Dame Andrea Leadsom MP visits Better Start Bradford
30 June 2022
The Better Start Bradford team was thrilled to meet Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, the Government’s Early Years Advisor, and staff from the Start for Life unit within the Department of Health.
The meeting was an opportunity to showcase how the work and evaluation of the Better Start Bradford programme is influencing the wider work of the Bradford district in planning to become one of the first 75 local authority Best Start for Life areas.
She visited the BD4 Family Community Trust at the St John’s Community Hub and heard about the good practice that has been developed and evaluated as part of the Better Start Bradford programme. She also heard how our partners, including the local authority and health partners, are planning to build on this across the Bradford district.
Born in Bradford along with Better Start Bradford projects Little Minds Matter and Talking Together, showcased evidence of what’s working when it comes to supporting very young children’s social and emotional development, speech, language and communication and diet and nutrition outcomes.
Dame Andrea also got to meet families at a parent and toddler play and learn session and met Better Start Bradford’s community engagement team and Neighbourhood Project workers who work across the Better Start Bradford area with families and the community to promote the support and projects available, and family events that are happening locally.
Commenting on the visit, Alex Spragg, Director of Better Start Bradford, said:
We really welcome this opportunity to share the learning from our programme with Dame Andrea and her team and to showcase how the Better Start Bradford partnership is taking this forward within its planning for the Best Start for Life offer. We are keen that the learning from Bradford and the four other A Better Start sites is shared with all areas embarking on the development of this offer and those who are shaping it so that young children and their families can benefit from the additional government investment in the earliest years.
Rt Hon. Dame Andrea Leadsom MP said:
The Better Start Bradford project is committed to supporting babies and their families in every way they can. I was delighted to visit to meet parents with their babies to hear about their experiences, as well as to discuss with the early years workforce their ambitions for continuous improvement. Their advice and ideas will be incredibly useful as we roll out the Best Start for Life across England.
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