UK’s First-Ever Top 10 Research Priorities Identified for Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Under 5s

Through collaborative working we have brought together parents, carers and professionals to shape the future of early years research.

The UK’s first-ever Top 10 Research Priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of babies, toddlers and pre-school children have been announced by the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership (PSP), marking a significant milestone for early years research and policy.

Developed and agreed collaboratively by parents, carers, family members and professionals from across the UK, the priorities will help guide future research direction and investment into the areas that matter most to parents, carers and professionals to improve support for young children and their families.

The initiative comes at a crucial time, with less than five per cent of the national research budget currently allocated to child-related research despite the vital importance of early childhood experiences in shaping lifelong health and wellbeing. Many current recommendations for supporting the social and emotional development of children under five are based on limited evidence, highlighting the need for targeted research in this field.

By identifying and prioritising key unanswered questions, the partnership aims to ensure future research funding is directed towards studies that can make a tangible difference to families. Areas highlighted include improving support for under 5s who have experienced trauma, developing culturally sensitive approaches to care, and finding more effective ways to engage fathers.

The Developing Child UK PSP plans to share the Top 10 priorities with major research funders, policymakers and academic networks through publications, presentations and research papers, helping to influence future investment and practice across the early years sector.

The UK Top 10 Developing Child Research Priorities are:

What are the most effective methods of supporting the social and emotional development of babies and children aged 0-5 years who have experienced trauma?
What are the most culturally sensitive approaches to support parental understanding of early child social and emotional development in diverse ethnic groups?
What are the most effective ways to support fathers to develop healthy parent-infant relationships?
What are the most effective methods of identifying neurodivergence in babies and children age 0-5 years?
How can well-baby clinics better support parents to understand and promote the emotional and social development of their baby where there are concerns?
What is the short- and long-term impact of parent-infant teams on the social and emotional wellbeing of babies (aged 0-24 months) and families, and for which families do they work best?
What are the most effective methods of supporting parents and preschool children who are on a waiting list for specialist child mental health services?
How can services better support babies and children age 0-5 years experiencing court proceedings or family separation?
What public health strategies are effective in promoting parental understanding about the importance of social and emotional skills in babies and children age 0-5 years?
What are the most effective home and nursery-based early interventions to support babies and children age 0-5 years with sensory integration difficulties?

National Collaboration

The project was led by members of the Supporting Early Minds Research Network (part of the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre) at the University of Oxford and the Institute of Health Visiting, through a James Lind Alliance(JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP). The initiative focused on identifying research priorities relating to community interventions that support the social and emotional development of babies, toddlers and pre-school children.

With its infrastructure hosted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the James Lind Alliance’s well-established and respected methodology ensured that the experiences and perspectives of families carried equal weight alongside professional expertise. This approach enabled a broad range of voices to contribute, including groups that have traditionally been under-represented in research.

The resulting Top 10 priorities reflect shared concerns and aspirations across communities and professional groups, creating a research agenda designed to deliver meaningful benefits for children and families.

Rigorous Process

The priorities were identified through an extensive 18-month process involving consultation and consensus-building across the UK. With the expert guidance of JLA facilitator, Jo Watson, the PSP was jointly led by Professor Jane Barlow (University of Oxford) and Dr Michael Fanner (University of Oxford and, since April 2026, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust), with a core team based at the Institute of Health Visiting.

In an initial consultation survey, 523 participants submitted 1,071 questions, with 413 found to be within the project’s scope. These submissions were organised and refined into more than 50 summary questions, reflecting the wide-ranging issues affecting the social and emotional wellbeing of young children.

Following a comprehensive review of the existing evidence, the priority setting partnership identified that 17 of the summary questions were not already adequately answered by research. These 17 summary questions were then presented in national prioritisation survey, which attracted more than 520 responses.

The final stage took place during a virtual online consensus workshop on 2 September 2026, bringing together 13 parents and carers and eight healthcare professionals. Through structured discussions facilitated by the James Lind Alliance, participants reached agreement on the final Top 10 priorities.

Shaping the Future of Early Years Support

The publication of the UK’s first Top 10 research priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of under 5s represents a significant step towards strengthening the evidence base for early years support.

By focusing attention on the questions that matter most to families and practitioners, the partnership hopes to accelerate research that can improve services, inform policy and enhance outcomes for babies, toddlers and pre-school children across the country.

As the priorities begin to inform future funding decisions and research programmes, those involved hope they will contribute to a stronger foundation for supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing during the most critical years of development.

Jane Barlow (Professor of Evidence Based Intervention and Policy Evaluation) and Michael Fanner (Consultant Nurse) as the PSP leads commented:

“We are delighted to announce the UK’s first Top 10 Research Priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of babies, toddlers and pre-school children. Developed through a uniquely collaborative process involving parents, carers, family members and professionals, these priorities provide a clear and nationally agreed direction for the future of infant mental health and early years research in the UK.

“The breadth and diversity of perspectives represented through this Priority Setting Partnership has been one of its greatest strengths. The resulting Top 10 priorities offer both depth and scope, creating significant opportunities for researchers, practitioners and families to work together to co-produce the evidence that will shape future services and support for young children.

“We hope these priorities will help strengthen the UK’s infant mental health and early years research infrastructure, while also sending a clear signal to major research funders of the urgent need to invest in this area. By focusing attention on the questions that matter most to families and professionals, we can build a stronger evidence base and ensure that future policy and practice are informed by research that has the greatest potential to improve outcomes for all children and families.”

JLA Advisor, Jo Watson, added:

“The James Lind Alliance approach to research priority setting focuses on giving voice to those who access health and care services and those who deliver them. Historically, these key stakeholder groups have had little influence over what research is undertaken, despite being the end users of that research.

“The Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership brought parents, carers and professionals together as equal partners throughout. The resulting Top 10 priorities for research focused on the social and emotional development and wellbeing of children under 5 provide crucial insights for researchers, research funders and policy makers about where to invest funding, time and effort to generate evidence that will have the greatest impact for them.”

Steering Group member, Kieran Anders, added:

“As a dad, and someone working with dads in the perinatal period, it was really refreshing to be involved in such a comprehensive process. The conversations, collaborations and decisions made were testament to this. I have real hope that this piece of work will lead to some robust and crucial research in areas that can truly make a difference to babies, children and their families.”

The JLA PSP for the Developing Child UK was funded by https://elevategreat.co.uk/, and Oxford staff time funded by the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.

Find out more about The Developing Child UK PSP

Health visitor support helps postnatal mothers stay smoke-free

Women who receive health visitor support alongside smoking relapse prevention advice are more likely to remain smoke-free after childbirth, according to new research.

The team, led by University of East Anglia (UEA) and involving the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), tested ‘BabyBreathe’ – a programme designed to help women who quit smoking before or during pregnancy stay smoke-free after giving birth.

The scheme provides one-to-one support from trained health visitors with digital tools, text message support, a dedicated website and app, and a relapse-prevention kit sent to families after birth.

This major study published in the BMJ shows that women who received this intervention as intended, with support from trained health visitors, were significantly more likely to remain smoke-free 12 months after giving birth compared to those without health visitor support.

Vicky Gilroy, Director of Innovation and Research at the iHV, said:

“Health visitors and their teams are uniquely placed to support women in preventing smoking relapse as part of their universal offer.

“It has been a privilege to contribute to the BabyBreathe study and help develop the evidence of the importance of their role. The findings reinforce the need for all health visitors to receive training in this important area.”

Lead researcher Prof Caitlin Notley, Professor of Addiction Sciences at UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said:

“Quitting smoking during pregnancy is an incredible achievement, but staying smoke-free after a baby is born can be just as challenging.

“Too often, support ends once a woman has quit, even though the stressful months after birth are when many women are most at risk of returning to smoking.

“Our research shows that when health visiting services are trained and supported to deliver specialist relapse prevention advice, they can make a real difference by significantly improving women’s chances of staying smoke-free. That means better health for mothers, babies and entire families.”

How the research happened

A total of 886 women from England and Scotland who had successfully stopped smoking before or during pregnancy took part in the study, as part of a large-scale randomised, controlled trial.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive either the BabyBreathe intervention or usual care – the latter of which offered no advice or support to prevent smoking relapse.

Although BabyBreathe was not delivered as intended for around one in five participants during the trial, either due to health visitor workforce pressures, missed appointments or administrative issues, health visitors provided one-to-one tailored advice and support to women in the intervention group. This was delivered at the end of pregnancy and immediately after the baby was born.

This support included advice on alternatives to try if they experienced urges to go back to smoking, as well as advice for partners and family members, and access to specially designed digital resources including the BabyBreathe app and website.

A relapse prevention ‘kit’ was also posted to women immediately after the birth of their baby and support continued for up to 12 months postpartum, at all routine health visitor appointments.

The intervention was the result of more than a decade of research and development involving women, families, health professionals and researchers – who worked together to co-design, develop and test this practical support package.

‘Health visitors play an important role’

When researchers looked at participants who received the intervention as intended, 57.6% remained smoke-free at 12 months in the BabyBreathe group – compared to 49.9% for those with usual care.

These findings suggest that health visiting services could play a significant role in ensuring the consistent delivery of relapse-prevention support, therefore also supporting the health of the entire family by helping more mothers to remain smoke-free after giving birth.

Prof Notley said:

“Women of childbearing age who quit and stay non-smoking can reduce their risks of developing a smoking-related disease to almost the same level of risk as non-smokers.

“There are also great benefits for babies and children brought up by parents who do not smoke – in avoiding exposure to second-hand smoke, and in helping to prevent the next generation from taking up smoking.

“Until now, health visitors had no training on smoking relapse prevention. This meant that when women had made the extremely important – and difficult – health behaviour change of quitting smoking during pregnancy, no one picked up on this and gave them positive praise and support.

“This new approach extends the intensive support for initially quitting smoking that pregnant women are offered, going one step further to help women to stay smokefree in the long term.”

The researchers note several limitations of the study that impacted the primary analysis, including incomplete delivery of the BabyBreathe programme and low engagement with some of its components. The participant group was also more highly educated and less socioeconomically deprived than the wider population, which may have affected the programme’s overall effectiveness and limit how broadly the findings can be applied.

This research was led by UEA in collaboration with the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), University of Edinburgh, City St George’s, University of London, University of Exeter, University of Stirling, Glasgow Caledonian University and the Norfolk 0-19 Healthy Child Service. These findings are part of a £1.5 million project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Read full paper in BMJ: Effectiveness of the BabyBreathe intervention for maintaining postpartum smoking cessation: multi-centre pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BMJ 2026; 394 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026-100242 (Published 18 August 2026)
Cite this as: BMJ 2026;394:e100242

The Royal Foundation expands support for health visitors to “give babies a voice”

Further investment from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to support health visitors to “give babies a voice” following the publication of the iHV ADBB Phase Two Study.

Today, the iHV, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, published the findings from its latest evaluation of the use of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) in health visiting practice across the UK. We are also delighted to announce that we will be able to continue to support embedding of the tool within health visiting thanks to further investment from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

The tool, known internationally as the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), is used by health visitors within routine checks to promote infant wellbeing. It focuses on a baby’s social behaviours such as eye contact, facial expression, vocalisation, and activity levels to help practitioners and families better understand the ways babies express their feelings and to help parents and carers with bonding and attachment. It can also be used to recognise early signs of psychological distress, enabling specialist support to be accessed as soon as it is needed.

Our evaluation found that:

ADBB training addresses a clear gap in health visiting practice by strengthening understanding of infant social withdrawal and increasing practitioner confidence in observing and interpreting babies’ behaviour.
Health visitors reported feeling better equipped to articulate the baby’s perspective, an area they felt is often less emphasised in other training, which tends to focus more on parental behaviours. This enhanced ability to “give the baby a voice” supported richer, more balanced conversations with parents.
There were measurable changes in practice at the 6–8‑week postnatal review. The proportion of babies identified with concerns increased from 7% to 12%. Yet, importantly, referrals to specialist services reduced, suggesting that ADBB supports earlier identification of emerging needs and enables more proportionate responses within universal services.
Parents described the 6–8‑week review as reassuring, supportive and confidence‑building. They particularly valued warm, non‑judgemental communication, a clear explanation of their baby’s behaviour and cues, feeling listened to, and emotional support and validation. When introduced clearly, ADBB‑informed observation was experienced as collaborative and empowering.

Eileen Perrins, Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Lead, Institute of Health Visiting, explains more (with thanks to Debbie Barrett & Darren Alderson-Hall – Hampshire & Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for co-ordinating, the staff at Bridgemary library for hosting and for all the parents and their wonderful babies for taking part in the filming):

Next steps in this project

The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has today announced next steps in this project to build upon the positive independent evaluation of the phase two study, with recommendations for ADBB to be commissioned across the country.

Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales first saw the tool in use when she met health visitors in Denmark in February 2022, and The Centre has been working with the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) ever since, to bring the benefits of the approach to families in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Phase one of the study ran in two NHS Trusts from May 2023 – February 2024, exploring the feasibility of implementing a modified version of the tool (m-ADBB) within health visitors’ routine 6-8-week checks with families. It had overwhelmingly positive results.

Phase two of the study, which ran from October 2024 – March 2026, then explored the impact of training health visitors in the ADBB and its modified version (m‑ADBB), across eight sites throughout the UK. This phase set out to assess how training influences practitioners’ knowledge, confidence, and practice; examine changes in identification, referrals and support at the 6–8-week postnatal review; and explore parents’ experiences of the approach.

To support local authorities to take up the use of the tool, The Centre for Early Childhood will fund the iHV to produce a guide to commissioning ADBB, as well as to develop new resources tailored to a UK audience. In line with a key recommendation from the evaluation, The Centre will also fund iHV to create a new ADBB Community of Practice for the next three years, to support practitioners in the continued use and embedding of the tool. This will play a central role in supporting ongoing learning, supervision, and peer support, helping to ensure practitioners are supported to safely and effectively embed the approach in routine care.

Alison Morton OBE, CEO of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“The findings reinforce the role of health visitors as highly skilled practitioners, able to build trusted, therapeutic relationships with families and to guide sensitive, open discussions. Getting the right support to families at an early stage can have a hugely positive impact on a baby’s whole life. We want every commissioning body in the UK to consider using this tool so that every family with a newborn can benefit.”

Christian Guy, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, said:

“By equipping practitioners and families to understand what babies are communicating from the very start, we can give infants a stronger voice in early conversations, identify where extra support may be needed earlier, and help families build the responsive, nurturing relationships that we know are so important in shaping lifelong outcomes.

“The more health visitors are trained in this use of this tool, the better equipped they will be to help, which is why we are so determined to do everything we can to support its roll out across the UK.”

While the study found the training to be acceptable and impactful, it also makes clear that learning to observe and interpret babies’ behaviour is complex and requires ongoing practice, supervision and support. Successful implementation depends on organisational readiness and system‑level conditions including manageable caseloads, continuity of care, protected time, and clear governance and referral pathways.

ADBB Phase Two Study Report:

Please read the full report here

Help Shape Future Research on Babies’ and Young Children’s Development

What do parents, professionals and policy colleagues want from a universal assessment of child development?

Researchers at the NIHR Children Policy Research Unit have published their latest paper “What do parents, professionals and policy colleagues want from a universal assessment of child development in the early years? A qualitative study in England” in the BMJ Open.

Launching the paper on social media, the researchers summarised the findings stating, “Parents and health visiting professionals in England want a measure of child development at 2-2½ years to be a springboard for a ‘warm conversation about what’s going on – covering child, sibling and parent wellbeing. Not just ‘tick, tick, tick’”.

Objective: Every child in England should be offered a health and development review at age 2-2½ years by the health visiting service, part of which includes an assessment of child development. To inform policy and practice, the study gathered the views and experiences of parents and health visiting professionals on key priorities for, and barriers to, a universal assessment of early child development at age 2-2½ years.

Design, setting, participants: Data were collected through 15 focus groups with 29 parents, 24 health visitors and nursery nurses, five service managers and five policy colleagues in England. Participants were asked to reflect on their experiences of, and priorities for, measuring child development at the 2-2½ year universal review.

Analysis: The research team analysed data using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Results: Two overarching themes were identified in the data:

The first theme, ‘just a part of the puzzle’: a useful tool in a holistic review, reflected a consistent priority – across all focus groups – for a measure of child development that was well embedded in the wider review, that facilitated conversations about the child and family system and allowed negotiation of parent and professional judgement of the child’s development, and had a clear stated purpose.
The second theme, ‘they need to know why they’re doing it: a need for clarification’, reflected the need for a clear purpose for, and less variable delivery of, the tool, including a need for clarification on its intended purpose to provide population-level data.

Conclusions: Parents and practitioners wanted a tool that facilitated a holistic conversation about development, wellbeing and health across the family system, with direct observation of the child by the professional. Used skilfully, the Ages and Stages developmental assessment tool can constitute an intervention in itself, as it helps scaffold a conversation about how parents can support their child’s optimal growth and development. Consideration should be given to the experience of and support available to the practitioner using the tool within the health and developmental review.

Responding to the publication, Alison Morton, iHV CEO said:

“The findings from this important research paper are no surprise – but it’s important to have them validated through research. When parents and health visiting practitioners were asked what they want from child development reviews, they both agreed – put the child in the centre, observe how they are developing and interacting with the world around them – listen to parents and work together to gain an understanding of the child as a unique person.

“And, above all, be focused on the purpose of the review and stop ‘ticking the box and missing the point’.

“The universal health visiting service in England only reviews all children at four mandated reviews between birth and school entry (the number of reviews, and programme of health visiting support, is much higher in the other UK nations) – at the very least, we owe it to our babies, children and families, to get this right.

“I hope that this research will act as a powerful catalyst for change and a shift back to more personalised care. Any tool that is used to support the assessment of child development and wellbeing must be used as part of a holistic assessment to support professional’s observation, parental report and clinical decision-making – not to replace it.”

iHV would like to extend thanks to the research team (Joanna L Lysons, Rocio Mendez Pineda, Maria Raisa Jessica Aquino, Hannah Cann, Pasco Fearon, Sally Kendall, Jennifer Kirman and Jenny Woodman) for this important research which brings out what parents and health visiting practitioners want from child development reviews.

Read the paper here

0-19 Research Network wins prestigious Nursing Times Public Health Nursing award!

Last night, the 0-19 Research Network were honoured to receive recognition for their fantastic achievements as “winners” of this year’s Nursing Times Award for Public Health Nursing at a glitzy award ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Ballroom, in London.

Winning this prestigious award is very well-deserved! And down to the sheer determination, grit and passion of the network leaders, and its members, who have overcome many obstacles in their efforts to strengthen research capability and capacity in both health visiting and school nursing. The 0-19 Research Network has grown considerably since it was originally established in 2013 as the Yorks and Humber 0-19 Clinical Research Network (CRN). The project aimed to:

Support and increase the participation and recruitment of children and families in public health research, with a focus on those underserved populations (research delivery).
Increase research engagement and capacity of public health professionals working with the 0-19 age group (research capacity building).

The Network has achieved significant impact, evidenced in a recent evaluation, and also provides a great example of nurse leadership and collaborative working between both health visiting and school nursing practitioners who are united in their goals to improve the health and wellbeing of babies, children, young people and families through research and evidence-driven practice.

To achieve these ambitions, and reduce ever widening health inequalities, we need to transform services using the best available evidence of ‘what works’. This requires more 0-19 research! The 0-19 Research Network is leading the way and inspiring new researchers to embark on exciting careers in research.

The Network is led by the inspirational Louise Wolstenholme who is the 0-19 Lead for Research (Education & Development) & Health Visitor at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and programme management support was provided by Victoria Jackson, Senior Programme Manager at the iHV. Other partners include the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, and Leeds Beckett University. As a lead partner, the iHV is proud that the project has been recognised for its success in building research capacity in the 0-19 workforce.

Read a summary of their winning submission here

Attending the celebration last night, to collect the award on behalf of the 0-19 Research Network were:

Louise Wolstenholme – 0-19 Lead for Research (Education & Development) & Health Visitor, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Tracey Long – Nurse Consultant and NIHR Senior Research Leader: Nursing and Midwifery, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
Vicky Gilroy – Director of Innovation and Research, Institute of Health Visiting
Claire Chilton, Health Visitor and 0-19 Research Lead and Clinical Lead for Research (IRIS) Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
Janet Greenwood, Specialist Nurse – Special Educational Needs & Disabilities 0-4 years/ Research lead, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust
Lisa Manlove, Team Leader – Manor Darnall Health Visiting Team, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Heidi Fewings, 0-19 Service Manager, Hull 0-19 Integrated Public Health Nursing Service
Sarah Lawley, Nursing Fellow, 0-19 Duty Practitioner (Health Visitor), 0-19 Research Lead, Locala Health & Wellbeing
Gilly Chalk, Specialist Health Visitor Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, 0-19 Research Champion, Healthy Child Service, City of York Council.

Commenting on the award, Vicky Gilroy, iHV Director of Innovation and Research said:

“Being part of the team to receive this award gives me great pride. The collaboration on the 0-19 Project showcases the strength of Public Health Nurses as passionate leaders in promoting research engagement and building research capacity. It has been a privilege to be part of this collaborative project. The NT award is the icing on the cake in recognising the contribution we have all made to public health nursing.”

0-19 Yorkshire and Humber Community of Research Practice wins prestigious NIHR award!

iHV is delighted to announce that the 0-19 Yorkshire and Humber Community of Research Practice (CRN) has won this year’s NIHR CRN Yorkshire and Humber Research Award for “Best Contribution in a non-NHS Setting”.

The iHV has been collaborating on this exciting project with the 0-19 Yorks and Humber CRN since 2020. The project aims to support and increase participation in research, as well as increasing research engagement and capacity. This project builds on the work of the 0-19 Yorks and Humber CRN, which was first established in 2013. With funding and support from NIHR CRN Yorkshire and Humber, the team has been able to develop 0-19 Research Champion roles alongside providing a programme of networking events to support new and aspiring researchers. The project is led by the inspirational Louise Wolstenholme who is the 0-19 Lead for Research (Education & Development) & Health Visitor at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and programme management support is provided by Victoria Jackson, Senior Programme Manager at the iHV. Other partners include the School And Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, and Leeds Beckett University.

This well-deserved award is a reflection of the hard work, commitment and expertise of all those involved in the project today, as well as those who were involved in establishing the CRN from the start.

If we are serious about improving the health of babies, children, young people and their families – and reducing ever widening health inequalities – we need to transform services using the best available evidence of ‘what works’. This requires more 0-19 research! The CRN is leading the way and inspiring new researchers to embark on exciting careers in research. As a lead partner, we are proud that the project has been recognised for its success in building research capacity in the 0-19 workforce.

Louise Wolstenholme responded to the award:

“Attending the CRN Awards ceremony and hearing that we had won the category for best research contribution in a Non-NHS setting was really exciting. All the project team have been very committed in ensuring the success of the 0-19 Research Network in Yorkshire and Humber and it feels exceptionally rewarding to be recognised in this way. Success would not have been possible without the valuable contributions from all the organisations involved, it really has been a joint venture. The trophy will be well travelled by the time it has visited all the partners across the region and wider! Importantly, we hope that this acknowledgement continues to place emphasis on the importance of researching the needs and informing care delivery for babies, children, young people and their families.”

See Tweet announcing the winner

In other news, the 0-19 Yorks and Humber CRN and project team has also been shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards which takes place in the winter, so watch this space.

Huge congratulations to everyone involved – these achievements are fabulous recognition for all your hard work!

To find out more about the network and its work please visit the iHV webpage to learn more

Promoting safer sleeping for babies in England: new report

At the start of Safer Sleep Week 2023, a new report is published today on promoting safer sleeping for babies. Health visitors have an important role to play in promoting safer sleep and ensuring that these important messages reach all families.

Change is needed to the way safer sleep information is communicated, if risks to babies from unsafe sleeping practices are to be reduced, according to a new report from Oxford, UCL, Bristol and Newcastle Universities. This was prompted by government, in the wake of sudden death in infancy data, in an attempt to identify what type of support was needed to reduce the incidence in all families.

The new report on promoting safer sleep for babies particularly focuses on families facing significant adversity, who may be receiving support from Children’s Social Care Services. While rates of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) declined steeply in the 1990s and continued to decline until 2014, families living in the most deprived neighbourhoods continue to experience a disproportionately higher rate; the National Child Mortality Database found that 42% of SUDIs occurred in deprived neighbourhoods, compared with 8% in the least deprived.

Researchers interviewed parents, talked to local professional services and studied data on decision-making and safer sleep interventions.

According to the report, a range of motivational factors play a key role in influencing decision-making about the infant sleep environment, including parents’ own needs for adequate sleep, and the need to bond with their babies. Research also suggests professionals responsible for conversations about infant sleep safety have concerns about providing personalised and tailored support and managing risks in families with a social worker.

The researchers recommend:

Open conversations between parents and professionals could be used to support safer sleep for babies who have a social worker.
These open conversations would need to acknowledge and discuss the reality of people’s lives in order to understand and address the motivation behind parental decisions and actions.
Conversations should include credible, trusted sources and sound evidence to explain how and why safer sleep practices aim to protect infants. Social pressures with regard to “good parenting” may act as barriers to open and frank conversations between parents and professionals.

The research finds in-depth conversations about safer sleep might best be delivered to families in receipt of social care by a practitioner, such as a Health Visitor, who can provide continuity of care and who has established a trusting relationship with them. Peer and family support networks are also important to reinforce messages and provide practical advice.

The report suggests professionals could engage parents to identify motivations and provide personalised support that is still consistent with national guidance, but that is based on the needs of individual families.

Such conversations need to be consistent with guidelines from NICE and The Lullaby Trust whilst also being sensitive to the needs and context of individual families. iHV supports the Safer Sleep campaign led by the Lullaby Trust which shines a spotlight on this important public health issue.

Read the report: Promoting safer sleeping for babies in high-risk groups in England

Roundtable on the importance of early childhood

The Duchess of Cambridge will host a roundtable at the Royal Institution today to mark the release of new research from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

A year on from its launch, The Centre for Early Childhood will be unveiling the findings of new research into early childhood development, as The Duchess of Cambridge and the Centre host a small roundtable to discuss the results and broader importance of early childhood development to society.

The roundtable will be attended by representatives from the early years sector; the Secretary of State for Health, Sajid Javid; the Minister for Families, Will Quince; and officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education. Together, they will discuss the findings of the research published today, and the huge opportunity that there is to shape the future of our society by focusing on the importance of early childhood to lifelong outcomes.

Conducted by Ipsos UK on behalf of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, the research comes two years after The Duchess’s landmark survey – ‘5 Big Questions on the Under-Fives’ – which attracted the largest ever response to a public survey of its kind with over 500,000 responses in one month, sparking a national conversation on the early years. The research delves even deeper into public perceptions of early childhood, focusing on three key areas: the prioritisation of the early years; the link between the first five years of life and lifelong outcomes for mental health and wellbeing; and the support parents seek when raising young children.

Seven in ten people say the early years should be more of a priority for society.

Earlier this year, The Duchess travelled to Denmark where she learnt about how the Danish approach has created an enabling culture for early childhood development, specifically how it has promoted infant mental wellbeing alongside physical health, and how it harnesses the power of nature, relationships and playful learning in the first five years of life. The service in Denmark is modelled on the health visiting service in England. However, in contrast, the work to support families in the earliest years in Denmark is a national priority and the workforce is afforded much higher status and greater investment than their counterparts in England.

Today’s research also follows over a decade of work by Her Royal Highness in which she has seen first-hand how some of today’s hardest social challenges have their roots in the earliest years of a person’s life. The Duchess is committed to raising awareness of the importance of early childhood experiences and of collaborative action to improve outcomes across society. She launched The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in June 2021.

Speaking about the research published today, The Duchess of Cambridge said:

“Our experiences in early childhood fundamentally impact our whole life and set the foundation for how we go on to thrive as individuals, with one another, as a community and as a society.

“The findings published today present us with a huge opportunity and demonstrate there is real appetite from the public to bring this issue up all of our agendas. There is more we can all do – every member of society can play a key role, whether that is directly with a child or by investing in the adults around them – the parents, the carers, the early years workforce and more.

“If we come together to raise the importance of early childhood development, we’ll soon see that healthy, happy individuals make for a healthier, happier world. Which is why every second we spend with a child, is an investment in our collective future.”

Alison Morton, iHV Executive Director, says:

“The findings from today’s research, alongside the long-term commitment of the Duchess of Cambridge to raising awareness of the importance of early childhood experiences, provide an opportunity to shift the needs of babies and young children higher up the national agenda. With such a vast body of evidence making the case for investment in the earliest years of life, we hope that today’s Roundtable will ‘light the touch paper’ for the change that so many of us who work in this field have hoped for – but hope is not enough. In the words of the Duchess of Cambridge, there is definitely ‘more we can do’ and it starts in the heart of government.”

Go to Ipsos UK to download the report

Read the Key Findings of Understanding public attitudes to
early childhood

Health visiting study seeks to learn lessons from pandemic

A new £265,000 study led by the University of Stirling is seeking to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected health visiting services across the UK, with a view to improving them in the future.

The 18-month project – funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) – will explore the changes that health visiting has experienced over the past two years and provide recommendations to enhance organisation and delivery as part of a strong post-pandemic recovery.

The project is led by Dr Erica Gadsby, a Senior Lecturer in Public Health from Stirling’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, and also involves researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Kent.

Alison Morton, Executive Director of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“Congratulations to the team, led by the University of Stirling, which has been awarded this prestigious NIHR funding.

“The last two years have been a period of tumultuous change, with health visiting services facing significant challenges in their efforts to support babies, young children and families. Health visitors responded rapidly with service innovations, but many of these adaptations have not been tested in the health visiting context and their impacts are largely unknown.

“This much-needed realist review will help us to gain a greater understanding of the pandemic response in order to learn lessons that can be applied to future emergencies, as well as strengthening the evidence base to support the embedding of new innovations and ways of working.”

The pandemic caused enormous pressure and disruption to child health services, as well as to families and young children, but it also prompted some important innovations in service delivery. The new study will explore how the pandemic affected health visiting services in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, with a view to understanding how the organisation and delivery of services can be improved for a stronger post-pandemic recovery.

The researchers will undertake a ‘realist review’, which is a type of theory-driven review of evidence. They will pull together different forms of information related to what has happened in health visiting services since March 2020 and use that to explore how the pandemic has affected services, service providers and families.

The team includes realist review, health visiting and public health experts, as well as a patient and public involvement lead. A stakeholder group – comprising practitioners, commissioners, policymakers, policy advocates, and members of the public – will advise and provide feedback throughout the project.

The team will work closely with the Institute of Health Visiting and the stakeholder group to ensure the findings of the study are developed into a range of outputs suitable for the various stakeholders and disseminated to the appropriate audience.

Dr Gadsby is supported on the project, Realist Review: Health Visiting in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic Experience (RReHOPE), by Professor Kendall; Dr Geoff Wong and Ms Claire Duddy (both of the University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences); and Mrs Madeline Bell (expert by experience).