Best Start in Life: Delivering change in York
York’s Best Start in Life programme is built around 5 interconnected components:
- Support rooted in neighbourhoods and relationships
- Families shaping the system and connecting with each other
- Strengthening the everyday environments where children learn and grow
- High‑quality early education, including schools, rooted in community life
- A Centre of Excellence that leads, learns and lifts the whole system
These are not separate components, but 5 parts of how we build support, connection and belonging; using the power of relationships to transform early childhood.
Support rooted in neighbourhoods and relationships
To respond to what families have told us, there will be a ‘no wrong door’ approach for accessing early years support. The places where families already choose to live their lives and hold relationships should be the places where families can easily find the support they are looking for. Community groups, midwives, health visitors, children’s services, settings, childminders and schools already hold relationships with families and they too should be supported and connected to each other and the many assets of our city.
Each neighbourhood will have a small, dedicated team who know and involve local families and communities and who will be responsible for helping to build the connection, support and belonging for families and the network of support. These teams will work and connect with the places families already trust - parks, Explore York Libraries and Archives, early years settings, childminders, schools, community venues, and homes.
Every Family Hub will operate as a Best Start Family Hub, offering a warm welcome and a physical front door in every part of the city.
Families will not be expected to navigate a maze of services; instead, the system will organise itself around them.
For children who may need that extra support, personalised plans will be co‑produced with families, focusing on what matters most for that child’s development. These plans will not be forms or checklists; they will be relational tools that help families understand their child’s needs and connect them to the right support:, community groups, peer networks, and informal help, not just professional services.
We know that the early years are of vital importance to early identification of additional needs and supporting those needs early. As we develop our plans around reforming the Special Educational Needs system, we will ensure that the principles of these reforms – early, local, fair, effective and shared – are enacted through this plan.
Neighbourhood teams will involve families in developing their own networks using assets in their communities - including families themselves - their skills, talents resources and strength - and from toddler groups to faith spaces to local cafés - will all be part of the support ecosystem. The aim is simple: families should feel like they belong, are supported, and connected where they live their lives.
Families shaping the system and connecting with each other
Families are experts with valuable skills, gifts and assets, and we want to involve families in all aspects of design, delivery and evaluation this will include families that have the potential to benefit the most.
By involving families directly, our communications will become more inclusive and accessible, using the channels that work best for them and making thoughtful use of digital tools.
The approach will bring together information about services, community groups, peer networks, and local activities in one easy‑to‑navigate place.
Our aim goes beyond simply sharing information: we want to help families connect with one another - making it easier to find a playgroup, a peer mentor, or simply a friendly face.
Strengthening the everyday environments where children learn and grow
The home is a child’s first learning environment, and parents and carers are their first teachers.
York will expand its parenting support and home learning offer, making it easier for families to access practical, non‑judgemental help.
Peer support will play a central role; building on exisitng good practice such as the work of our Parent Panel.
Together we will further develop, support and sustain peer networks, volunteer groups, and community‑based activities that help families feel connected and confident. Parenting support will be delivered in community spaces, not just hubs or settings.
Families will be encouraged to build mutual support networks, reducing isolation and strengthening resilience.
High‑quality early education, including schools, rooted in community life
Early education and care settings, including schools and childminders, are not just places where children learn; they are places where families meet, trusted relationships are formed, and communities grow.
York will strengthen the quality, inclusivity, and sufficiency of early education and care, and will support leaders across the sector to build strong, community‑anchored provision.
Settings and schools will be supported to expand stay‑and‑play groups, parent meet‑ups, and community events, helping families build networks.
Leadership development programmes for headteachers, school leads, childminders and leaders and managers in settings - as well as those teams who support them - will help drive quality, inclusive and accessible provision across all forms of early years provision and develop approaches to family and community partnership working.
Schools, settings and childminders already hold strong relationships with many families and will be key to the successful delivery of all aspects of the neighbourhood model; spotting developmental concerns early; helping families to build connections, find the support they need and experience belonging in their neighbourhoods.
A Centre of Excellence that leads, learns and lifts the whole system
The Centre of Excellence is the engine room of ambition, it is far more than a place where developmental expectations are agreed. It is a space where families, practitioners, researchers, and community partners come together to understand what helps children thrive to shape the future of early years provision in York.
The Centre of Excellence will lead York’s Early Years vision, co-designing clear outcomes that are important to families and drive a culture of continuous learning.
The Centre of Excellence will be a home for research and innovation — not research done to families, but research carried out with them and for them. It will test new ideas, evaluate what works, and share learning across neighbourhoods so that good practice spreads quickly and consistently.
It will also be a place where the workforce grows stronger. Practitioners from across midwifery, health visiting, early education, family support, children’s services, specialist support and the voluntary sector will come together to learn, reflect and build shared approaches.
The Centre of Excellence will nurture leadership at every level - from new volunteers to experienced headteachers - helping York develop a confident, connected early years workforce that understands the power of relationships and community.
The Centre of Excellence will be rooted in how we work with families. It will work with families, community groups, and local partners, ensuring that the system evolves in response to real experiences, not assumptions. It will help the city understand not only how children are developing, but how families are feeling; whether they feel connected, supported, and able to belong.
Over time, the Centre of Excellence will position York as a national leader and demonstrator city in early years innovation. It will attract investment, build partnerships with universities and national organisations, and share York’s learning with others. But its purpose will always remain local: to make sure every child in York has the best possible start in life, and every family feels part of a community that cares.