Blackpool families project put in national spotlight

Dame Andrea Leadsom, who chaired a commission into the policy, met staff and families involved with the Blackpool Better Start initiative.

She attended a children's literacy session at the @TheGrange community centre at Grange Park.

She said: “Blackpool’s Better Start Project is committed to supporting babies and their families in every way they can.

"I was delighted to visit to meet parents with their babies to hear about their experiences, as well as to discuss with the early years workforce their ambitions for continuous improvement.

"Their advice and ideas will be incredibly useful as we roll out the Best Start for Life across England.”

It is nearly 12 months since the Government published ‘The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days’, which highlights the importance of the key early days of a child’s development from conception to age two.

Clare Law, director of the Blackpool Centre for Early Child Development added: “We were thrilled to welcome Dame Andrea to Blackpool as it provided us with a huge opportunity to showcase the excellent work Blackpool Better Start is doing, finding innovative ways to solve problems through effective partnership working.

"We look forward to continuing to support Dame Andrea, sharing our learning and influencing policy and practice across the country.”

The Blackpool Better Start partnership is a 10-year National Lottery funded programme which was launched in April 2015.

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