Learning and development work in mental health support and pregnancy and early childhood

The National Children’s Bureau is delighted to announce it has been successful in winning two important contracts from The National Lottery Community Fund.

The work, made possible with funds raised by National Lottery players, will see NCB support learning and development in two vital areas:

• HeadStart - focused on improving children and young people’s mental health and resilience
• A Better Start - improving outcomes for babies and young children and supporting care givers though pregnancy and early childhood.

HeadStart

HeadStart is a five-year, £58.7 million programme set up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, which aims to improve the mental wellbeing of 10 to 16 year olds and prevent serious mental health issues before they develop.

Six HeadStart partnerships based in Blackpool, Cornwall, Hull, Kent, Newham and Wolverhampton are piloting new test-and-learn approaches to providing support when and where it is needed, focusing on developing young people’s emotional resilience from an early age.

NCB is supporting the next phase of HeadStart by:

• Helping the partnerships to deliver better outcomes for young people
• Ensuring the work of the HeadStart partnerships is sustainable and leaves a lasting legacy
• Facilitating networking and learning across the partnerships.

Find out more at www.ncb.org.uk/headstart

A Better Start – Shared Learning and Development Programme

A Better Start is a ten-year (2015-2025), £215 million programme set-up by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Five A Better Start partnerships based in Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend are supporting families to give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life. Working with local parents, the A Better Start partnerships are developing and testing ways to improve their children’s diet and nutrition, social and emotional development, and speech, language and communication.

NCB will design and deliver an ambitious programme of shared learning and development support for A Better Start, working within, across and beyond the five partnership areas.

Our aim is to amplify the impact of these programmes by:

• Embedding a culture of learning within and between the partnerships.
• Harnessing the best available evidence about what works in improving outcomes for children.
• Sharing the partnerships experiences in creating innovative services far and wide, so that others working in early childhood development or place-based systems change can benefit.

Find out more: www.ncb.org.uk/better-start-shared-learning-and-development-programme

Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said:

‘These innovative projects are learning important lessons about the most effective ways to support children, young people and their families. The investment, thanks to people who play the National Lottery, recognises NCB’s considerable expertise in bringing together organisations. We look forward to working with service providers, practitioners and children and families themselves, to share learning from each other’s experiences and use robust evidence of what works to improve the lives of children.’