Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies - The First Five Years Can Change a Life — I’ve Seen It First-Hand

I’m really glad to see the Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies programme moving forward with the publication of the Government's recent guidance. I’m also pleased to see Start for Life services rebranded as Healthy Babies services. It’s a strong signal that babies, parents and carers will continue to access integrated support around infant feeding, perinatal mental health and early parent–infant relationships. 

This early care and support is super important. When my eldest son, Oscar, had a neonatal stroke, our world changed overnight. Those first months were a haze of fear, long days in hospital and constant appointments at Great Ormond Street and UCLH. We were scared, overwhelmed, exhausted, and trying to navigate a reality no parent ever imagines. I remember at one stage calling my own mother in tears asking her to come and take me home from hospital as I struggled to cope in those early days with the worry, fear and lack of understanding of what was happening. I almost became a child myself again.

What helped me cope was knowledge but also the care and compassion I received. I threw myself into learning how children’s brains develop though self-education, and discovered just how extraordinary the first five years of a child's development truly are. A young brain is unbelievably adaptable and malleable. With the right support and care, those early years can literally reshape long-term outcomes.

And that’s exactly what happened for Oscar. With early intervention, incredible clinicians, and the brain’s remarkable plasticity, he grew, adapted and thrived. That’s the power of timely, joined-up support. The support I received was essential to help me thrive too.

This is why these hubs matter. Families shouldn’t have to piece together services or fight for answers. A connected space where health, early years and community support are brought together could change everything - for parents, carers, children.

It’s also encouraging to see the voluntary, community and faith sectors recognised as essential partners in delivering this work.  Also heartening that this initiative is co-funded by both DfE and DHSC. We need more people-centred, cross-department collaboration if we want public services that genuinely work.

Every child deserves the best possible start - and sometimes, the right support in those early years can change a whole life. 

I am pleased that I get to work at a law firm which is committed to working with charities, voluntary organisations, education institutions and faith based organisations with colleagues engaged in public service transformation projects for a number of Local Authorities where human need is placed at the centre. I am sure we will be doing a lot in this space as the plans for the hubs develop. Ill be watching!