Best Start in Life Strategy
Best Start in Life Strategy
Our overarching vision and aims
Cumberland’s Best Start in Life Strategy sets out our collective ambition for every child in Cumberland to enjoy a healthy, happy childhood, with secure relationships, rich early learning experiences, and a strong sense of belonging.
Our ambitious targets for the end of the 2027 to 2028 academic year focus on reducing developmental gaps before children start school.
We aim for:
- 74.2% of children in Cumberland to achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD)
- 56.6% of children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) to achieve the GLD
These outcomes will depend on a system-wide approach that supports families from pre-conception through to the end of the Reception year.
By strengthening integration across health, education, early years, social care and the voluntary sector, we will create a seamless, holistic offer that meets the needs of every child and family.
Local needs analysis
Local needs analysis
Outcomes data baseline
The following data provides a snapshot of the available early years outcomes data for children in Cumberland as at March 2026. This provides a baseline for improvement for the Best Start in Life Strategy.
Population data
In 2024, there were 12,647 children aged birth to 4 years living in Cumberland, accounting for 4.5% of the total population.
In 2024, the general fertility rate in Cumberland was 48.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44 years, similar to the national average (49.0 per 1,000). General fertility rates in Cumberland have been declining in recent years, reflecting the national picture.
In 2023 to 2024:
- 2,603 children aged 0 to 4 years were living in relative poverty (20.6%)
- 2,283 children aged 0 to 4 years were living in absolute poverty (18.1%)
Levels of child poverty in Cumberland for children aged 0 to 4 years are slightly higher than the England average for both absolute and relative poverty.
Good Level of Development profile at 5 years of age
In 2025, the Good Level of Development (GLD) for Cumberland at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was 64%, compared to the national figure of 68.3%.
Over the last three years, Cumberland’s GLD fell by 1 percentage point (from 65% in 2022 to 2023 to 64% in 2024 to 2025).
| Academic year | Cumberland (%GLD) | National (% GLD) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 to 2023 | 65% | 67.2% |
| 2023 to 2024 | 65.2% | 67.7% |
| 2024 to 2025 | 64% | 68.3% |
Additional Good Level of Development (GLD) analysis
The percentage of children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) who achieved the GLD was 45.4% which is 5.9 percentage points lower than the national figure.
Contextual data for Cumberland in 2025 highlights a 3.8 percentage point difference with the contextual GLD score of 69%.
The Early Learning Goals within the EYFS profile that showed the most significant gaps compared with national data in 2025 were:
- writing
- numerical patterns
- number
- self‑regulation
- word reading
The pupil groups with the lowest GLD compared with national figures were:
- children with English as an additional language (7.9 percentage points lower)
- children eligible for Free School Meals (5.9 percentage points lower)
In 2025, a slightly higher proportion of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) achieved GLD than nationally (0.6 percentage points higher). However, a lower proportion of children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) achieved GLD than nationally (0.8 percentage points lower).
Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ‑3) data at 2 to 2.5 years
The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ‑3) is an assessment made up of 21 questions across five development domains:
- communication
- gross motor
- fine motor
- problem solving
- personal‑social
The ASQ‑3 is an integrated review completed by parents or carers and health professionals. It is used to help identify children who may require additional support.
The proportion of parents attending the 2‑year health check in Quarter 2 of 2025 to 2026 was 75%, representing a significant improvement from 48.4% in 2024 to 2025. Of the children who received the check, 87% were assessed as being at or above the expected level across all five areas of development.
The latest published national figures are for 2024 to 2025 and show that:
- 80.8% of children received their 2 to 2.5‑year review
- 93.9% of children completed ASQ‑3 as part of their review
Additional health data
Children’s health indicators in Cumberland present a mixed picture.
In 2024 to 2025, 74% of Reception‑age children were a healthy weight, slightly below the national figure. Dental health is comparatively positive, with 20.8% of 5‑year‑olds experiencing tooth decay in 2023 to 2024, better than the England rate.
However, there are higher levels of vulnerability at birth. Premature births in 2020 to 2022 were 81.9 per 1,000, above the national average.
Hospital activity also suggests increased need. Emergency admissions for children aged 0 to 4 years in 2023 to 2024 were significantly higher than the England average, although injury‑related admissions were slightly lower.
Early years nutrition indicators raise concern. Healthy Start uptake showed a downward trend in 2025. Breastfeeding rates remain low compared with national figures.
Between April and September 2025:
- 25.1% of infants were totally breastfed at 6 to 8 weeks (England 35.9%)
- 14.9% were partially breastfed (England 22.4%)
- 53.3% were bottle fed (England 34.2%)
Social care data
At the end of February 2026, the total number of children in Cumberland who were Children in Need (CIN) (with an open episode of need) was 1,809, a rate of 345 per 10,000 children aged 0 to 17. This rate has fallen from 395 per 10,000 in 2024 to 2025.
In the same period, 299 children had Child Protection Plans (CP), a rate of 57 per 10,000 children aged 0 to 17. The rate of child protection plans has increased compared with the previous year (53 per 10,000 in 2024 to 2025) and is higher than the England rate.
The percentage of re-referrals to Children’s Social Care for children with a previous referral within 12 months of their latest referral (February 2026) was 22%. This is in line with both the previous year’s figure for Cumberland and the national average.
For children aged 0 to 4 years, the figures were as follows.
| Indicator | Number | Rate / % | Population base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children in need (CIN) | 420 | 332.1 per 10,000 | 12,647 |
| Child protection plans (CP) | 92 | 72.7 per 10,000 | 12,647 |
| Re-referrals | 102 / 444 | 23% | Not applicable |
| Indicator | Number | Rate / % | Population base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children in need (CIN) | 273 | 375.5 per 10,000 | 7,270 |
| Child protection plans (CP) | 60 | 82.5 per 10,000 | 7,270 |
| Re-referrals | 53/288 | 18.4% | Not applicable |
In 2025, 33.3% of children with a Child in Need plan achieved a Good Level of Development (GLD), which is lower than the England average (38.8%).
Take-up of early childhood education and care
Take-up of the 3 to 4 year old entitlement across Cumberland is high. In January 2025, take-up was 100%, higher than the national average of 93%.
Take-up of early learning places for 2 year old's has declined slightly over the last two years. In Autumn 2025, take-up was 74.8%, which is lower than at least half of our statistical neighbours.
Family Hub data
Across quarters one to three in 2025 to 2026, Cumberland’s Family Hubs demonstrated strong reach. New family registrations exceeded targets and attendance volumes remained high as hubs expanded and awareness grew.
However, patterns of non‑engagement were evident in several areas. Limited involvement from health partners, reduced referrals and gaps in SEND engagement affected the ability to reach vulnerable cohorts. Communication challenges, including inconsistent social media activity and a lack of locality‑specific channels, meant some families missed information about sessions. Staffing shortages also limited the offer in some areas and affected the consistency of delivery.
These factors contributed to pockets of non‑engagement despite overall positive reach and increasing visibility of the Family Hub model.
Experiences of families and children
Experiences of families and children
Cumberland Children and Family Wellbeing Service's strengths in the participation of children and young people were recognised by Ofsted in the 2024 ILACS inspection.
Sine then, we have launched our first Participation and Engagement Strategy to create opportunities for children, young people and families to help shape decisions and influence services through a range of Youth Voice groups.
Within Family Hubs, Parent and Carer Champions are actively recruited. Their input into shaping the offer is welcomed and celebrated through ‘You said – we did’ notice boards. To ensure a coordinated approach, a Volunteer Coordinator works in partnership with the Community Development Team and voluntary sector groups.
There is currently underrepresented from fathers, families from diverse ethnic backgrounds and families who are not yet engaging with Family Hubs. Stakeholder feedback emphasised the importance of extending the Family Hub offer into community spaces to improve accessibility and increase engagement among families less likely to access early years groups.
Existing strengths
Following the formation of Cumberland Council on 1 April 2023, a two‑year Early Years Strategic Plan was developed and implemented through multi‑agency early years strategic group, strengthening partnership working across services. Examples of impact include:
- early years providers receiving strong advice, guidance and support from the Early Years Team and Speech and Language Therapists (SALTs)
- evidence of a more joined‑up approach between Health Visitors and Midwives when appointments are delivered from Family Hubs, improving coordination of support for children and families
- learning from the Transformation Fund 1 (TF1) pilot Family Hub, opened in April 2024, used to shape the wider roll‑out across seven Family Hubs the following year
- development of a core Best Start in Life offer across Family Hubs that responds to community needs and strengthens early support pathways
Challenges and opportunities
A joint review of the Early Years Strategic Plan in 2025, carried out with Blackpool Better Start, highlighted several areas for improvement.
There are significant gaps in integrated intelligence across maternity, health visiting, early years, SEND, and Family Hubs. The absence of shared digital protocols means data on coverage, referrals and progress remains siloed. This makes it harder to identify needs early and to understand the impact of interventions.
There is also limited specialist support for children aged birth to five experiencing attachment difficulties or challenges with emotional self-regulation. Provision for children under five with complex SEND needs is inconsistent, and greater integration between Early Help, Health and Education teams is required to meet these needs effectively.
Workforce capacity remains a key pressure. Recruitment and retention issues across early years and childcare settings affect the stability and quality of provision and restrict the sector's ability to expand to meet demand.
Inequality and poverty continue to affect access to early years services. We need to strengthen inclusion and ensure that families with English as an additional language, refugee communities and fathers are better represented. We also need to increase co‑production with families who have lived experience, so services are shaped by the people they aim to support.
Finally, long-term sustainability is affected by funding constraints. Cumberland is one of the lowest-funded areas nationally for early years, and stakeholders have emphasised the need to challenge national allocations so they reflect the additional pressures created by rurality and coastal deprivation.
Our strategic priorities
Our strategic prioritiesDevelopment of the Best Start in Life plan
In July 2025 the government shared its vision to “ensure every child in England has the best possible start, particularly in the early years (0–5)” by reducing inequalities, expanding family support, and improving access to high quality early education and childcare.
Work was already underway in Cumberland to review progress against the previous action plan and to develop a new strategic plan that would lead to greater system transformation in these areas.
Our Early Years partnership engaged fully with Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life and drew on local and national support through our links with the Local Government Association, NESTA and Blackpool Better Start.
Engagement took place with families through Cumberland’s Family Hubs and with stakeholders across education, local authority teams, health partners and voluntary sector organisations. Their contributions informed the creation of a single ‘Plan on a Page’ that sets out Cumberland’s priority areas (Appendix 1).
Our Best Start in Life plan
Our Cumberland plan is built around the three national priorities.
Priority 1 - Expanding family support
We will focus on:
- supporting parents and carers to provide a safe, secure home and build positive family relationships
- helping families engage with health professionals in their community
Priority 2 - Improving access to high quality early education and childcare
We will focus on:
- enabling families to access childcare that meets their child’s needs
- ensuring the early years workforce is valued, supported and able to attract and retain skilled educators
Priority 3 - Increasing the quality of early education
We will focus on:
- strengthening inclusive practice and integrated support so all children make good progress
- improving confidence and accuracy in early years assessment
- raising attainment across the EYFS, including for disadvantaged children through targeted improvement work
Cross-cutting priorities
Our plan is supported by a set of cross‑cutting priorities that apply to all areas of work. These include:
- greater engagement with marginalised and disadvantaged groups
- inclusive practice, belonging and anti-racism
- greater co-production with families
- digital access and enablement
- quality assessment
- environmental sustainability and climate-action planning
- meaningful data sharing and analysis
- contributing to keeping children safe, including responding early to neglect and trauma
The Best Start in Life Strategic Group reports directly to The Family Help and Prevention Partnership Board. It also provides regular updates to Cumberland’s Education Strategic Partnership.
Maintaining clear communication about how the plan is being implemented is essential. It ensures accountability across the partnership, supports shared delivery and helps identify areas where progress may need further action.
Governance and accountability
Governance and accountabilityThe Governance structure for the Best Start in Life Action Plan is shown below in Figure 1. It sets out how decision-making and reporting flows across our early years system.
Figure 1: Governance structure for Best Start in Life Cumberland. A diagram showing the governance structure and lines of reporting across Cumberland, including strategic groups and reporting pathways.
To ensure the plan is deliverable and aligned with wider work across Cumberland, all action plan development has been informed by the strategic planning groups shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Key Linked Strategies to Best Start in Life Cumberland. A diagram showing how key strategies and action plans in Cumberland align with and support the Best Start in Life priorities.
Accountability to families
A core commitment of the plan is to strengthen co‑production and increase the empowerment of families across our early years partnership. The communication, reporting and accountability arrangements shown in Figure 1 are designed to ensure this commitment is embedded across all areas of work.
Cumberland’s Best Start in Life Strategic Group includes representation from our Communications Team and is responsible for providing regular updates to families about the progress of the plan. We are committed to learning how to hear the voices of babies and young children more effectively and to continually improve participation and engagement. This includes creating more opportunities for families to contribute to meaningful co‑design of services and ensuring their lived experiences inform decision‑making across the partnership.
Delivering the Best Start in Life plan
Delivering the Best Start in Life plan
Action plan structure
Cumberland’s Best Start in Life Strategic Plan has been designed to complement, not duplicate, existing partnership arrangements. Senior Leaders asked for a structure that strengthens alignment across the system, and the partnership groups responsible for delivering the plan are shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Cumberland’s partnerships for delivering of the Best Start in Life. A diagram showing key partnerships in Cumberland that contribute to delivering the Best Start in Life plan, including strategic, operational and multi‑agency groups.
Action plans
SMART action plans within the overarching strategy set out the specific steps that will lead to improved outcomes for children in Cumberland. These outcomes include:
- improved levels of personal and social development at ages 2 and 5
- increased take up of Healthy Child Programme reviews
- improved good level of development (GLD) at EYFS, aiming for 74.2%, including 56.6% for children facing disadvantage
- sufficient, accessible childcare and a thriving early years workforce
- children with SEND making good progress, including in emotional wellbeing
- improved health outcomes such as reduced tooth decay and obesity, and increased breastfeeding and toileting independence
- fewer children aged 0 to 4 on a Child Protection Plan
- increased involvement of children and families in service design and co‑production
A list of these action plans and their lines of reporting are set out below:
| Action plan | Owner | Reporting to |
|---|---|---|
| Priority 1 – expand and improve family support through a high‑quality Best Start in Life offer | BSIL Strategic Lead and Public Health CYP Lead | BSIL Strategic Group |
| Cumberland’s action plan to increase the 2 to 2.5‑year developmental assessment uptake | Public Health CYP Lead | OHID |
| Priority 2 – expand and improve access to early education and childcare | Early Years Sufficiency Manager | BSIL Strategic Group |
| Cumberland’s early years workforce recruitment and retention solutions group action plan | BSIL Strategic Lead | BSIL Strategic Group |
| Priority 3 – improve quality of provision in early years settings and schools | BSIL Strategic Lead and Learning Improvement / Early Years Manager | BSIL Strategic Group |
| Cumberland’s action plan for early years speech, language and communication | BSIL Strategic Lead and SALT Clinical Lead | BSIL Strategic Group |
Best Start in Life Delivery Grant funding and accountability
Best Start in Life Delivery Grant funding and accountability
The Department for Education has set out clear expectations for early years funding streams and how they should be used to support system transformation. This includes the Best Start Family Hubs Delivery Grant for 2026 to 2029, which requires Cumberland Council to deliver programmes that strengthen parenting for 3 and 4 year‑old children and improve the home learning environment. These programmes must use agreed, evidence‑based interventions.
How we will develop system-level changes through strengthened partnerships
The NESTA ‘Best Start in Life Playbook’ identifies workforce capacity, workforce capabilities and wider service integration as essential enablers for system transformation. In Cumberland, we will work towards whole system improvement by developing the key enablers set out below.
System enabler 1 - Data sharing
In Cumberland, the absence of a unified data‑sharing approach affects our ability to monitor attendance, assess implementation quality and understand child outcomes. A core enabler of the Best Start in Life strategy is the development of systems that allow child‑level data to be shared across maternity, health visiting, education and Family Hub services.
Work has begun to put information‑sharing agreements in place to support this integration. This will include strengthening data‑sharing processes for children transitioning into Reception.
System enabler 2 - Strengthened integration
National guidance highlights integration as central to achieving Best Start outcomes. Through our developing Best Start Family Hub model, we are working to strengthen partnerships across health, social care, education and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
By improving access to integrated, relationship-centred services we will ensure families receive consistent messages about early childhood development and the home learning environment. This approach will reduce barriers to support by enabling families to connect with trusted workers. It will also create more opportunities for us to hear the voices and lived experiences of families from communities that are seldom heard.
The renewed strategy also enables stronger partnerships with libraries, parks, arts organisations and community hubs, helping families access home‑learning support and guidance on child development
System enabler 3 - Workforce training and development
Cumberland experiences ongoing staffing challenges across early years services due to rurality and competition from other industries. This creates risks for the delivery of the Best Start in Life strategy. A solution‑focused working group is exploring ways to improve recruitment and retention across the early years workforce
The strategy also relies on consistent professional development across the sector. Practitioners need opportunities to upskill, particularly in relation to early years safeguarding changes, SEND reforms and trauma‑informed practice. We will work across teams to develop joint training approaches that improve consistency and quality, including shared approaches to EYFS assessment.
Cumberland has limited specialist health services for under‑fives and is not one of the 75 areas receiving Healthy Babies funding. Despite this, we will ensure that support relating to infant feeding, perinatal mental health and parent‑infant relationships is delivered through a coordinated system‑wide partnership approach, underpinned by strengthened workforce development.
Test and learning / scaling delivery
Cumberland has already taken part in a ‘test and learn’ programme linked to Transformation Fund 1 (TF1), which supported our transition to Family Hubs and generated valuable practice‑based learning. This learning has directly informed the wider development and roll‑out of Family Hubs across Cumberland.
We continue to design local pilot projects that test and refine approaches, such as CPD coaching models to improve early years outcomes in settings and schools. We will seek further opportunities and partnerships to expand and strengthen our Best Start Family Hub offer and to continue improving outcomes for children and families.
Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring and evaluationFramework for outcomes monitoring
Cumberland’s Best Start in Life Strategic Group, working alongside the Family Help and Prevention Partnership Board, has developed an outcomes framework model shown in in Figure 3.
The model is based on Cumberland’s Theory of Change model for parent-infant relationships and draws on research from national frameworks, including the Common Outcomes for Children and Young People’s Collaborative.
Figure 3: Cumberland’s Framework for Best Start in Life outcomes monitoring. A decorative diagram illustrating the structure, domains and relationships within the Best Start in Life outcomes monitoring framework.
A Best Start in Life child development outcomes dataset is being developed for Cumberland. It will include nationally reported datasets as well as locally agreed indicators, such as evaluation measures linked to Cumberland’s Family Hubs. Timely access to these data will help partners hold each other to account and respond more effectively when concerns about progress arise.
Priority outcome measures have been identified across the outcome domains for Year 1 of this strategy. These are set out in Appendix 2: Best Start in Life Indicators – Year 1.
Review and adaptation of the Best Start in Life strategy
Review and adaptation of the Best Start in Life strategy
The success of the Best Start in Life action plan will be measured using the indicators listed below:
Nationally reported indicators (Local Government Outcomes Framework)
The indicators include:
- percentage of children achieving a good level of development at age 5
- percentage achieving a good level of development at the 2 to 2.5 year review
- percentage of 5 year old's with experience of visually obvious dental decay
- take-up rate of the 2 year old disadvantage childcare offer
- take-up rate of the 3 and 4 year old 15 hours childcare offer
- Best Start Family Hubs indicators (to be confirmed)
Continuous improvement across the strategy
To ensure the strategy remains responsive to community needs and local priorities, we will embed a continuous improvement cycle.
Regular performance reviews
Quarterly updates from action plan leads to highlight achievements, risks and support needs
Annual analysis of key indicators in March 2026, March 2027, March 2028 and August 2028
Feedback from families and practitioners
Ongoing insights from Parent and Carer Champions through Family Hubs and from seldom heard groups
Targeted engagement to understand what is working well and where changes are needed
Learning from pilots and innovation
Learning from local test and learn activity to inform decisions about scaling, adapting or discontinuing new approaches
Sharing findings across partners to strengthen practice
Each year, we will update actions, re‑prioritise resources and respond to emerging needs to ensure that the strategy remains evidence‑led and focused on improving outcomes for families.