Best Start in Life Local Plan 2026 to 2029

This is Waltham Forest’s Best Start in Life Local Plan for 2026 to 2029. It sets out how we will improve outcomes for babies and young children, from pregnancy to age five, and strengthen support for their families.

The plan brings together services from Public Health, NHS providers, maternity services, health visiting, school nursing, Early Years, special educational needs, Early Help, Best Start Family Hubs and voluntary and community partners.

It meets the Government requirement for every local authority to publish a Best Start in Life plan.

This plan explains:

• The needs and inequalities facing babies and young children in Waltham Forest
• What we will do over the next three years
• The outcomes we are working towards
• How progress will be measured
• How partners will work together to deliver change

This plan covers a three-year period and will be reviewed annually.

It supports Mission Waltham Forest and our commitment to ensure every child and every family is given every opportunity.

Every baby and young child in Waltham Forest deserves the strongest possible start in life.

Where a child grows up should not determine how well they develop, how healthy they are or how ready they are for school. We will act early to prevent problems from escalating, reduce inequalities between neighbourhoods and ensure families receive the right support at the right time.

By working as one system across education, health and early help, we will strengthen parenting support, improve early identification, reduce health inequalities and ensure access to high-quality early years provision.

Best Start Family Hubs will provide a visible, welcoming and connected front door to support, helping families navigate services easily and confidently.

Our vision is that every child starts school healthy, emotionally secure and ready to thrive.

Waltham Forest is a diverse and growing borough with strong existing partnerships across health, education and early help.

However, significant inequalities remain, and the complexity of need is increasing.

Local data and practitioner insight show:

• Variation between neighbourhoods in the proportion of children reaching a good level of development (GLD) at the end of Reception.
• Increasing numbers of children are starting nursery and school with delayed speech and language development.
• Growing need for early identification and support for children not making expected levels of progress, or who have special educational needs and disabilities.
• Pressure on early years settings to meet increasingly complex needs.
• Variations in the uptake of the two-to two-and-a-half-year developmental review.
• A significant proportion of children entering school is above a healthy weight.
• Nearly a third of five-year-olds experience dental decay.
• Variation in uptake of some childhood vaccinations.
• High levels of asthma in school-age children are linked to housing conditions such as damp and mould.
• Increasing numbers of families are living in temporary accommodation or experiencing financial hardship.
• Difficulties in recruiting and retaining early education and health professionals with relevant knowledge and experience to meet demand and needs.
• Sufficiency of high-quality, safe and financially sustainable Ofsted registered childcare, particularly for under 2’s and vulnerable or disadvantaged 2-year-olds.

Families report that the system can feel fragmented and confusing. Some engage late, particularly where language barriers, housing instability or digital exclusion are present.

Addressing these challenges requires coordinated leadership, stronger neighbourhood outreach, clearer referral pathways and improved shared data systems.

By 2029, we want every child in Waltham Forest to start school healthy, confident and ready to learn.

We will reduce the gap in outcomes between neighbourhoods and communities so that children growing up in areas of greater disadvantage have the same opportunity to thrive.

We will:

• Increase the proportion of children reaching a good level of development at the end of Reception from 75% towards a target of 80 per cent, and increase the GLD for free school meals from 61.8% to 66.5% by 2027/2028.
• Improve take-up of Funded Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) by each eligible cohort to align with statistical neighbours by 2029.
• Improve take-up of early years pupil premium to align with statistical neighbours by 2029.
• Increase uptake of each of the five mandatory health reviews, achieving at least:
  • 95% uptake of antenatal checks
  • 95% new birth visits
  • 80% 6-8 weeks reviews
  • 80% one-year review
  • 85% uptake of the two-to two-and-a-half-year developmental review
• Increase take-up of the Early Years Inclusion Pathway (EYIP) to support the home learning environment for children not attending a setting (via Learning Together programme) from 67% to 75% by 2029.
• Decrease the number of families who do not take up the Learning Together offer from 33% to 25% by 2029, and develop and implement a package of home learning support for those who do not take up the offer.
• Improve monitoring of the effectiveness of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF) from sample testing to 100% monitoring reviews in order to evidence the impact and outcome for the child by the end of the academic year 2027.
• VERBO will be made available to all settings by the end of the academic year 2027. 100% of settings with the highest % of deprived or vulnerable children on roll will receive support from QTS to engage in VERBO (SaLT toolkit) by the end of the academic year 2027.
• Increase take up of participation in speech and language therapy (SaLT) drop-in delivered in Best Start Family Hubs.
• Increase the uptake of the targeted Steps to Speaking programme delivered by speech and language therapists.
• Continue to improve the quality of the early years sector by maintaining 100% take up of the Team Around the Setting process to support improvement for settings where concerns relating to leadership, governance and/or safeguarding are identified in Ofsted inspections.
• Develop and implement three packages of accredited training focussing on areas of identified need by 2029.
• Continue to deliver free information, advice and training to settings in relation to SCLN, SEMH, neurodiversity (as NEN accredited trainer) and OAP and increase participation in this training by encouraging all settings to take up key training across each area by 2029, and ensuring that 100% of settings that have undertaken the TAS process engage in training offer. Increase the number of Area SENCO’s from 2FTE to 3 FTE by the end of academic year 2025/26 to increase capacity and support locality based support model.
• Improve the sustainability of the early years sector, ensuring sufficient high-quality childcare places across the borough by working with providers to offer business and financial support in order to try and reduce year on year the number of early years settings that close due to financial sustainability issues.
• Work with property services to identify opportunities to develop new childcare provision to address the identified places gap for under 2’s and 2-year-olds in the Summer 2026 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment by 2029.
• Undertake a full Childcare Sufficiency Assessment in the financial year 2026/27.
• Ensure 100% of universal play and learn sessions delivered via Best Start Family Hubs will have home learning environment strategies embedded into the sessions (PEEP’s) by 2027.
• Increase participation and completion rates in evidence-based home learning programmes for parents of three and four-year-olds by encouraging 80% of Early Years settings and schools who have attended PEEPs training to deliver at least 1 stay and play PEEP programme by the end of the academic year 2027.
• Increase awareness, reach and repeat engagement with Best Start Family Hubs, particularly in neighbourhoods where outcomes are weakest.
• Ensure clearer referral pathways and stronger guided navigation between services so families experience a joined-up and accessible system.
• Reduce the proportion of five-year-olds experiencing dental decay from a baseline of 29% in 2023/24 and improve healthy weight outcomes at school entry, from a current rate of 21.5% overweight or obese in Reception children in 2024/25, at least matching any improvement in national figures.
• Increase continuation of breastfeeding and improve uptake of childhood vaccinations towards WHO targets of 95% (actual rates are below this across England), including the second measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and the preschool booster.
• Strengthen shared data systems, joint performance dashboards and partnership accountability to drive continuous improvement and monitor impact/outcomes.
• Develop and deliver a high-quality recruitment and workforce development offer to assist with recruiting and retaining early education, health and early help professionals with relevant knowledge and experience to meet demand and needs.
• Continue to provide education, training and recruitment support for the early years sector via a named officer in the Adult Learning Service.

Progress will be tracked through a focused set of indicators, including:

• Good Level of Development at the end of Reception through the use of NEXUS and the View Your Education Data (VYED) platform.
• Demographics of the cohorts of children who do not achieve a GLD via early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) submission data and NEXUS.
• We will use MOSAIC reporting to measure uptake in participation in the Early Years Inclusion Pathway.
• Take-up of Free Early Education places using January Census data.
• Take-up of Early Years Pupil Premium using EYDSG budget allocation data.
• Effectiveness of SENIF through service performance data.
• Number of Ofsted registered childcare places using Ofsted Early Years data and statistics reports.
• Speech and language development indicators via VERBO in early Years settings from Summer Term 2026.
• Take up of universal and targeted SaLT support in Best Start Family Hubs and Ey settings via S75 agreement performance monitoring.
• Engagement in Team Around the Setting Support through service performance data.
• Number of Best Start Family Hub play and learn sessions with home learning strategies embedded through provider contract monitoring.
• Uptake of mandated health reviews through service performance data.
• Vaccination coverage from UKHSA published datasets.
• Dental decay prevalence from OHID published datasets.
• Healthy weight at school entry, from our National Child Measurement Programme, delivered by the school nursing service.
• Engagement and repeat attendance rates at Best Start Family Hubs.
• Participation and completion of home learning programmes via mosaic reporting.

The first five years shape future health and learning. We will strengthen early identification, improve quality across the early years sector and ensure children receive timely support.

Improving quality, inclusion and sufficiency across early years provision is central to increasing school readiness and narrowing gaps in outcomes between neighbourhoods.

We will:

• Develop and implement a School Readiness strategy in partnership with internal and external education, health, family support and early help professionals. This will include the distribution of a Waltham Forest Starting School booklet to all parents/carers whose child is transitioning to Reception and childcare settings by the end of the academic year 2026.
• Improve how education and development data is shared and used across partners by developing a multiagency data dashboard and data sharing protocols.
• Strengthen the role of the Early Years Advisory Team in supporting settings through the introduction of a locality-based working model.
• Train practitioners and parents in language-rich interactions via VERBO and All Talk (SaLT-led programme).
• Implement SENIF monitoring reviews to identify the impact of SENIF and the workforce's continued professional development.
• Sustain a high-quality and sustainable early years sector informed by the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment.
• Improve take-up of early years pupil premium and entitlements alongside the Early Years Advisory team, who will be delivering information, advice and training on the use of early years pupil premium (EYPP) based on the EEF Guide.
• Ensure smooth transitions into early years settings and school through the introduction of the Starting School Together booklet that will support parents and carers in getting their child ‘school ready’.
• Develop and implement a package of support for the cohorts of children who are identified as not achieving a GLD so that targeted work can be carried out to reach out to these families and engage them in key services.

We will reduce unnecessary escalation to specialist pathways through earlier intervention and clearer, mapped referral routes across services.

The ages of three and four are pivotal for communication, behaviour, emotional regulation and early learning.

What happens at home during this stage directly influences school readiness and our ambition for 80 per cent of children to reach a good level of development.

We will strengthen both parenting support and the home learning environment for families with three and four-year-olds.

We will:

• Introduce and pilot new evidence-based parenting programmes specifically for parents of three and four-year-olds, which focus on early child development
• Deliver structured home learning programmes that support communication, play, early literacy and language development, including Peep Learning Together.
• Focus on providing parents and carers with information, advice and training to support behaviour, emotional regulation and readiness for school.
• Deliver programmes through Best Start Family Hubs using flexible and accessible formats, including face-to-face, virtual delivery, home visits, out-of-hours and weekend provision to maximise access for parents and children.
• Assign a named Early Years Advisory Teacher to support and monitor the implementation of home learning programmes within early years settings to provide consistent messages and approaches across the borough.
• Target additional multi-agency support to families who are referred to the Early Years Inclusion Pathway but do not take up the offer. 

We will monitor participation and completion rates, gather feedback from parents and track early indicators of improved school readiness and parental confidence.

Good health in the earliest years underpins children’s development, school readiness and long-term wellbeing.

We will strengthen prevention and early intervention through the Healthy Child Programme, focusing on reducing avoidable inequalities in health outcomes and addressing the wider factors that influence children’s health.

We will:

• Recommission our 0-91 Healthy Child Programme services with a stronger focus on neighbourhood delivery and reducing inequalities.
• Sustain high levels of new birth visits and six-to-eight-week reviews and improve equity in uptake of mandated developmental reviews through increased data-led outreach.
• Deliver the Waltham Forest Infant Feeding Strategy and expand peer and specialist breastfeeding support.
• Deliver supervised toothbrushing programmes in the most deprived communities and strengthen access to NHS dental care, at least matching any improvement in national figures (an estimated 53% of patients aged under 18 in Waltham Forest were seen by an NHS dentist in the year ending March 2025, compared with 57% across England).
• Improve asthma pathways, including inhaler technique support and referral routes into housing services for damp and mould concerns, underpinned by partnership work through our children’s asthma network.
• Increase vaccination uptake towards WHO targets of 95% (actual rates are below this across England) through neighbourhood call and recall systems, community outreach and comms and engagement campaigns.
• Equip frontline staff to identify and escalate concerns about housing, food insecurity, mental health and safety and strengthen pathways into local financial wellbeing support.
• Embed culturally competent practice across the workforce.
• Increase uptake of the Healthy Start scheme, including vitamins for mothers and babies in maternity services and Best Start Family Hubs, and food vouchers for low-income families. As of October 2025, there were 1666 people signed up to the Healthy Start digital scheme within the borough, a slight decrease from the previous year. Data will be used to directly engage with families who may be eligible for Healthy Start, with a view to increasing uptake of the scheme.
• Provide intensive support to vulnerable, first-time parents under the age of 25 through the Family Nurse Partnership.
• Strengthen and embed our Parent and Baby Emotional Wellbeing service in local pathways, to support the development of healthy infant-parent relationships at the earliest stage.
• Strengthen local continence pathways, improving awareness among health care professionals, particularly in relation to tier 1 support.

Through strengthened prevention, improved access to reviews and targeted neighbourhood action, we will ensure that babies and young children receive timely health support and that avoidable inequalities in early childhood health are reduced.

Best Start Family Hubs will be central to improving access, experience and early engagement. Outreach will be proactive, targeted and informed by shared data. We will not rely solely on families coming forward for support.

We will:

• Deliver a coordinated Best Start in Life communications approach to ensure consistent messaging across partners and improved public awareness.
• Use neighbourhood data and shared dashboards to identify where engagement is lowest.
• Develop and deliver a coordinated, borough-wide outreach strategy to proactively identify and engage families who are less visible to services.
• Work through trusted partners, including midwives, health visitors, early years settings, schools, libraries, faith groups and community organisations.
• Deliver outreach through a wide range of community venues, pop-up sessions and enhanced first-contact approaches.
• Map and formalise referral pathways to ensure a single point of referral into services that provide clarity, assist with monitoring of take up, timely intervention and improved impact as well as reduce duplication.
• Strengthen referral routes and guided navigation between universal and targeted services.
• Engage families with Best Start Family Hub services from pregnancy onwards through health partners such as midwifery and health visiting teams.
• Improve the consistency and quality of the Best Start Family Hub front-door experience by developing a Best Start Family Hub front-door practice for staff to implement across all sites.
• Provide support through hub-based, home-based and online models to improve accessibility for parents and carers.
• Increase earlier help-seeking through community outreach and service promotion to reduce reliance on crisis-led pathways.

Outreach delivery and impact will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is reaching families most likely to benefit.

Delivery of this plan will be overseen through established partnership governance structures focused on babies, children and young people.

To ensure clear ownership and implementation, a Best Start in Life Strategic Lead will coordinate delivery across partners and produce detailed delivery plans aligned to this local plan.

We will review and strengthen joint governance arrangements over the life of this plan to ensure services are fully joined up, duplication is reduced, and accountability is clear across education, health and early help.

We will:

• Develop and maintain shared performance dashboards.
• Strengthen shared data systems and interoperability.
• Analyse outcomes by neighbourhood, ethnicity and deprivation.
• Review performance regularly and escalate where progress is off track.
• Pilot new approaches with clear success measures and scale what works.
• Align commissioning intentions.
• Support workforce development.
• Involve parents and carers in shaping and reviewing services and methods for capturing evidence of impact and outcome tracking children’s journeys through early years foundation stage and Key Stage 1.

We will take a structured approach to innovation, using data, practitioner insight and feedback from parents and carers to identify areas where improvement is needed.

New approaches will be tested through time-limited pilots with clear success measures. Where evidence shows improved outcomes or engagement, approaches will be scaled across the borough through commissioning and service redesign.

Through strong partnership governance, shared data and clear accountability, we will ensure that this plan is actively delivered, rigorously monitored and continuously improved.

Progress against this plan will be reviewed annually and reported through partnership governance arrangements.

Shared dashboards will track performance against headline indicators. Each key indicator will have a clearly identified owner and agreed reporting cycle, with corrective action agreed where performance is not improving as expected.

Key risks include workforce pressures, increasing complexity of need, housing instability, estate limitations and digital exclusion. The loss of ICB Primary Care Clinical Leadership will also impact on partnership working in areas related to health and wellbeing. These will be monitored and mitigated through coordinated planning and partnership action.

The earliest years matter most.

Through earlier identification, stronger parenting support, high-quality early years provision, improved child health and a more accessible and joined-up system for families, we will deliver meaningful and measurable change.

By strengthening governance, clarifying referral pathways, enhancing shared data systems and deepening partnership with voluntary and community organisations, we will ensure every child in Waltham Forest has the strongest possible start in life.

Our ambition is clear: that every child starts school healthy, confident and ready to thrive.