Since the start of the programme, we have completed evaluations that aim to build the evidence base for each of the Better Start Bradford projects. These include implementation, before and after, and qualitative evaluations.
Each of the evaluation reports can be viewed below.
Language & Communication Projects
Talking Together
Talking Together is a six-week, home-based intervention designed by charity BHT Early Education and Training, for 2-year-olds who are at risk of language delay. BHT work closely with the health visiting service and families to find children who may struggle with language. The project encourages families to engage in activities that help children’s language skills, such as attentive play, turn-taking, and giving praise. Talking Together aims to equip parents with the skills they need to support their children before they get to school.
BSBIH have undertaken two implementation evaluations of the project across 6 years of delivery, as well as undertaking a randomised feasibility study (oTTer). The latest evaluation report and the oTTer report can be viewed below. The final evaluation report for Talking Together will be published later this year.
Better Start Imagine
Better Start Bradford teamed up with the Imagination Library to create Better Start Imagine. This is a book gifting project first started by country singer Dolly Parton. Families that live in Bowling and Barkerend, Little Horton, and Bradford Moor can sign up. They then receive a free book every month, delivered to their doorstep. BHT Early Education and Training also provide wrap-around sessions for the book gifting service. This includes story telling, rhyme time sessions, and baby signing sessions, and help for parents, so they can get the best out of the books they receive.
BSBIH have undertaken two implementation evaluations of the project across 6 years of delivery, the latest of which can be viewed below. The final evaluation report for Better Start Imagine will be published later this year.
ICAN Early Talk Training
Better Start Bradford have funded the I CAN Early Talk programme. This provides early years practitioners with the skills needed to support children to develop speech, language, and communications skills. BHT Early Education and Training have been delivering I CAN training to early education and care settings.
BSBIH have undertaken an implementation evaluation of the project and, in conjunction with the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR), we also looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected practitioners in early years settings such as nurseries. The final evaluation report and COVID-19 report can be viewed below.
ESOL for Pregnancy
ESOL for Pregnancy is an antenatal course designed for women with low levels of English language proficiency. The project aims to support women to develop specific language skills that will facilitate their communication with midwives and the British health system more broadly, as well as informing women about pregnancy and birth practices to help them feel empowered in their decision making. The course was developed by Shipley College.
BSBIH have undertaken two implementation evaluations of the project across 6 years of delivery, the latest of which can be viewed below. The final evaluation report for ESOL for Pregnancy will be published later this year.
Social & Emotional Projects
Personalised Midwifery Project
The Personalised Midwifery Project involved a Continuity of Carer model of maternity care aiming to provide women with support from the same midwife throughout their antenatal, birth and postnatal care. It is currently being run in Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
We have been evaluating this project since it was first comissioned by Better Start Bradford. This evaluation will help us understand whether having one point of care is feasible and whether it helps improve birth and mental health outcomes. The evaluation is still ongoing but the latest results are provided below.
Baby Steps
We are evaluating the use of Baby Steps, an intervention for pregnant parents and those who’ve just given birth. Baby Steps is a relationship-based parent education programme, mostly delivered in a group setting. It aims to help parents who may face challenges and ‘overload’ in pregnancy and early parenting, and originally was targeted towards those who more likely to be vulnerable or experience social exclusion.
We are undertaking an effectiveness evaluation of Baby Steps which is ongoing and due to be completed at the end of 2024 – the protocol can be viewed below. The latest findings from the implementation and before and after evaluations can be also be found below.
Little Minds Matter
Little Minds Matter promotes positive parent-infant relationships in the Better Start Bradford area. They do this by delivering training and consultation to staff in the early years workforce, and direct therapeutic support to families with concerning relationships. Little Minds Matter delivers training courses on parent-infant attachment and mind-mindedness. Mind-mindedness is a parent’s (or other caregiver’s) ability to treat their young children as individuals with minds of their own.
Little Minds Matter works by being well connected to early years services and their staff. We have been undertaking an evaluation which aims to understand more about the relationships between Little Minds Matter and other services. We want to establish whether it is reaching all the staff and families that may need support and the impact it has had on these other services since. The evaluation is ongoing but the latest findings can be viewed below.
Incredible Years Toddler
Incredible Years – Toddler (IY-T) aims to improve parent-infant relationships and attachment by using positive parenting strategies. It is aimed at parents, grandparents and carers that have a child aged between 12-36 months. The course covers 8 key topics such as ‘social and emotional coaching’ and ‘the art of praise’. IY-T is delivered through two-hour sessions over 13 weeks by two trained group facilitators. Facilitators promote peer support and shared learning. In the BSB area, IY-T has been delivered by Barnardo’s since September 2018.
In 2021, the BSBIH undertook an evaluation to understand what has been delivered by the project and to explore parents, caregivers and group facilitator’s experiences. An effectiveness evaluation of IY-T is ongoing and the protocol can be viewed below as can the latest evaluation findings.
Bradford Doulas
Bradford Doulas offer practical and emotional support to pregnant women six weeks before the birth, during labour, and six weeks after the birth, through trained volunteers. Service users are usually considered to be vulnerable with limited or no supportive partners/families. However within the Better Start Bradford offer the project is considered universal for women over 16 years of age. We have been undertaking an implementation evaluation of the project since it began in the Better Start Bradford area and the latest findings can be found below.
Family Action Perinatal Peer Support
The Family Action perinatal support service provides emotional support to families during pregnancy and the first years of a child’s life where the mother or primary carer has been diagnosed with a low to moderate level of perinatal mental illness, including anxiety and social isolation. Family Action connects mothers and carers with peers from similiar communities who are trained to deliver support around mental health. We have been evaluating the project’s performance and the latest findings are below.
Family Action Perinatal Peer Support Final Evaluation Report 2023
Home-Start Better Start
Home-Start Better Start is a peer support intervention which aims to provide emotional support and practical help for families who are finding parenting challenging. Support is delivered by trained volunteers and the project is deliberately flexible and non prescriptive in the families it works with, the kind of support it offers and the length of engagement with families. The project’s key objectives are to increase access to social support for vulnerable families, and to improve parents’ ability to cope with stressors in family life, providing the foundations for confident parenting skills. We have been evaluating the project’s implementation since delivery began and the latest findings can be viewed below.
Nutrition & Health Projects
Breastfeeding Support
The Breastfeeding Support Project provides one-to-one support to new mothers living in the Better Start Bradford area. It aims to increase the number of mothers breastfeeding. They do this by helping mothers to breastfeed for as long as they want to.
Support is tailored to mothers’ needs and may be provided by the same support worker. The project aims to contact mothers within 48 hours of leaving hospital. After this, one-to-one support is provided to mothers in their own language (where possible). Support is provided during face-to-face home visits, telephone and video calls; and follows a care plan. We have undertaken a implementation evaluation of the project, including an in depth qualitative evaluation. Findings can be found below.
Breastfeeding Support Final Evaluation Report 2024
HAPPY
HAPPY is a parenting and healthy lifestyle programme aimed at preventing childhood obesity. HAPPY was developed as a targeted programme and aimed to reduce childhood obesity risk by engaging an at-risk group – women with overweight and obesity – during and after pregnancy, by promoting healthy behaviours and addressing known risk factors. The original programme model included delivery of 12 group sessions for women with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more and was designed to reduce the risk of childhood obesity through promotion of effective parenting and healthy lifestyles for families with young children.
HENRY
Healthy Eating and Nutrition in the Really Young (HENRY) is an 8-week programme, delivered by Better Start Bradford. HENRY aims to help families to make healthier lifestyle choices. Each session focuses on a different topic about healthy eating and living an active lifestyle. Caregivers who live in the Bradford area, and who look after a 0-to-5-year old can take part in HENRY. The intervention is for families who would like to make lifestyle changes, to improve their healthy eating and physical activity.
We’ve conducted research that looks at how HENRY can be evaluated and how this works in practice. An effectiveness evaluation is ongoing, however the latest findings from the Innovation Hub can be found below.
Cooking for a Better Start
Cooking for a Better Start began delivery in 2018 and is a universal project within the Better Start Bradford programme. It offers practical cooking sessions to parents and caregivers of children aged 0-4 years. Sessions are aimed at building parents’ and caregivers’ knowledge and skills around healthy eating, and pincluding appropriate portion sizes, making healthy swaps, safe food preparation. The overall aim of the project is to increase confidence in preparing home-cooked healthy meals. Findings from our evaluation can be found below.
Green Space Projects
Better Place
The Better Place project, commissioned by Better Start Bradford, work with people living in Little Horton, Bowling and Barkerend, and Bradford Moor to improve local outdoor spaces; with a focus on developing better places to play, live and be active for families with young children. As part of our evaluation to assess the impact of the Better Place project we have been collecting annual observational measures of park and green space quality (using the NEST tool) and use (using the SOPARC tool) to explore changes over time.
We have also been working directly with the community to understand their views and experiences. In 2019 we conducted a survey with our BiBBS families which included questions about their local parks and green spaces. In addition to this, in 2021, we began a longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the project – speaking to families and community organisations who use local spaces to understand how they use them and what they think of the changes Better Place has made. We are also working with them to understand whether the changes influence the community’s sense of ownership of their local area. Our latest findings are below.
Forest Schools Play
Forest Schools Play sets out to increase opportunities for pre-school children to access the benefits of nature. We have worked with Get Out More who deliver the project to complete an evaluation which explored the potential impacts of the project for 3-year-olds who take part and provide a detailed understanding of implementation. Our findings can be viewed below.
the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub 
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