Yet while emphasis is often placed on the approach of parents and carers to supporting their baby’s development, the Start for Life strategy reminds us to also consider the importance of ensuring our systems support parents and carers to bond with their baby, look after their own mental health and relationships, as well as equipping them with the skills to confidently support their baby’s development across infancy.

In 2021, the Government launched the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Its aim was to bring together services to support children and their families across Local Authority areas, ensuring that all parents and carers have the ability to effectively provide for their babies which in turn improves health outcomes. National Health Service (NHS) England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) commissioned two evidence-based programmes to support this cause. The largest of which has been the roll out of our Triple P for Baby, programme.

Triple P UK provided funded training and accreditation opportunities for 680 practitioners across all 75 Family Hubs and Start for Life areas.

Triple P for Baby prepares parents for a positive transition to parenthood and the first year with their baby, promoting sensitive and responsive care in the perinatal period. As numerous randomised controlled trials continue to show, the programme can be delivered across various settings within local systems to support parents. Through Start of Life the focus has been bolstering support for mild-to-moderate perinatal mental health and/or parent-infant relationship challenges, and extended to support fathers and co-parents.

The programme is delivered as either group or individual sessions where parents actively participate to learn strategies, develop positive relationships with their baby, promote their baby’s development and help teach their baby new skills and behaviours, as well as support their own mental health and relationships. Triple P for Baby is one of a series of evidence-based parenting programmes offered by Triple P. While the programme continues to be instrumental in supporting families throughout England, the Early Years Alliance (EYA), a national third sector organisation delivering services in Lewisham, is just one example of how positively Triple P for Baby can transform individuals’ lives through local delivery.

EYA is currently delivering Triple P for Baby as part of the Start for Life programme on behalf of the local council. Staff from the organisation are among seventeen practitioners from across the Local Authority area trained to deliver the Triple P for Baby programme, supporting local parents and carers to transition well into parenthood.

Two of Lewisham’s Children and Family Centres (CFC) shared examples of the impact Triple P for Baby has on supporting parents and carers, and their babies. For Saskia ^*, a mother at one of the CFCs, engaging with the Triple P for Baby programme provided her with an opportunity to manage the challenges that come with parenting a young child and become more confident with understanding her baby’s development.

Saskia entered the programme feeling isolated and overwhelmed as an older parent, suffering from both mental and physical health challenges. Yet as the programme progressed, she became more confident and engaged, attending group sessions and utilising the support offered to her by the practitioners including access to additional services to help with her baby’s transition to solid foods.

Likewise, at a second CFC, collaboration and group interaction supported new mother Clara* to become self-confident and display a good attachment and bond with her baby upon completion. Clara was referred to the programme having experienced domestic violence and being rehoused postnatally to a women’s refuge before relocating to Lewisham. Clara had challenges with confidence in parenting and promoting good development for her baby, in addition to financial worries about affording necessities for her daughter. Working flexibly to meet Clara’s needs, the practitioners made arrangements to support Clara’s experience on the programme, including offering a face-to-face meeting at the centre and working with other agencies to secure referrals for financial support and access to play sessions. Clara attended several group sessions, despite initially feeling overwhelmed and became more comfortable as the weeks progressed.

Since finishing the programme, Clara has reported feeling far more confident in her relationship with her baby, as well as experiencing an improvement in emotional wellbeing. The programme supported Clara to develop the parenting skills needed to provide for her baby, promoting a healthy relationship and ensuring she had the resources she needed to give her baby the best start in life. Triple P for Baby continues to support parents in ensuring their babies receive a nurturing start in life. Services like EYA are essential for providing wrap around support for those experiencing social isolation, domestic abuse and mental health challenges, and allowing parents to become confident to develop the skills needed to provide for their baby.

Triple P for Baby is now being delivered across a substantial 72% of Family Hubs throughout England. With more services now delivering Triple P for Baby, more parents are participating in the programme and sharing their experiences. Parents like Saskia and Clara, are sharing stories of how Triple P for Baby transforms the lives of families and reassures parents regarding their skills to support the first phase of their child’s development.

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* Names have been changed.