Evaluation
Better Start Bradford was an evidence-led programme from the start, developed according to research into ‘what works’ when supporting expectant families and families with children aged 0-3.
Each of our projects was selected based on existing evidence on their effectiveness, or because they could help improve our understanding of what works.
A key part of the programme was to undertake continuous and thorough evaluation of the impact our projects had, to help deliver lasting benefit not only for families in the Better Start Bradford area but also to share lessons more widely.
Our local evaluation partner – Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub – was a partnership between Better Start Bradford and Born in Bradford, bringing together leading researchers from the Universities of York, Bradford, Leeds and Leeds Beckett.
Their research has covered six key themes involved in improving children’s outcomes, ranging from educational wellbeing to mental wellbeing and beyond. They conducted research around who accessed the interventions, whether they work, and if the interventions are ‘good value for money’.
Born in Bradford's Better Start (BiBBS)
One of the key ways the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub assessed the impact of Better Start Bradford projects was through the Born in Bradford's Better Start (BiBBS) study. Thought to be the world’s first ‘experimental’ birth cohort study, they recruited mums, their babies and partners from the Better Start Bradford area since the start of the programme.
By linking data that is routinely collected about these families as their children grow, the Innovation Hub has been considering how Better Start Bradford has influenced their development, health and wellbeing.
National evaluation
The evaluation and learning for the national A Better Start (ABS) programme, spanning five sites including Bradford, has been undertaken by NatCen. They looked at if, and how, A Better Start has improved children’s lives and finding out about families’ experiences of the programme.
Their four evaluation aims were:
- To draw upon the evaluation objectives and provide evidence for primary audiences (ABS grantholders and partnerships) and secondary audiences (commissioners – including local and national government - and local and national audiences).
- To provide evidence to support ABS grantholders to improve delivery outcomes throughout the lifetime of the programme.
- To enable the Fund to confidently present evidence to inform policy and practice initiatives addressing early childhood development.
- To work with local ABS evaluation teams to avoid duplication of evidence and enable collation of evidence from local evaluations.
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From 2015 to 2025 we delivered over 20 evidence-led projects and services for expectant families and families with children aged 0-3 in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton. What did we find out?
Dip into our library of research and evaluation reports, articles, family and early years resources, videos, podcast episodes and more!