Our projects
Background, impact and findings from our projects: 2015 to 2025
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 – AKA the Better Start Bradford area.
Each project was meticulously designed with, and for, our specific communities, delivered by trusted partner organisations, and evaluated throughout by the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub. Projects met one or more of our core programme outcomes:
– Diet, nutrition and healthy physical development
– Social and emotional development
– Speech, language and communication development
Below, you can find out more about each of these special projects, why they were developed, how they were delivered, and their impact.
You can also find out about other major projects and initiatives including Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) cohort, our Innovation Fund, the Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund, and Baby Week Bradford.
Projects for expectant families
Baby Steps is a relationships-based perinatal parent education programme. It was delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2018 to 2024.
Acting as a ‘professional friend’, volunteer doulas helped pregnant women and birthing people navigate their pregnancy journey and make positive choices as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2017 to 2024.
HAPPY aimed to reduce childhood obesity risk by targeting an at-risk group - during and after pregnancy - by promoting healthy behaviours. It was part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2018 to 2022.
Our Personalised Midwifery Project provided women and their families with personalised, continuous care before, during and after the birth of their baby. It ran from 2015 to 2024.
Projects for expectant families and families with children under 1
The Breastfeeding Support Project helped families meet their breastfeeding goals through trained, employed peer supporters. It was delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2018 to 2024.
ESOL for Pregnancy was an embedded English course helping women develop their language skills. ESOL with Infants was a follow-on project helping parents and carers develop their language skills through sharing books.
Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is an evidence-based, preventative programme for first-time parents. It was delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2016 to 2019.
MECSH is a programme of regular home visits with the same Health Visitor. Originally developed in Australia, it was delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2021 to 2023.
The Perinatal Support Service helped pregnant women and women with babies who were suffering/at risk from mild-moderate mental health issues, from 2015 to 2024.
Projects for families with children aged 0-3
The Better Place project has transformed parks and green spaces for the benefit of families with play equipment and facilities specifically designed for 0-3s, right across the Better Start Bradford area.
Better Start Imagine gifted over 275,000 books to children aged 0-3 from 2016 to 2024, to promote and model the importance of sharing books with young children.
Cooking for a Better Start offered practical cooking sessions to parents/carers of children aged 0-3 years, to build knowledge and skills around cooking low-cost, healthy meals from scratch, and healthy eating
The Forest School Play Project was an adventurous nature-based play programme that has brought an array of learning opportunities for young children, their families and the early years workforce
HENRY’s Healthy Families programme guides groups of parents and carers towards healthier habits for the whole family and was part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2016 to 2024.
Home-Start Better Start is a peer support intervention, providing emotional and practical support to families with 0-3 year olds, and ran as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2017 to 2024.
I CAN encompassed training sessions, guidance and support for childcare practitioners, designed to improve the language environment for young children attending early years settings.
Incredible Years Toddler Basic is an established evidence-based parenting programme, promoting positive attachment. It was delivered as part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2018 to 2024.
Little Minds Matter is a specialised parent-infant relationship service working with infants, their families, and associated professional networks. It formed part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2018 to 2024.
Talking Together was designed to improve the home learning environment for children aged 2 who are at risk of language development delay, and formed part of the Better Start Bradford programme from 2015 to 2024.
Other major projects and initiatives
Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) is a birth cohort study that aims to understand the effects of the early-life interventions led by Better Start Bradford on children’s health and development.
The Innovation Fund enabled organisations to pilot new, innovative approaches robustly over a period of a year, with potential for them to become a fully-fledged Better Start Bradford project.
The Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund enabled parents and carers in the Better Start Bradford area to apply for up to £2,500 to develop ideas and initiatives for local families and their 0-3s.
The Neighbourhoods Project ran from 2019 to optimise recruitment into Better Start Bradford projects from under-represented groups, and to ensure that the programme messages reached as many families as possible.
Baby Week Bradford began in 2018. Find out more about this annual celebration of babies and all those who care for them, and look back at previous years' activities and resources.
Over 300 volunteers have given their time and skills to make a real, lasting difference to families in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton since the start of the Better Start Bradford programme.
You may also like to look at...
Better Start Bradford is an evidence-led programme, developed according to research into what works when it comes to supporting expectant families and families with children aged 0-3. Find out how it has been evaluated.
Dip into our library of research and evaluation reports, articles, family and early years resources, videos, podcast episodes and more!