A Better Start Annual Event 2021 Report

Report from the A Better Start Annual Learning Event 2021, produced by the National Children's Bureau on behalf of The National Lottery Community Fund.

The National Children’s Bureau, on behalf of The National Lottery Community Fund and the five 'A Better Start' (ABS) partnerships,  hosted a virtual conference on Thursday 25 March 2021. The event showcased how 'A Better Start' partnerships are working with local parents to develop, test and embed ways to improve children’s diet and nutrition, social and emotional development, and speech, language and communication.

Through a mix of interactive workshops and keynote sessions, attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from A Better Start parents, practitioners and directors as experts in coproduction. This focussed on how families are contributing to service development, design and delivery, and impacting systems around them, through:

• Peer engagement and a peer-led workforce
• Peer-to-peer support networks
• Parent and community-led funding initiatives
• Parent and community involvement in leadership, decision-making and governance

This report provides a summary of the keynote presentations, breakout sessions, and the
questions and answers covered during the afternoon panel session. Recordings from the breakout sessions and  the parents and directors’ panel sessions are linked throughout the report and available to view on the A Better Start webpage.