Best Start in Life

Developing a More Integrated Start for Life Offer in the South West

The Anna Freud Centre and the National Centre for Family Hubs were commissioned through the South West ADPH Sector‑Led Improvement (SLI) programme to support local system leaders to strengthen and integrate their Start for Life offers. The project brought together senior leaders from Public Health, Children’s Social Care and NHS Children and Young People’s commissioning across the South West to take part in a structured programme of discovery, reflection and shared learning.

Leaders from Bristol, Cornwall, Plymouth, Torbay, Dorset, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, local authorities receiving dedicated Start for Life transformation funding, contributed through a series of reflection and learning sessions. These included one‑to‑one monitoring and planning conversations, leadership reflection groups and action learning sets, designed to surface shared challenges, explore emerging practice and identify key priorities for local and regional implementation.

This sector‑led improvement approach focused on understanding both need and solutions, with the aim of supporting sustainable, long‑term system change. By convening partners across a complex local landscape, the programme sought to strengthen how services work together to improve outcomes for babies, parents and families during pregnancy, infancy and beyond.

The full report sets out the reflections, learning, conclusions and practical recommendations that emerged from the programme.