recruitment

In January 2018 a Blackpool and Fylde College link worker was appointed to ensure that the Early Years and Education courses at the college were aligned with Better Start key messages and the common language of Early Child Development.

9 Community Connectors joined Blackpool Better Start in September 2017.

Campaigns

An oral health messaging campaign launched on bus sides in September 2017 and ran for three months across the town.

A book to support the oral health messages was created called ‘The Sandgrown Family Brush Their Teeth’ and was distributed via health visitors in September 2017.

Events

In April 2017 Central Library launched its early years reading area including a bookcase installation built by Better Start dads.

Mereside children’s play area was opened in May 2017 by NSPCC Trustee, Dame Esther Rantzen.

In June 2017, Grange Park Children’s Centre welcomed NSPCC Patron, HRH Countess of Wessex.

Radio 5 Live hosted ‘Mum’s Take Over’ in Blackpool, a live two hour broadcast about maternal mental health. The programme was recorded in front of a live audience, and Better Start was represented on the panel of experts. 

The grand opening of Revoe Park Early Years Zone took place in June 2017.

Autumn Literacy Week took place in November 2017 with themed activities taking place in libraries and children’s centres across Blackpool.

The 3rd Winter Wonderland was held at the Winter Gardens in December 2017.

In February 2018 The Wellcome Trust’s Health Foundation X Factor event looked at innovation in research. Merle Davies appeared on a panel alongside the editor of The Lancet and a representative from the WHO.

Training with the police on ACEs and trauma was introduced in February 2018.

In March 2018, the first screening of ‘Resilience was shown to over 200 members of the Blackpool workforce  in the iconic Opera House theatre supported by an international panel of experts.

Research

NatCen People in the Lead Community Survey was launched in August 2017. The results of the survey were released in March 2018.

In December 2017 the CECD had their first paper published on community consultation research methods.

Timeline Year 4

A few highlights:

Y4 Health Connectors

5 Health Connectors were appointed in July 2018 to connect families with health services in the town.

Y4 Early Years Play Area

In April 2018 early years play areas were completed at Thames, Kincraig and Baines, and at Queens Park in July 2018.

Y4 Trauma Informed Blackpool

The 4th annual conference ‘Trauma Informed Blackpool’ was held at the Winter Gardens in November 2018.

Launch of Services

A new home visiting speech and language service, Talk with Me, was introduced in April 2018. The service is offered to families following an assessment by the family Health Visitor.

In April 2018, following two years of consultation and development, the Enhanced Health Visiting Service was launched. This was celebrated with an event at the Winter Gardens.

The Park Ranger service started to deliver Forest School in April 2018 at parks and outdoor spaces across the town.

In January 2019 Move, Play & Go was launched to deliver weekly, healthy lifestyle sessions for families.

Events

Over 12 months, three early literacy weeks took place, with family activities and events held at libraries and children’s centres across the town. The themes for the early literacy weeks were Seaside, Journey and Farm Animals.

In June 2018, the first participatory budget ideas event was held. These events encouraged local families to suggest ideas for activities they would like to see in their local children’s centre.

In August 2018 and November 2018 the CECD welcomed two parliamentary select committees, Science and Technology and
1001 days: Health and Social Care to Blackpool to share approaches and learning.

The 4th annual conference ‘Trauma Informed Blackpool’ was held at the Winter Gardens in November 2018.

In December 2018 the 4th Winter Wonderland advocacy event took place at the Winter Gardens. The event featured cooking on a budget demonstrations by the BBC’s Chris Bavin.

In March 2019, Blackpool welcomed a royal visit from HRH Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who visited Better Start projects and met CECD staff and community members.

The first community conference ‘The Town We Want’ took place in March 2019 at Blackpool Football Club.

Launches

Grange Park community farm was completed and launched in March 2019

In April 2018 early years play areas were completed at Thames, Kincraig and Baines.  This was followed by the completion of the early years play area at Queens Park in July 2018.

Campaigns

Be a Hero, Keep Alcohol at Zero’ public health messaging campaign on drinking alcohol during pregnancy launched across Blackpool in October 2018. The creative campaign was featured on buses, bus shelters and billboards across the town and ran for 12 months.

A campaign to promote the parental behaviours important to language, social and emotional development called ‘Big Little Moments’ was launched in February 2019. The campaign featured on buses and poster sites across Blackpool, as well as through digital promotion.

Appointments

Two workforce development trainers workforce development trainers were appointed in April 2018 to be based within the LA training team and to work across all partners.

In November 2018, the CECD was appointed by NHS England to produce trauma informed guidelines for maternity and perinatal mental health services across England.

Five Health Connectors were appointed in July 2018 to connect families with health services in the town.

Timeline Year 5

A few highlights:

Y5 Sling Library

In May 2019 the Blackpool Sling Library service began to encourage parents to try baby carrying through renting slings.

Y5 Community Voice

Community Voice held their first event with a family Beach Party in July 2019.

Y5 Babies Sake

For Baby’s Sake – a service to support expectant parents with a history of domestic violence – launched to Blackpool families

New Services

Learning to Feed service was launched in April 2019. Volunteer supporters received training to deliver messages to parents about safe and responsive infant feeding.

The Blackpool Park Rangers started to deliver Dad’s Forest School in August 2019 as part of the dad’s engagement strategy.

In May 2019 the Blackpool Sling Library service began. This service was held at various children’s centres in Blackpool, to encourage parents to try baby carrying through renting slings for a subsidised, minimal cost.

For Baby’s Sake – a service to support expectant parents with a history of domestic violence – launched to Blackpool families in February 2020.

In January 2020 Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food course was delivered to a group of dads for the first time.

Events

In June 2019, a national ‘Talking Dads’ conference took place in Blackpool.

CECD hosted the Palix Foundation and Oxford University in October 2019 to deliver a learning event to early years workforce in Blackpool. 

5th annual conference ‘Transforming Blackpool Together’ took place in November 2019.

In December 2019 the 5th Winter Wonderland advocacy event took place.

Community Voice held their first event with a family Beach Party in July 2019.

Launches

 Big Little Moment packs were launched to the community in July 2019, and distributed to families via nurseries, health visitors and birth registrars. 

Better Start e-learning module was launched  in November 2019 to BCC staff, Housing, Libraries, Foster Carers, Childminders, Early years Nursery Nurses, Early years tutors and students. NHS staff, HV, Midwifery, paediatric teams, and speech and language therapists.

In November 2019 a trauma informed workforce development approach was formed.

In January 2020 a High 5 for Year 5 campaign was launched on social media to promote 5 years of Blackpool Better Start.

In February 2020 the MIRROR volunteer development pathway was launched by early years Volunteer Academy.

Work on green spaces at Talbot and Brunswick Children’s Centre and Grange Park completed in March 2020. The capital development of Community Voice commenced.

In September 2019 the Blackpool Safe Care programme delivery team was accredited by Safe Care.

In December 2019, the CECD was confirmed as a Harvard University’s  ‘Frontier of Innovation’ for the Community Connector initiative.

Year 6 Timeline

A few highlights:

Training Courses

Early Years Apprenticeship and Early Years and Education Level 3 course which included Better Start messages and content.

Talking Dads

The first Talking Dads episode was streamed live on Facebook in May 2020.

EYS Workers

Early Years Settings Workers were recruited in August 2020, supporting nurseries to improve quality of provision. 

New Services

Virtual Speech and Language Triage Panel was established in April 2020 to ensure children receive appropriate SLC services and support.

The Park Rangers launched an online service to parents in May 2020.

Holiday Hunger voucher scheme was offered to families in October 2020.

A new service for women experiencing postnatal depression, Behavioural Activation was launched in December 2020.
Infant feeding service, HENRY, launched in January 2020.

Campaigns

In May 2020, a film was created in partnership with University of Oxford Video about how to talk to really young children about Coronavirus.

To help children transition to primary school, a school readiness campaign was launched in July 2020. all Blackpool Parents received a book and checklist to support transition. Parents in the Better Start Wards received a resource pack. A social media campaign was aired on Facebook.

In December 2020 a Christmas campaign offering advice and support to families ran throughout the month. This was supported with Christmas resource packs that were delivered to over 600 families.

Launches

In May 2020 Lockdown Street to Scale community funding boxes were launched to Blackpool community groups.
The first Talking Dads episode was streamed live on Facebook in May 2020.
In June 2020 Baby Rover launched a lockdown delivery service for families.
Talbot and Brunswick opened two play areas and a community garden, and a new park development was completed in Clifton.
August 2020 saw the relaunch of the Park Ranger face-to-face outdoor activities.
In September 2020 New Baby resource packs were created and launched to the community.
In January 2021 Toddler resource packs were launched to families in Better Start Wards.
In February 2021, CECD published Good Practice Guidelines to Support the Implementation of Trauma-Informed Care in the Perinatal Period for NHS England.

Recruitment

In November 2020 two Dad’s Community Connectors were recruited to support male carers.
A new Speech, Language and Communication Home Visiting Support Team launched in August 2020.
Early Years Settings Workers were also recruited in August 2020, supporting nurseries to improve quality of provision.
Year 7 summary

A few highlights:

Superbabies project

In June 2021 the new ‘Superbabies’ campaign was launched on buses and on social media. The campaign highlighted the benefits of not drinking alcohol during pregnancy on the unborn baby.

Mental Health summit

CECD presented at the Summit in February 2022 about Blackpool Better Start Community Approaches to Pregnancy and Early Years.

Activities Timetable

A town-wide early years timetable was launched in March 2022 to inform local families of all activities taking place at Family Hubs, and in community venues throughout the town.

New Services

In April 2021 a new speech and language group called Little Explorers was launched to deliver weekly activities to families from community venues. 

Library Early Years Engagement Workers began visiting early settings in August 2021 to deliver speech and language activities. 

Trauma Informed Maternity and Perinatal Mental Health Services Training (TIMPS) was launched with Lancashire Midwifery in October 2021 with Organisational Readiness Workshops.

Free grotto visits for families in Blackpool were launched to families in December 2021 at three community venues across the town. Families were invited to meet Father Christmas and receive a book gift, while also enjoying festive crafts and activities. 

In January 2022 the Supervised Toothbrushing scheme was relaunched with early years settings in Blackpool.

Events and Training

In April 2021 NHS England Trauma Informed Maternity and Perinatal Improvement Guidelines were presented to professionals.

June 2021 was a busy month for virtual conferences including  World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) and Trauma Summit.  CECD also presented the Health Visitor ACEs routine enquiry work as part of the trauma and Health Visiting work. 

Representatives from CECD presented at the British Psychological Society Conference in September 2021.

In October 2021, the CECD held their annual conference ‘Rebuilding the Future: Putting Children and Babies First’ for 500 virtual delegates

The CECD was visited by the new Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, in July 2021. The visit included meeting families in Revoe and a roundtable discussion with senior leaders.

iHV Fathers and Perinatal training took place in November 2021.

CECD presented at the Summit in February 2022 about Blackpool Better Start Community Approaches to Pregnancy and Early Years.  

In December 2021, the CECD attended Manchester University to present a seminar on ‘Place Based Approaches’.

March 2022 saw the national NCB ‘A Better Start – Reducing Inequalities’ conference take place, with presentations from the CECD on co-production, data and workforce development. 

Launches

Blackpool Council launches an Early Years Communications Offer as part of the SEND offer in May 2021.

Following a year of virtual appointments, Blackpool Sling Library reverts to delivering face-to-face appointments in June 2021. 

In October 2021 the Early Years Strategy Partnership was formed to review and renew local early years strategy.

The scale-up of Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) service with Blackpool Council launched in October 2021.

A new Money Saving Connector role was launched in December 2021 to support parents through the food/fuel poverty and cost of living crisis. 

January 2022 saw the launch of the Blackpool Together Integrated Care pilot.

A town-wide early years timetable was launched in March 2022 to inform local families of all activities taking place at Family Hubs, and in community venues throughout the town. 

In March 2022 a new working group The Pregnancy and Early Years Partnership was launched to merge the Healthy Child Working Group with the Early Years Strategic Group. 

Campaigns

As part of the ‘Get Blackpool Reading’ campaign, book drops took place in local parks and community venues in April and June 2021. 

To encourage take-up of the Covid19 vaccination, the Community Connector team supported the Covid19 Vaccine Bus in Blackpool locations in September 2021.

In June 2021 the new ‘Superbabies’ campaign was launched on buses and on social media. The campaign highlighted the benefits of not drinking alcohol during pregnancy on the unborn baby.

A targeted offer from the Book Trust was launched to young parents in September 2021. 

In November 2021 literacy activities and sessions around the theme ‘Out and About in Autumn’ were delivered to families.

As part of the Christmas campaign, a free, personalised letter from Father Christmas was distributed to families in November 2021.

In December 2021 a campaign highlighting services avaliable for families to help with food and fuel poverty was launched.

To encourage take-up of the Healthy Start scheme, a campaign was created to inform parents of the benefit in February 2022. 

Recruitment

In April 2021 new Library Early Years Engagement Officers were recruited. 

A new Evaluation Officer joined the CECD team in May 2021.

The new CECD Director, Clare Law, was in position by July 2021. 

November 2021 saw an increase of staff within the Speech and Language Home Visitor team.

A new Development Support Officer in the area of Diet and Nutrition was appointed in January 2022.

Additional Community Connector positions of Health Connector and Dad’s Connector were filled in June 2021.